Mongolia

Gandan is the largest and most significant monastery in Mongolia and one of Ulaanbaatar 's most interesting sights. Built in the mid 19th century, it is the only monastery where Buddhist services continued to function even during the communist past. Temples are flocked by visitors during religious services that start at 10 a.m. and last until midday. The Migjid Janraisig Temple is an important part of the Gandan Monastery. The temple houses the majestic new gilded statue of Migjid Janraisig, decorated with jewels. This 26-meter high 20-ton statue is a copy of another statue that was destroyed in the 1920s by communists. The statue was built with donations of Mongolian people as a symbol of Buddhist revival in the mid-1990s.

Terelj National Park is the most popular destination and the third biggest protected area in Mongolia. Visitors can take leisurely strolls on meadows carpeted with edelweiss and a dazzling variety of other wildflowers, view fascinating rock formations against a backdrop of pine-covered mountains and wander along the wooded banks of a mountain stream. The park is located 80 km away from Ulaanbaatar and is one of the most beautiful places in Mongolia. There are also a huge number of adventure activities such as rafting, riding, hiking, skiing, camping.

Visitors can go inside the statue, and from the inside of the horse's head, they have a panoramic view of the surroundings and reconstituted Mongolian village.

The site also has a museum that shows an exhibition about the Bronze Age and the archaeological culture of the Xiongnus in Mongolia. The visitor will discover usual utensils, belt buckles, knives, sacred animals, etc. The second exhibition covers the period of the 13th and 14th centuries, when the Mongolian Empire was at its height, with tools, goldsmith subjects, crosses, and rosaries.

This is one of the oldest museums which was founded in 1924 as the National Central Museum. In 1956 it was renamed the State Central Museum and in 1997 it became the Museum of Natural History. Today there are departments of Geography, Geology, Flora and Fauna, and Paleontology in the museum. Displays of stuffed and embalmed animals including the rare Gobi bear and wild camel, birds, and fish will give you a good idea about the rich fauna of Mongolia. Most impressive is the Paleontology section. There are petrified eggs and bones of many dinosaurs that lived in the Gobi desert 60-70 million years ago and two complete skeletons of the flesh-eating giant Tarbosaurus and the duck-billed Saurolophus. Petrified bones of 5 kinds of dinosaurs out of 7 that are known today have been discovered in Mongolia. The museum also has samples of various minerals that are found in the country.