Our Central Mongolia & Gobi Desert adventure is best described as a daily routine of hitting the steppe / grassland after breakfast, driving 5 – 6 hours to the next attraction spot before settling down for the night in a nomadic Ger.
Day 3 had a most welcomed deviation. Enroute to Yolyn Am, we stopped for a hot shower after 2 days of pit latrines with no running water.
Fresh and clean once more, we continued on to Yolyn Am National Park, descending through endless steppe and grasslands before arriving at the entrance to the canyon after 4pm. Cars are not allowed beyond this point. We set off on foot, though horses are available for hire.
Located well below the Gobi Desert platform, Yolyn Am is a dramatic rocky valley and wildlife sanctuary. The massive valley is carved out of the Gobi by a single fresh water spring, millions of years ago. Today, a stream runs along the entire valley floor.
Yolyn Am (Vulture Valley) is named after the bearded vulture also known as Lammergeier (Yol in Mongolian) that nests among its many high cliffs, crags, precipices, canyons and gorges. The scavenging birds feed mostly on the carcasses of dead animals, laying one or two eggs in mid-winter to be hatched at the beginning of spring.
We did not have to wait long to see a Lammergeier in flight. Gliding effortlessly, the bird of prey can fly up to 1,500 – 3,000 meters high.
For a close-up view of the Lammergeier as well as information on the varied wildlife here, including petrified trees, fauna and flora of the Gobi, be sure to visit the Museum at the entrance of the canyon before you leave.
Narrow and heavily shaded canyons
First of all, we did not expect to see a green valley in the middle of the Gobi desert. From the very wide entrance, we followed the river as it twists and turns through the rocky terrain that gradually narrows into an amazing gorge with sheer rock walls rising 200m in height.
As the deep gorge is sheltered from direct sunlight by the towering cliffs on both sides of the narrow stream, the water freezes into a thick corridor of ice that rarely melts. The presence of ice all year round has been drawing visitors to the ‘Ice Canyon’, to see this unique phenomenon.
On our trip in September, the ice had disappeared. With global warming and the huge number of tourists walking on the ice daily, the last of the ice melted in June.
Though the terrain was mainly flat, the walk was interesting as we had to constantly switch sides, crossing the stream several times to stay on the dry portions.
While admiring the sheer walls soaring skywards on both sides, I was distracted by rustling movements in the nearby ground foliage.
Approaching slowly, I had my first glimpse of a pika (small cute-looking rodent) darting back to its burrow. Roughly the size of a small rabbit, the adorable creatures were everywhere.
The are hiking trails aplenty up the rugged cliffs just begging to be explored. A variety of wildlife calls the valley home, including eagles and other birds of prey, ibex, argali, and snow leopard.
As the gorge narrowed, the landscape turned rocky, and we found ourselves walking on a narrow strip of dry land along the edge of the fast flowing stream.
A little further up, the way forward involved walking through the stream and getting our shoes wet, which we were not prepared for. We had reached the narrowest point of the gorge, after trekking forty-five minutes through the ruggedly beautiful deep canyon.
This shot was taken by perching on a tiny ledge midway up a rock face, for a top-down view of the stream before it disappeared around a bend.
Though we did not complete the entire length of the gorge, being serenaded by a trickling stream while walking through a deep canyon in the middle of a hot and dry desert, is an awesome experience.
On the return journey, we headed up a trail to the lookout point and totally enjoyed the view and the adrenaline rush.
We ended the 1.5 hour walk on a high note.
Yolyn Am (Vulture Valley) is a beautiful gorge that cuts through Zuun Saikhan mountain of The Gurvan Saikhan mountain range in Omnogovi province. The National Park and surrounding mountains is home to the snow leopard, argali, ibex, lammergeier vultures, eagles and pika. A protected site sincce 1965, it lies 62 km north west of Dalanzadgad.
Visited 13 September 2018
The next morning, we woke up to snow!!! Though it was freezing cold, I couldn’t resist going out with my camera.
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thank you for the article
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