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A canal runs through the middle of the village and flows into the Orkhon River. The capital of the Mongol Empire was once located here and was called Karakorum. The second Khan, Ogedei, developed the main transport network and built an international city here. The valley on both banks of the Orkhon River is inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site, the "Cultural Landscape of the Orkhon Valley". We hope you will stay in Kharkhorin and visit the nearby ruins too.

Getting Around Kharkhorin

Besides public facilities such as the town office and police, there are hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. There are also many tourist camps on the Orkhon riverbed and elsewhere. Just west of the bus terminal is a zakh (market) where food and other goods can be bought.

Start sightseeing with Erdene Zuu. Enter the grounds by the west gate, and after your visit leave by the east gate and go about 5 minutes on foot to the turtle stone and the temple site of Mongke Khan. You can get around on foot, including the Karakorum Museum. Nearby lodgings will usually provide a free transfer from the bus terminal if you contact them in advance. Another option is to take a long-distance bus from Ulaanbaatar to Kharkhorin and join a tour arranged at a guesthouse or similar.

Highlights

Erdene Zuu (Эрдэнэ зуу)

[A Buddhist monastery that recalls the Mongol Empire era] Founded in 1586, the first Buddhist monastery of the Khalkh Mongols. "Erdene" is the Old Indian "ratna" altered, meaning "treasure". "Zuu" means Buddha image or temple in Tibetan. It was built on the site of Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire, by the Khalkh ruler Abtai Sain Khan. Palace scrap materials were used. At its founding it belonged to the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, but in the time of the living Buddha Zanabazar it converted to the Gelug school.

It is surrounded on all four sides (420 m around) by 102 stupas, which together with six inside the grounds make 108, the sacred number of Buddhism. In the late 18th century 62 halls had been built within the grounds, but in 1939, by order of the head of the people's government, most were destroyed. What remained were only a few, such as the three halls of the three Chinese-style temples (Gurvan Zuu) and the Tibetan-style hall Labrang. It became a museum in 1947 and barely kept alive, and in 1990, after democratization, was revived as a religious facility. In the Gurvan Zuu, besides seated Buddhas of youth, maturity and old age, many fine works of Mongolian Buddhist art remain. In 2004 it was inscribed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage as part of the cultural landscape of the Orkhon Valley. On a hill outside the grounds a turtle stone from the Mongol Empire era remains, and from that hill you can take in the whole of the monastery.

Turtle Stone (Мэлхий хад)

[A turtle-shaped stone pedestal] A stone statue in the shape of a turtle, often seen in Mongolia, called a turtle pedestal. It was brought from China and made as a base for erecting stone steles. They were made in the Turkic and Uighur eras before the Mongol Empire. There are three turtle stones in the city of Kharkhorin. The first is just northeast of the wall of Erdene Zuu. It is on the site of a Buddhist temple of the Mongol Empire era, Xingyuan Pavilion (the temple site of Mongke Khan), and was protected and restored with German assistance. The second turtle stone is about 500 m east of Erdene Zuu. It was buried underground but is now enshrined above ground. The third turtle stone is placed on a hill about 1 km southwest of Erdene Zuu. A phallic stone is also enshrined beside it. The fourth turtle stone is left unfinished about 10 km west on the outskirts of Kharkhorin.

Karakorum Museum (Хархорум музей)

[Exhibiting buried cultural properties of the Karakorum city ruins] Next to Erdene Zuu, it opened in 2011. It exhibits the results of free aid from the Japanese government and joint research by Japanese and Mongolian researchers. The permanent exhibition is in four parts, the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the ancient city era and the Mongol Empire era, so you can understand in order the history up to the founding of the Mongol Empire. A must-see is the diorama recreating the capital Karakorum. From the way religious facilities such as Buddhist, Islamic and Christian ones, a Chinese merchants' quarter and a Muslim merchants' quarter are scattered about, you can see that it flourished as an international city, accepting different cultures and guaranteeing freedom of faith and of ways of life. Japanese explanations are also available and easy to understand.

Karakorum, the Former International City

In 1220, on Chinggis's orders, a base for the western expedition was built on the banks of the Orkhon River. After that, Ogedei, the second Mongol ruler, who destroyed the Jin dynasty, began construction of a new city on this site in 1235. In a corner of the steppe where nomadic states such as the Turks and Uighurs had once had their bases, Karakorum, the capital of a world empire, began its journey.

Ogedei placed several detached palaces around it and developed the relay-station system called "yam" to connect the main transport routes to Karakorum. As a result, people, goods, money and information flowed in from all over the world, and Karakorum quickly grew into an international city. According to the French missionary Rubruck, who visited in 1254, around a solemn palace with a nave and aisles there were a Muslim commercial quarter and a Chinese artisans' quarter, and there were said to be 12 Buddhist temples, 2 Muslim places of worship and 1 Christian church. The prosperity of the imperial capital was also widely advertised by figures such as Carpini of Italy and Marco Polo.

Today the site is called Kharkhorin, and the Tibetan Buddhist monastery of Erdene Zuu, built at the end of the 16th century, draws almost all the tourists. There are no ruins to see that convey the splendor of the empire. At the very least, climb the turtle stone hill to the south and look out over Erdene Zuu, and let your thoughts drift to those days. For in the grassland just north of the monastery lies the sleeping city wall, 1,450 m north-south by 1,138 m east-west.

Elsen Tasarkhai (Элсэн тасархай)

Sand dunes continuing about 80 km from the east to the northwest of Batkhaan Mountain, the southern part called Mongol Els (sand) and the northern part Khugnus Tarnyn Els. Near Ulaanbaatar, many travelers visit as a place to casually experience the desert. It is also well located for access to the tourist destination Kharkhorin.

Lake Ugii (Өгий нуур)

A freshwater lake in Ugii Nuur district, Arkhangai Province. About half of the lake is shallow, under 3 m deep. It was registered under the Ramsar Convention in 1998 as a habitat visited by about 150 kinds of waterfowl. It is an object of worship for neighboring residents, and women are forbidden to enter the lake water.

Shankh Monastery (Шанхын хийд)

A Buddhist monastery that appears suddenly in the middle of the steppe. In 1647 the living Buddha Zanabazar founded it, wishing for the peace of all living beings. It is located about 25 km southeast of Karakorum. For a long time it moved about as a ger-style monastery, but in 1787 it settled at its present site. Just before the People's Revolution it had 20 temples, but it was closed in 1937 and mostly destroyed. At that time Buddhist heritage such as its Vajrapani statue was moved secretly and escaped loss. Among these, the Kalachakra mandala depicting 722 deities is regarded as the finest piece in Mongolia.

Khoshoo Tsaidam Museum (Хөшөө цайдам музей)

A museum where you can see precious inscriptions up close. It is about 45 km north of Kharkhorin by a direct road. It is attached to a site from the Second Turkic Khaganate, which revived in the latter half of the 7th century and fell in the mid-8th century. Exhibited are the memorial steles of the third ruler Bilge Khagan and his brother Kul Tegin, turtle pedestals, stone statues that adorned the site, rows of stones and other relics. It was developed at the beginning of this century by a joint survey by Mongolia and Turkey, and there are also panels introducing the history of the excavations. The highlight is the two restored and rebuilt Turkic inscriptions (also called the Orkhon inscriptions). They are carved in Old Turkic script and the Old Turkic language. They are historical sources conveying the living voice of the steppe nomads and first-class material for reconstructing Turkic history.

Bilge Khagan Site (Билгэ хааны гэрэлт хөшөө)

A site where a replica of the memorial stele stands as if keeping watch. The mausoleum of Bilge Khagan, who died in 734, is within the grounds of the Khoshoo Tsaidam Museum, as is the site of his brother Kul Tegin, who died earlier in 731. In joint excavations by Mongolia and Turkey that began in 2001, many relics, beginning with gold and silver ornaments, were unearthed from the site of the elder brother's mausoleum. The main finds are displayed in the Chinggis Khaan Museum in Ulaanbaatar (some in the National Museum of Mongolia). Here you can see a full-size replica of the memorial stele, the mausoleum's foundation stones, a huge rock presumed to be a sacrificial altar for offering gifts, and more. At the Kul Tegin site, a memorial stele over 3 m high set on a turtle pedestal has been restored, evoking its former grandeur.

Khar Balgas Site (Хар балгас)

A former walled city that suddenly appears in the steppe. A fortress ruin on the west bank across the Orkhon River from Khoshoo Tsaidam. It was originally the fortress of a protectorate built during Tang rule in the mid-7th century. After the Uighurs defeated the Turks in the mid-8th century and became masters of the Mongolian steppe, it was reused as the Uighur capital. In various sources it is recorded as Ordu Baliq, "city of the throne/palace", and the ruins are also called Kara Balgasun. The central fortress is 420 m × 340 m. Built with the Chinese rammed-earth technique, earthen walls reaching 8 to 10 m survive. Inside the city you can also see partitions of residential areas and earthworks thought to be traces of towers. Climbing the city wall and looking out beyond it, you can get a bird's-eye view of several small towers attached on the south side and, to the southwest, traces of city blocks spreading over a dozen or so km². From this site the Kara Balgasun inscription, carved in three scripts, Sogdian, Chinese and Turkic, was also unearthed.

Khar Bukhyn Balgas Site (Хар бухын балгас)

The traces of a "black ox" left on the steppe. In Mongolian it means "ruins of the black ox", and it is also called the Khar Bukh (black ox) ruins. The square city site of 500 m × 500 m is presumed to have been built in the era of the Khitan (Liao), who ruled the Mongolian plateau in the 9th to 10th centuries. Around it the fortress site Chintolgoi also survives, so you can tour the Khitan-Liao era ruins together. The stone stupa that survives almost in the center of the main wall was added in the first half of the 17th century, in the era when Tibetan Buddhism spread. In 1970, from inside this half-collapsed stupa, a manuscript on birch bark written in Mongolian and Tibetan, the "birch bark documents", was found.

Baibalyk Site (Байбалык)

Earthen walls telling stories across the ages. A fortress site built on the north bank of the Selenge River. The second Uighur khagan, Bayanchur (Moyanchur's successor), campaigned in China as reinforcement for the Tang during the famous An Lushan Rebellion (755–763). It is recorded in his memorial inscription, the "Sine Usu inscription", that the city was built with the huge spoils obtained then and rewards from the Tang emperor. Its name is Baibalyk, and it is also known by the Chinese translation "City of Wealth and Honor". On the land now passed down in Mongolian as Bibolak there are three sites. They are square fortresses about 230 m (Bibolak), 140 m (Bor Tolgoi) and 320 m (Arslan Uud) on a side, built with the rammed-earth technique. Many parts have collapsed into mounds, but the remaining part of the east and north walls of the first fortress is about 7 m high.

Orkhon Waterfall (Орхоны хүрхрээ)

Mongolia's largest waterfall. A drop of about 22 m and a width of 5 to 10 m. In Mongolia's low-rainfall climate the water volume cannot always be rich, but it is a popular sightseeing spot as a precious landscape. From the cliff on the south bank you can go down to the plunge pool, but be careful as it is slippery. Nearby there are tourist camps such as the Mungun Khuree Tourist Camp (open only April to November). In winter the water freezes.

Ongi River Site (Онгийн голын дурсгал)

The number of balbal is proof of strength. A Turkic site built in the first half of the 8th century. Lines of stones called balbal are arranged. It is said they were set in as many numbers as the enemies the dead person had defeated in life. Fragments of Turkic inscriptions erected in memory of members of the royal family of the Second Khaganate also partly survive. The main fragments of the inscription are on display in the provincial museum in Arvaikheer. At the site, stone figures (popularly "stone men", khun chuluu in Mongolian) and stone sheep are also placed. Among the balbal, which number over 150 and extend 900 m, there is one standing stone hiding an inscription in Turkic script. Please do observe closely.

Tövkhön Monastery (Төвхөн хийд)

A monastery in the sky floating over the Khangai. In 1648, the living Buddha Zanabazar liked this place and founded this Buddhist monastery. Its halls stand on the summit of Shireet Ulaan Mountain, straddling the north and south Khangai. In 1688 it was caught up in the conflict between the Oirats of western Mongolia and the Khalkh and fell into ruin, but it was revived in 1773. In 1939 the people's government destroyed it, leaving two temples and two stupas, but it was rebuilt after democratization. Because it is a mountain monastery, you have to go back and forth by a rocky route, and climbing equipment and mental preparation are needed, but the scenery is beautiful.