3-Day Shambhala & Nomad Trip by Train

Dornogovi Province is located in eastern Mongolia and was established in 1931. Its provincial capital, Sainshand, is approximately 450 km from Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. The province shares a 600 km-long border with China.
There are no major rivers or lakes in Dornogovi Province, but the region has abundant underground water resources.
The entire province lies within the Gobi region, featuring a landscape of both desert and steppe. It has an extreme continental climate, with summer temperatures reaching as high as +41°C and winter temperatures dropping to as low as -40°C.

Khan Bayanzurkh Mountain is located approximately 27 km southwest of Sainshand, the capital of Dornogovi Province. It rises 1,031.9 meters above sea level and is considered one of the Seven Sacred Mountains of Khalkha Mongolia.
Believers regard the mountain as a sacred place where the spirit of the revered Noble Saint, Noyon Khutagt, resides. They believe that expressing their wishes in their native language will help make them come true. For this reason, the mountain is also known as the “Black Mountain of Wishes.”
At the foot of the mountain stands a four-meter-high statue of Buddha, carved from natural granite believed to be approximately 300,000 years old.
As part of the traditional rituals, women, children, and elderly visitors climb approximately 100 meters up the lower slopes to reach a small temple halfway up the mountain, where they perform ceremonies dedicated to the sacred mountain.
Men traditionally climb to the summit, where the mountain’s sacred ovoo (stone cairn) is located. They circle the ovoo, offer half of the alcoholic drink they have brought, and whisper their wishes. They then take the remaining drink home, believing it has been imbued with special spiritual power.
All visitors are traditionally expected to write their wishes on paper and burn them at a designated place while quietly whispering their prayers. This ritual is believed to help their wishes come true.

Khamar Monastery is located approximately 45 kilometers south of Sainshand, the capital of Dornogovi Province.
In 1820, at the age of 17, Danzanravjaa, a renowned 19th-century Mongolian Buddhist spiritual leader, poet, and educator known as the Noble Saint Noyon Khutagt, established Khamar Monastery at a place called Övör Khamar. At its peak, the monastery complex had more than 80 temples and housed over 500 monks.
During the political purges, when the monastery was destroyed, monks secretly rescued 64 chests of religious artifacts from the monastery’s relic temple. For 52 years, these precious objects were preserved by successive generations, hidden underground and inside caves until 1990. The artifacts were eventually returned to Khamar Monastery, allowing its religious activities to resume.
Today, the monastery continues to operate with more than 10 monks.
Near the monastery lies Shambhala, a sacred spiritual site believed to help people overcome ignorance, darkness, and selfishness and attain spiritual enlightenment.

The nomadic herder families living near the Mini Gobi raise the traditional five types of livestock: horses, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. They make their living by herding animals and producing traditional dairy products. Visitors can observe their daily routines and gain insight into Mongolia’s traditional nomadic lifestyle.

Dornogovi Province is home to numerous paleontological sites where dinosaur fossils and other prehistoric remains have been discovered. These fossils date back millions of years and provide valuable evidence of the ancient environment and wildlife that once inhabited the Gobi Desert. Research has identified around 30 paleontological sites across seven soums of Dornogovi Province, highlighting the region’s importance to Mongolia’s natural heritage