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Great lakes Basin

Uvs lake Basin

Uvs Lake Basin

UNESCO has recognized this northernmost part of the Great Lakes Basin as a World Heritage Site in two categories. First, for the presence of rare and endangered animals and plants. And second, for its untouched and pristine native landscapes. This includes the nearby Harhiraa and Turgen Mountains, which are snow-capped and home to a number of glaciers. In the east is Altan Els (Golden Sands), the northernmost sand dunes in the world. In total, the Uvs Lakes basin is 160km from north to south and 600km from east to west.

Uvs Nuur is the largest lake (3350 sq.m.) in Mongolia and is 84km across at its widest point. It is located only 759 meters above sea level. Visitors must be prepared for mosquitoes in the summer. It is a salt water lake which is not easy to get to. Compared to similar altitudes, it has the coldest, warmest and driest conditions on Earth. Temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade below freezing are common in winter, the record being -58 degrees. In the summer +40 degrees is not uncommon.

How to travel there:

There are flights from Ulaanbaatar to the Ulaangom airfield at least three times a week. For the land portion of your trip, you will need to be self-sufficient

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What our guests say

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  • Living the mongolian way

    Great place to stay and experience mongolian way of living, no tv, wifi, phone. Just nature and great company of the staff and livestocks of mongolia. The toilet is a hole in the ground covered by a shed. It is clean, but can be smelly to those used to city life. Not hot water supply, inform the staff that you like to hot water half an hour earlier so that they can boil it over camel dung 🙂

    5 star rating

    joycel
  • Living the mongolian way

    Great place to stay and experience mongolian way of living, no tv, wifi, phone. Just nature and great company of the staff and livestocks of mongolia. The toilet is a hole in the ground covered by a shed. It is clean, but can be smelly to those used to city life. Not hot water supply, inform the staff that you like to hot water half an hour earlier so that they can boil it over camel dung 🙂

    5 star rating

    joycel