Travel to Orkhon Valley

The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, encompasses 121,967 hectares of grassland along Mongolia’s longest river. For over two millennia, this fertile corridor through the Khangai Mountains has drawn successive waves of nomadic peoples who recognized its strategic value—abundant water, rich pastures, and a favorable microclimate that made it ideal for both herding and rare permanent settlement.

The valley’s history as a seat of imperial power begins with the Xiongnu (the ancient enemies of Han China), continues through the Göktürk Khaganate whose Orkhon inscriptions represent the oldest Turkic writing, and reaches its zenith with the Uyghur Empire and the Mongol Empire. At Khar Balgas, 30 kilometers north of modern Kharkhorin, stand the haunting ruins of Ordu-Baliq—the Uyghur capital from 744-840 CE that was the first walled city in Mongolian history, complete with palaces, temples, and markets served by the Silk Road. The 1,124-kilometer Orkhon River that nourishes this valley flows north to eventually reach Lake Baikal, carrying the waters—and the stories—of Central Asia to Siberia.

In 1220, Genghis Khan established a camp at Karakorum that would become the administrative heart of history’s largest contiguous land empire. His son Ögedei Khan transformed this camp into a proper city beginning in 1235, constructing palaces, temples, and the legendary silver tree fountain that dispensed wine, airag, rice mead, and honey mead to visiting dignitaries. At its peak, Karakorum drew merchants, craftsmen, diplomats, and religious figures from across Eurasia—Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and shamanists all found welcome within its walls.

The Flemish friar William of Rubruck, who visited in 1254, described a cosmopolitan city of twelve pagan temples, two mosques, and a Nestorian church. Though Kublai Khan moved the capital to Beijing in 1264, Karakorum retained symbolic importance until Ming forces razed it in 1388. Today, two of the four stone turtles that marked the city’s boundaries still stand sentinel over archaeological remains that continue to yield discoveries. The Karakorum Museum houses over 3,000 artifacts including a remarkable 7th-century aristocrat’s tomb, offering insight into the sophisticated culture that flourished on these grasslands.

In 1586, Abtai Sain Khan ordered the construction of Erdene Zuu Monastery on the ruins of Karakorum, using stones from the fallen imperial capital to build Mongolia’s first Buddhist monastery. After meeting with the third Dalai Lama, he declared Tibetan Buddhism the state religion of Mongolia—a spiritual transformation that would reshape Mongolian culture for centuries. The monastery’s planners surrounded the complex with walls measuring 400 by 400 meters, punctuated by 108 stupas representing the sacred Buddhist number.

By 1792, Erdene Zuu housed 62 temples and 10,000 monks, making it one of the most important religious centers in Central Asia. This golden age ended violently in 1939 when Communist authorities ordered its destruction, executing hundreds of monks and razing most structures. Only three temples and the outer stupa wall survived—reportedly saved by pressure from Stalin himself as a showpiece for international visitors. After communism’s fall in 1990, the monastery was returned to Buddhist control and is once again an active place of worship. Visitors can witness monks chanting in candlelit temples, view rescued thangka paintings and sculptures, and walk the perimeter of stupas at sunset when shadows stretch across the steppe.