Kharkhorin: Monasteries and Cultural Landscape

The cultural landscape of the Orkhon Valley includes Kharakhorum and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004. It follows the upper reaches of the Orkhon through Kharkhorin soum; its average elevation ranges from 1,350 to 2,300 metres above sea level. Historical sites and the landscape together shape Kharkhorin’s character. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, you can begin by considering whether monasteries and museums or natural sites and ruins should be the focus of your trip.

Monastery and Museum in Kharkhorin

Erdene Zuu Monastery was founded by Avtai Khan in 1586 and declared a state museum of religious history in 1965. The three central temples were built without nails and are currently used to display museum exhibits. The monastery’s founding, its later designation as a museum, and the temples’ present-day use are all represented at this site. The Maitreya ceremony at Erdene Zuu Monastery is scheduled for the eighth day of the first spring month in the centre of Kharkhorin.

The Kharakhorum Museum was established to preserve, study and present historical and cultural objects related to the cultural landscape of the Orkhon Valley and the Mongolian capital of Kharakhorum. It also has an outdoor area for traditional Mongolian games. The museum offers educational activities for children and young people there. If you are travelling with children, these activities can provide a practical starting point for exploring the region’s history and traditions.

Ruins and Connections to the Landscape

North of Erdene Zuu, a stone turtle monument stands in front of the open-air museum of the ruins of Kharakhorum. It is 1.10 metres high, 1.25 metres wide and 2.6 metres long. At the mouth of the Bayangol, 13 kilometres north of central Kharkhorin, lie the ruins of two ancient cities. These sites offer a different thematic complement to the monasteries and museums.

Khangai Khairkhan lies 10 kilometres northwest of central Kharkhorin, at the end of the Khangai Mountains, at an elevation of 1,964.3 metres above sea level. The mountain is considered part of the natural heritage of the cultural landscape of the Orkhon Valley and the Orkhon Valley Nature Park. Thus, the destination also has a specific connection to nature, alongside its historical attractions. The different themes can help guide your choice of holiday apartment: would you mainly like to explore cultural sites, or would you also like to include the landscape in your itinerary?

More Destinations and Dates

Shankh Western Monastery was built in 1647 in Kharkhorin soum, on the western bank of the Harz River, 3 to 4 kilometres southeast of the centre of Shankh bag. The Maitreya ceremony at Shankh Monastery is a separate event: it takes place every year on the third day of the month at the beginning of summer in the centre of Shankh bag, 22 kilometres from central Kharkhorin.

The Kharkhorin–Hotont–Khashaat cultural route is designated as a tourist itinerary. The destinations and themes described thus extend from central Kharkhorin to places whose distance from the centre is specified. If you would like to choose a holiday apartment based on your interests, you can take these locations and the cultural events mentioned into account. For a closer look at the place of the same name, visit the destination page Kharkhorin.

For the overview of the wider region, see: Uvurkhangai.

More Destinations

More places in the same destination:

Khujirt.