Can you believe, these are the Khongoryn Els sand dunes as we drive toward them. From this angle, you can really get the perspective to see how impressive they are– a mountain range in scope.
Khongoryn Els is a chain of beautiful sand dunes that rise up like mountains in the otherwise flat / rocky Gobi. The biggest sand dune and the one pictured here is 100k long, 10k wide, and 300m high. And that’s 300 meters of your feet sinking through the sand about a foot. It felt exactly like climbing up a mountain of fresh powder: tough, but fun and silly, with amazing views at the top.
The magical Khongoryn Els by day
another, addictive sunset
Rocky beauty right outside Khongoryn Els.
Tara V. the massive sand dune
Tara V. the massive sand dune
We took a day to adventure around Yolyn Am, which is a beautifully runnable mountain range in the Gurvan Saikhan Mountains of southern Mongolia. Here we explored the ridges to our heart’s content, and fell in love with trail-less running alongside hundreds of mountain animals.
it’s amazing to see the hills rise up from the steppe
lucky for my fetish with clambering over rock, rocky sections are characteristic of the Gobi.
Laurel whispers to mountain goats on our exploration run up and down Yolyn Am’s valleys.
not running for gold 