Distance: 365 kilometres from Ulaanbaatar
Duration: 7-9 hours by road
Accommodation: Ger camps
Activities: cultural tours and horseback riding, hiking and fishing.
The first Buddhist monastery, Erdenezuu, was built on the ruins of Karakorum in 1586 on the orders of Abtai Sain Khan, a distant but powerful relative of Chinggis Khaan. Stone monuments, bricks and many other building materials from the ruins of Karakorum were used in the construction of the monastery.
The monastery occupies 1,600 square meters, an area exactly 10 times smaller than the original city; the monastery is surrounded by a stone wall with 108 stupas (Buddhist shrines) and four gates. The Erdenezuu monastery preserves works made by Mongolian artisans, painters, sculptors, embroiderers and craftsmen from the 17-19th centuries.
Erdenezuu flourished before the 20th century, containing one hundred temples and one thousand resident lamas (Buddhist monks) at one point.
During the political purges of the 1930s, most of the temples were destroyed and many of the lamas were either executed or imprisoned. The temple remained closed until 1965 when it was finally permitted by the Mongolian government to reopen as a museum, not a place of worship. However, Erdenezuu clandestinely kept its former glory as a sacred place of worship for local Mongolians, and now represents an important historical site for foreign visitors as well.