Mongolia's Epic Overland Trails: Seven Routes Across Steppe, Desert and Taiga

Mongolia is one of the last places on Earth where you can drive for days without meeting a paved road. Its 1.5 million square kilometres hold the Gobi Desert, the glaciers of the Altai, the open steppe of the centre, volcanic lakes and the taiga of the far north, and most of it is reached on dirt tracks that split, braid and fade across the grass. For overlanders, it's one of the great journeys.

It's also a place where the usual rules of route planning stop working. Navigation, fuel range, weather, river levels and your ability to recover a stuck vehicle matter more than speed. This guide covers seven of Mongolia's epic overland routes, from the dunes of the South Gobi to the reindeer herders of the Darkhad, with what to expect on each one. Every route has its own TrailX route you can open, check and download.

The routes at a glance

How to read this guide

• Distances are for the route as mapped in OpenStreetMap, following the tracks between the main stops. Real driving distances vary: tracks braid, river crossings move and drivers take detours around mud.
• Difficulty and surface come from TrailX's analysis of each route, but in Mongolia the condition of a track can change completely with one storm. Treat them as a starting point.
• "Paved" rarely means the whole way. Several main roads have been paved in the last decade, including Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad and to Mörön, but most of what makes these routes interesting is off the tarmac.

Gobi Gurvansaikhan Circuit: dunes, gorges and dinosaurs

Gobi Gurvansaikhan Circuit · South Gobi · about 447 km loop

The South Gobi is the Mongolia most people imagine: sand, rock and sky. This loop starts in Dalanzadgad, the provincial capital (about 1,470 m), linked to Ulaanbaatar by paved road since 2014, and runs through Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, at about 27,000 km² the largest national park in the country.

• Yolyn Am, the "Valley of the Lammergeier", is a narrow gorge in the Zuun Saikhany range where a thick ice field used to last all summer; these days it usually melts by September.
• Khongoryn Els, the "Singing Sands", is a wall of dunes about 100 km long and 6–12 km wide, rising to about 300 m at its highest. The sand hums in the wind, and the climb at sunset is one of the great Gobi experiences.
• Bayanzag, the Flaming Cliffs, is where the first dinosaur eggs were found in the 1920s. The red sandstone glows at dusk. Removing fossils is illegal.

Beyond the paved road to Yolyn Am, it's unpaved desert tracks, rocky plains and soft sand, with long gaps between fuel stops. Summer highs can pass 38–40 °C.

Altai Tavan Bogd Expedition: glaciers at the end of the road

Altai Tavan Bogd Expedition · Bayan-Ölgii · about 181 km one way

In the far west, where Mongolia meets China and Russia, the land rises into the Altai. From Ölgii, the mostly Kazakh capital of Bayan-Ölgii, the route runs through Sagsai and Tsengel, up the Khovd river valley and into Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, to the base camp below the Potanin Glacier, about 14 km long and Mongolia's longest. Above it rises Khüiten Peak (4,356 m), the highest point in the country.

The first 27 km to Sagsai are paved. After that it's gravel, riverbed and sand, and three to five river crossings, two to four of them in the Khovd valley. In heavy snowmelt years, from late June to early July, these can be hip-deep with a strong current. Along the way are Khoton and Khurgan lakes, petroglyphs listed by UNESCO and Kazakh families who still hunt with golden eagles.

A border-zone permit is required, because the park sits against two international borders. It's arranged in advance through a licensed Mongolian operator, and a park fee is paid in cash at the ranger station. The best window is July to early August.

Trans-Mongolian Steppe Route: the classic crossing

Trans-Mongolian Steppe Route · Central and northern Mongolia · about 1,031 km

If you only drive one long route in Mongolia, make it this one. From Ulaanbaatar it runs west on paved road for about 360 km to Kharkhorin, the site of Karakorum, the old capital of the Mongol Empire, and the walled Erdene Zuu monastery, founded in 1585 and part of the Orkhon Valley World Heritage site. It continues to Tsetserleg, then to Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake (about 2,060 m), a Ramsar wetland beside the extinct Khorgo volcano, whose 180 m-wide crater you can walk around. From there it turns north to Mörön and on to Khatgal on the shore of Lake Khövsgöl.

The mix changes as you go: smooth highway in the east, dirt tracks and river crossings in the middle, and paved road again from Mörön. Plan on more than a week to do it justice.

Orkhon Valley Waterfall Route: into the World Heritage valley

Orkhon Valley Waterfall Route · Övörkhangai · about 92 km one way

The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, inscribed by UNESCO in 2004, is the cradle of Mongolian empires: grassland, river meadows and nomad camps that have been grazed for thousands of years. This route follows the valley from Kharkhorin to the Orkhon Waterfall (Ulaan Tsutgalan), which drops about 20–24 m into a gorge cut through old lava flows.

It's an easier introduction to off-road Mongolia than the Gobi or the Altai, but the tracks are very rocky and slow, and the falls only run after the first good summer rains, usually from July.

Khövsgöl East Shore Track: the blue pearl of Mongolia

Khövsgöl East Shore Track · Khövsgöl · about 172 km one way

Lake Khövsgöl is extraordinary: 136 km long, up to 267 m deep, at 1,645 m above sea level, and holding about 70% of Mongolia's fresh water, about 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world. Taiga forest and mountains rise straight from its shores.

The track up the east shore from Khatgal to Khankh, near the Russian border, is one of the roughest drives in the country. After about 30 km it becomes a series of bumpy, muddy trails better suited to horses, and the Egiin Gol river can flood the flats south of Khatgal. Lake ice can last into June and snow can fall in early July. In winter, people still drive on the frozen lake, despite a ban and dozens of vehicles lost through the ice. Don't.

Darkhad Depression Route: to the reindeer herders

Darkhad Depression Route · Khövsgöl · about 241 km one way

West of Khövsgöl lies the Darkhad Depression, a basin about 160 km long and 40 km wide at about 1,600 m, full of lakes, bogs, larch forest and rivers. This route crosses it from Mörön to Tsagaannuur, the last village before the taiga and the gateway to the Tsaatan (Dukha) reindeer herders.

It's slow, rough going: allow more than 10 hours, and consider an overnight stop in Ulaan-Uul about halfway. Expect river crossings and boggy ground, especially after rain. Beyond Tsagaannuur, vehicles can't go on: the herders' camps are reached on horseback with a local guide. A border permit is needed because the area is close to Russia; it can be arranged in Tsagaannuur or in advance.

Khentii Heartland Route: in the footsteps of Chinggis Khaan

Khentii Heartland Route · Khentii · about 619 km

East of Ulaanbaatar, the Khentii Mountains are where the story of Chinggis Khaan begins. This route follows paved road to Chinggis City (formerly Öndörkhaan, renamed in 2013) on the Kherlen river, then rural roads and tracks north through Binder to Dadal on the Onon river, one of several places that claim to be Chinggis Khaan's birthplace. Both rivers rise in the Khentii Mountains, home to the sacred mountain Burkhan Khaldun in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area.

It's gentler than the far west or north, with steppe giving way to forested hills, but the roads deteriorate after Chinggis City and turn to mud after rain.

Planning a Mongolian overland trip

• Season. June to September is the window for almost every route. Spring is windy and dusty, and nights are cold all year. September is one of the best months: dry, clear and quieter.
• Fuel. Petrol stations are common in towns but scarce in between. Cards often fail, so carry cash, keep the tank above a quarter full and carry jerry cans on the Gobi, Altai and Darkhad routes.
• Navigation. Tracks split, merge and fade without signs, and mobile data is unreliable. Download offline maps and the GPX for your route before you leave, and double Google's journey times: about 300 km a day is a realistic maximum off the main roads.
• River crossings. Rivers rise fast after storms and snowmelt. Walk any crossing before you drive it, cross early in the day when the water is lowest, and don't cross alone.
• Vehicle and recovery. A high-clearance 4x4 with good tyres, two spares, a compressor, recovery boards and a tow strap is the baseline. Travel with a second vehicle on the remote routes.
• Permits and fees. Border-zone permits are needed in the Altai and Darkhad, and national park fees apply in most protected areas. Arrange border permits through a licensed local operator well in advance.
• Paperwork. Mongolia drives on the right. Carry your home licence with an International Driving Permit, your passport, the vehicle registration and proof of insurance (arranged before you arrive, as it's usually unavailable at the border).
• Naadam. The national festival of wrestling, horse racing and archery takes place on 11–13 July each year. It's a wonderful time to visit, but roads, camps and fuel stations get busy.
• Respect the land. Ask before camping near a ger, take all rubbish out with you and keep to existing tracks where you can. Every new set of tyre marks on the steppe lasts for years.

Sources

• Wikipedia articles for Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, Khongoryn Els, Yolyn Am, Flaming Cliffs, Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, Khüiten Peak, Potanin Glacier, Erdene Zuu, Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake, Khorgo, Orkhon Valley, Orkhon Waterfall, Lake Khövsgöl, Darkhad Valley, Chinggis City, Dadal and the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area.
• Route and condition reports from Discover Altai, Meanwhile in Mongolia, Mongolia Travel Advice, Against the Compass and Lonely Planet.
• Government travel advice from Canada and Ireland.
• OpenStreetMap and BRouter for the route geometry.

Where to next?

• Planning your first overlanding trip
• How to analyse terrain before an off-road adventure
• Silk, salt and spice: the world's ancient trade routes today
• Get the TrailX app for offline maps