The Gobi is not the Sahara. It is not even mostly sand, most of the Gobi is gravel steppe, short grass, and wind. But the sand we do have is some of the most spectacular in the world. Khongoryn Els, the Singing Dunes, rise 300 metres out of the flat. You hear them hum when the wind hits.
Day 1: Flights and First Camel
Fly UB to Dalanzadgad. Drive to the first camp. Meet your camel, a two-humped Bactrian. They are gentler than you expect. Slower than you expect. Utterly at home in the heat.
Day 2: The Dunes
Four hours to the base of Khongoryn Els. A climb up in sliding sand. A 300-metre slide down. At the top, total silence. At the bottom, you are laughing.
Day 3: Yol Valley Ice
Counter-intuitive. A glacier canyon in the desert. In late summer the ice is down to a narrow stream. Eagles overhead. Cold wind funnelling through.
Day 4: Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs
Where Roy Chapman Andrews found the first dinosaur eggs in 1923. Red sandstone cliffs. Fossils still surface in rain. We keep distance from the protected zones.
Day 5: Tsagaan Suvarga
White sandstone columns that look like a ruined cathedral. The photograph everyone wants. Then back to Dalanzadgad and the flight home.
The Camel
Is uncomfortable. Honesty. The first two hours are a meditation on lower back pain. By the end of day two, you have your rhythm. By day five, you are sad to hand it back.
