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Monasteries & temples

Mongolia's most important Buddhist sites, from Gandan in the capital to Erdene Zuu at the old imperial city of Kharkhorin and the remote Amarbayasgalant in the north.

  1. Erdene Zuu Monastery (Monasteries & temples): Mongolia's oldest surviving Buddhist monastery (1585), surrounded by a wall of 108 white stupas.
  2. Gandan Monastery (Monasteries & temples): Mongolia's largest working monastery, home to a 26 m golden statue of Avalokiteshvara.
  3. Amarbayasgalant Monastery (Monasteries & temples): One of Mongolia's most beautiful monasteries, built in the 1730s in a remote valley.
  4. Aryabal Meditation Temple (Monasteries & temples): A hillside temple in Terelj reached by a path of 108 steps, with views over the park.
  5. Mandshir Monastery (Monasteries & temples): Ruins of a monastery in a forested valley on the south side of Bogd Khan mountain.
  6. Ongi Monastery (Monasteries & temples): The ruins of two large monasteries on the banks of the Ongi river, once home to over a thousand monks.
  7. Tövkhön Monastery (Monasteries & temples): A small hermitage high on a forested rock, built by Zanabazar, Mongolia's great Buddhist artist.

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