Introduction
Straddling northern China and southern Mongolia, the Gobi is one of the world's most dramatic arid regions.
Dinosaurs once roamed the landscape of what is now the largest desert in Asia, and some major fossil discoveries have been made among the sand dunes, gorges and frosty plateaus that comprise the Gobi. Most notably, at the Flaming Cliffs - named because of their striking orange colour - the American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews found the first dinosaur eggs during an expedition in the 1920s.
Another popular site in the Gobi is Hongor Sands, where camel treks can be taken into the giant, shifting sand dunes.
In the desert it can be extremely hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter, but an array of wildlife has evolved to cope with the extremes, including Bactrian camels, wolves, snow leopards and bears - sightings of which can be had amid the ‘singing sands' of Gurvansaikhan National Park.
This protected area takes its name from the Gurvan Saikhan mountain range, which means ‘three beauties' on account of the three sub-ranges, a lofty terrain of ice fields and rugged ravines such as the Yol Gorge where vultures circle overhead.
Trips out into these wild places, staying in gers, provide a wonderful insight into the lives of the country's nomads.
