The western Gobi region is bisected by the Altai mountain range, and is a rather inhospitable area for raising livestock or planting. Still, it is a beautiful area containing many oasises and is home to a surprising population of wildlife, some rare, including snow leopards, wild asses, Gobi bears, wild Bactrian camels, Przewalski's Horse, marmots and jerboas.

The most famous mountain peak in the Altai range is Eej Khairkhan, the Dearest or Sacred Mother. Eej means mother and Khairkhan is an honorific which translates as dearest. This peak is noted for its beautiful waterfall which flows into nine pools, called the Nine Pots, each situated like stepping stones down the slope. There was a hermit who lived in a cave here about one hundred years ago which led to this mountain becoming a popular pilgrimage destination.
Photographs of the mountain and the Nine Pots

In addition to the rocky mountainous landscape, the western Gobi also includes the Junggar Basin, with fresh-water lakes fed by mountain streams in the upper elevations. In the lower elevations, one can find salt ponds and marshes in the dry rocky valleys. The Junggar Basin lies in Dzungaria which is in the northern section of Xinjiang province in China. Dzungaria is a corrupted Mongolian term meaning left hand, and was a Mongolian kingdom in the seventeen and eighteenth centuries before it fell to the Qings.

The northern route of the Silk Road went through Dzungaria, though it was not a heavily traveled route, due the lack of grass for the pack animals and that it only led to steppe-land, and not to a trading hub. Still, it was a way to avoid the privations of the Talamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin as well as the brigands on the more heavily traveled southern routes, and perhaps worth the detour.

There are a number of national parks and protected areas in the Gov-Altai region. The largest of these is The Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area which encompasses over four million hectares in southern Mongolia (Gobi A) and almost nine hundred thousand hectares in Dzungaria (Gobi B) (a hectare is a little less than four hundred square miles). This is the fourth largest reserve in the world and is home to many endangered species, and is very difficult to visit due to its remote location. In fact, you will need to hire a guide to find many of the interesting spots in this region, particularly the paleolithic rock paintings in the Khoit Tsenkher caves near Khovd and the late bronze/early iron age art at Yamaan Us.
Photographs of the Rock Paintings


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