Distance: 280 kM

On day three in the Gobi desert we woke to a warm, sunny day with no wind and after breakfast we set off across the Gobi sometimes on the track sometimes not our destination was Ich Gazaryn Chuluu National Park a remote National Park in Eastern Gobi.

Along the way we stopped at a mineral spring in the absolute middle of nowhere. The spring is said to cure everything, to me it tasted just like sulphur.

On our journey south there was some concern about the condition of the road so we stopped a few times to ask directions from nomads. It seemed to me every Nomad gave us a different direction to go in and it felt like we driving in circles. Our last stop was at the Ger of a 73 year old lady who had fallen of her horse last year and broken her hip. She invited us in for tea and fermented yogurt and a chat. She told us about her family, her daughter was a vet and her son a doctor, her family were wealthy with +1000 head of stock which is recognised by the Mongolian government as being very special. After the lady had broken her hip they family had bought her a car from the earnings of the cashmere.

We found this story a lot in Mongolia, in one generation they had gone from nomadic herders to uni graduates.

Finally arrived at Ich Gazaryn Chuluu National Park which has the most amazing 20 million year old rock formations. Stunning. This Gobi Desert Mongolia National Park is considered to be a remote park, and here I was thinking all of the Gobi was pretty remote!

The area is also popular with rock climbers.

This is the venue for an annual Long-Song contest set in a natural amphithetre and high on the hill nearby is a monument to the countries most famous Long-song singer. We camped the night among the rocks, opened a bottle of wine and watched the sun set.

In the morning it was still and quiet and I popped Dobby the drone up to have a look. I got some nice photos although I was getting some kind of magnetic interference to Dobbys compass – very strange.

We all agreed we could have spent 4 or 5 days at this beautiful spot. Unfortunately we could not so it was back in the car and onto the next destination across the vast Gobi desert.