Photograph: The dunes of Khongoryn Els by Bernard Gagnon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Khongoryn Els is a field of sand dunes in the far south of Mongolia, known locally as Duut Mankhan and popularly as the Singing Sands, lying inside Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park. The dunes cover more than 965 square kilometres, run along the foot of a range of bare mountains, and sit about 180 kilometres beyond Dalanzadgad, the provincial capital, across desert with no paved road. Getting there is a multi-day undertaking from Ulaanbaatar, almost always with a hired vehicle and driver, and that remoteness shapes the bag far more than the sand does.
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The photograph above shows the dunes from a distance: a long band of pale sand with sharp crests, a strip of gravel and scrub in front, and grey, treeless mountains behind under a mostly blue sky.
What the frame cannot show is most of what a visit actually involves. The climb up the highest dune and the low roar the sand makes as it slides, the camels that graze here, the ger camps where visitors sleep, and the thin green line of the Khongor river along the northern edge of the sand are all absent from it. So are the park's other famous sites, the ice gorge of Yolyn Am and the red Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag. Note also that the photograph is of one dune field: the Gobi as a whole is mostly gravel and rocky semi desert, and this is not a picture of it.
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The Singing Sands
The name comes from the sound. When the wind moves the sand, or a slope slips in a small avalanche, the dunes make a deep, sustained noise that sources compare to an aircraft taking off or landing; one traveller guide says that lying on the sand you can hear what sounds like a plane passing overhead. It is not guaranteed on any given afternoon.
The crests are sharp, the faces curve away below them, and the colour shifts between yellow and white as the light changes through the day, which is why early morning and late afternoon are when people climb. The largest dunes are at the north western end of the range. Climbing is slow, hot work on a loose surface, and whatever you wear on your feet will fill with sand.
Along the northern edge runs a small river, the Khongor, fed from underground by the mountains, with green pasture along it. Nomadic families graze camels and horses there, and recorded wildlife includes saker falcons, Pallas's sandgrouse, the saxaul sparrow and corsac and red foxes. Camel rides, usually sold by the hour, start from the herding families and camps near the dunes.
Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park
The dunes are one part of a much larger protected area. Gobi Gurvansaikhan, established in 1993, is the largest national park in Mongolia and takes its name from the Gurvan Saikhan mountains, the Three Beauties, whose higher slopes reach up to 2,600 metres. It shelters, among much else, the snow leopard and the Bactrian camel, although you are far more likely to meet a herder's camel than a wild one.
Most itineraries combine the dunes with two other sites. Yolyn Am is a narrow mountain gorge that holds a sheet of ice through most of the year, which means even a summer visit needs a warm layer in the daypack. Bayanzag, the Flaming Cliffs, is where some of the earliest and most important dinosaur discoveries were made. None of them is in the photograph, and all of them add hours of driving, so a realistic southern Gobi loop is several days long.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Getting There: a Remote Trip, Planned as One
The usual gateway is Dalanzadgad, the capital of Omnogovi province, more than 500 kilometres south of Ulaanbaatar. You can fly there, or go by road, which is a long day. A traveller guide recommends Dalanzadgad as the place to stock up on food before heading into the desert. From there it is about 180 kilometres more to the dunes, by van or four wheel drive over desert tracks.
Plan on a driver, and ideally a guide. Travel guides are blunt that a hired vehicle with a driver is essentially the only way to get around the park, and recommend a guide who knows the area. The FCDO records that outside the capital only about 10% of Mongolia's roads are tarmacked and signposting is minimal, and it asks anyone driving in rural Mongolia to research the route, ask local guides or drivers about conditions ahead, take a back up means of communication such as a satellite phone, pack plenty of water and provisions, and share the route and expected arrival times. If you are thinking of driving yourself, the FCDO says you need a 1968 international driving permit plus your UK licence, that the 1949 permit is no longer accepted, and that you cannot buy one outside the UK.
The fuel shortage changes the planning. The FCDO's latest update reports fuel shortages in Mongolia, including aviation fuel, and warns that disruption may affect domestic and international flights, road travel and access to some remote areas. A dune field 180 kilometres beyond the last town is exactly such an area. Ask your operator in writing how they are securing fuel for the whole loop, whether the vehicle carries spare, and what happens if a flight to or from Dalanzadgad is cancelled. Build at least one spare day into the end of the trip before an international flight, because a traveller guide also warns that vehicles in Mongolia break down and help can take a day or more to arrive.
Ask about permits and border areas. National parks charge an entry fee, so carry some cash. The FCDO says the authorities can treat zones of up to 100 kilometres inside the frontier as a border area needing permission from the State Frontier Guard Authority. The park lies in the far south of the country, so have your operator confirm whether any part of your route needs a permit. The FCDO also reports a foot and mouth disease outbreak in the western provinces of Khovd, Bayan-Ulgii, Govi-Altai and Selenge; Omnogovi is not among them, but it warns that other provinces could be affected at short notice and that local media carry the latest.
Weather: Hot Days, Cold Nights, Wind and Dust
The FCDO says Mongolia's weather ranges from around 35 degrees in summer to minus 40 in winter and at night, changes without warning, and is most extreme in and around the Gobi, with frequent warnings for dust storms, strong winds and heatwaves. The nearest long term weather record is from Dalanzadgad, a different place at about 1,470 metres, not the dunes themselves, but it gives the shape of the year: a July average high of about 29 degrees and low of about 17, with a record high near 40, and a January average high of minus 7 and low of minus 19, with a record low of nearly minus 33.
The travel season runs from May to August, peaking around the Naadam festival in July, and travel guides note that Gobi trips continue into September and October. Spring brings sand storms. In summer the difference between full sun and shade is large, the nights in a ger cool off sharply, and the gorge at Yolyn Am can feel like a different season.
The Khongoryn Els Packing List
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the most useful single garment for this trip: it keeps the sun off your arms on the dunes, stays tolerable after days without a proper shower because wool resists odour, and is the first warm layer you reach for when the desert night cools.
A Columbia Benton Spring II long hoodie for the dune climbs, when you want sun protection on your neck and arms, and a wide brim sun hat with a strap, because the wind on a crest will take an unsecured one.
A Columbia Fast Trek II fleece jacket for evenings in camp and the ice gorge, and a Columbia Powder Lite II hooded jacket for cold nights and for any trip at the shoulders of the season, when the temperature at night can fall well below what the afternoon suggests.
A rechargeable headlamp for nights in a ger camp, where the walk to the toilet block is in the dark, and an insulated water bottle so you carry enough water on every outing; a traveller guide warns that tap water in Mongolia is unsafe to drink, so refill from treated or bottled supplies.
Not linked, and why. A buff or scarf you can pull over your nose and mouth in blowing sand is one of the most useful things on this list, and our affiliate register has no reliable entry for one. Sunscreen and sunglasses are unlinked because the register carries no sunscreen and no eyewear; take good wraparound sunglasses for the glare and the dust. We reached our six link limit, so merino socks and walking shoes are unlinked here: take a pair of comfortable trail shoes you do not mind filling with sand, plus spare socks. Pack wet wipes, a small first aid kit and any prescription medicine you need, since the FCDO notes that pharmacy products are mainly from China and Russia and may be hard to recognise. Carry cash for park fees and camps, and keep your passport on you, because the police do not accept a copy.
Is Khongoryn Els Safe for Women Travelers
No part of Mongolia is under an FCDO advise against travel warning, read on 8 November 2026. The FCDO says there is no recent history of terrorism in Mongolia, although attacks cannot be ruled out. In the desert the real risks are distance, weather, vehicles and fuel rather than crime: a breakdown, a dust storm or a fall a long way from help. The FCDO notes that in rural Mongolia there are large areas with no phone coverage, which is why a satellite phone with your driver or group is worth asking about.
Health and distance. The FCDO is clear that there are no reciprocal healthcare agreements between the UK and Mongolia, so you cannot get free healthcare there. It says that if you are injured or become ill in a remote part of the country it may be a long journey to the nearest medical facility, that outside Ulaanbaatar the standard of healthcare is limited and doctors may not speak English, and that hospitals require 80% of the treatment cost in advance. Your insurance needs to cover full medical expenses and an air ambulance, and you need access to funds. The FCDO also lists altitude sickness as a risk in parts of Mongolia, so mention any history of it to your operator if your route climbs into the park's mountains.
Ulaanbaatar, before and after. Almost every Gobi trip starts and ends in the capital. There the FCDO says violent incidents are rare but foreigners have been assaulted and robbed, and advises avoiding being out alone at night, asking hotels, restaurants or clubs to order a car, and using only licensed taxis such as VIP Taxis or the trackable UBCab app. Pickpockets work markets and crowded places, and the FCDO says the risk rises during Naadam in July and Tsagaan Sar, the New Year, which falls between December and February. Its winter air pollution warning matters for anyone with asthma.
Laws and respect. Drugs of any kind, including cannabis, are illegal. It is illegal to photograph police or military personnel, and to buy or trade parts of any protected wild species without a licence, so leave fossils and animal products where they are. In monasteries, ask before taking photographs. The FCDO notes that same-sex relationships are legal but not generally accepted socially.
Essential Resources for Women in Khongoryn Els
Emergency numbers: ambulance 103, fire 101, and police 102, which includes the traffic police.
Police from a foreign phone: the FCDO gives +976 102 for calling the police from an international mobile, and says someone on that number should speak English.
Medical care: the nearest town of any size is Dalanzadgad, about 180 kilometres from the dunes. No source we could verify names a hospital that serves the dunes, so do not plan around one: the FCDO says healthcare outside Ulaanbaatar is limited, and it publishes a list of medical providers in Mongolia where some staff speak English. Know your insurer's emergency number and how an air evacuation would be arranged before you leave the capital.
US State Department travel advisory: the Mongolia advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mongolia, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Official health authority: the Ministry of Health of Mongolia.
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, is in the capital, a long day's travel from the Gobi.
Official tourism authority: Mongolia's official tourism site, covers the country; on the ground your operator or ger camp is the practical source for drivers, guides and current conditions in the park.
Solo women safety assessment: Khongoryn Els itself is remote, quiet and sparsely populated, and the realistic way to see it alone is with a reputable operator, a vetted driver and ideally a female or well reviewed guide, which also takes care of fuel, navigation and the long distances to help. Choose a camp or a herding family arranged through that operator rather than whoever approaches you. A traveller guide warns that groping is not uncommon for women travelling alone in Mongolia, that drunk men are best not engaged with, and that guard dogs at gers can be aggressive, so let your hosts know you are coming before you walk up to a ger. In Ulaanbaatar follow the FCDO's advice on night travel and licensed taxis. Share your route and return date with someone at home. Ambulance 103, police 102.
Reading On
This is our first guide to Mongolia, so its closest companions are other deserts and other Central Asian journeys. The Dunhuang packing list covers the Mingsha Shan, another set of singing sand dunes, in western China. For dune climbing in very different settings, read the Merzouga packing list for the Sahara's Erg Chebbi, the Wadi Rum packing list for Jordan's desert camps, the Sossusvlei packing list for the Namib, the Huacachina packing list for Peru's oasis, and the Atacama packing list for high desert with cold nights. Across the steppe, the Kazakhstan packing list, the Almaty packing list and the Astana packing list cover the Central Asian steppe further west. For why one wool layer handles a hot dune climb and a cold ger night alike, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women, and every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women. The base layers themselves are in the Roman Trail collection. Closer to the capital, the granite and larch of the Gorkhi-Terelj packing list are an easy first or last night out of Ulaanbaatar. Many Gobi loops also take in the Orkhon valley and Erdene Zuu monastery, covered in the Karakorum packing list.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
