Photos of Töv Province, Mongolia

Töv (“Central”) aimag surrounds the national capital Ulaanbaatar and is indeed in the country’s centre, with an area of 74,042 km² and a population of almost 90,000. The provincial capital is Zuunmod, south of Ulaanbaatar, with the Bogd Khan mountain in between or 46 kilometres by road. That mountain is part of a nature reserve (Bogdkhan Uul Strictly Protected Area).

About 55 kilometres to the northeast of Ulaanbaatar in Gorkhi-Terelj National Park with great alpine scenery and rock formations, good hiking and horse riding opportunities. There are ger camps to stay in, and it is popular in the summer. There is also the Aryapala Initiation and Meditation Centre, with its newly built temple and great views.

Nalaikh is a small town about 35 kilometres southwest of Ulaanbaatar and used to have a coal mine; a small community of Kazakhs settled here to work in the mines. Nalaikh is part of the Ulaanbaatar municipality. And along the road not far to the east of Nalaikh is the 40-metre tall statue of Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) on horseback, on the bank of the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog, where according to legend, he found a golden whip. The statue is covered in 250 tons of stainless steel, placed on top of a visitor centre, ten metres tall, with 36 columns representing the 36 khans from Genghis to Ligdan Khan. It was designed by sculptor D. Erdembileg and architect J. Enkhjargal and erected in 2008.