Tovkhon Khiid

Enkbayar at the bottom of Tovkhon
Monastery. It was built in, around and
on top of the rocks in the background.
It was the retreat of one of Mongolia's
first religious leaders, Ondor Gegeen
Zanabazar. It is said that he designed
the Soyombo there (left).


We climbed up the rocks to the monastery's temples and
then onward to the top of the mountain.


Some of the small temples in the monastery.


The higher up the mountain / monastery you got, the
easier it became to understand why this was considered
such a holy spot. The view was breathtaking.


The ovoo at the very top of the monastery...well worth the climb.
Ovoos such as this one are all over Mongolia. Each time we passed
one in the car Gans or Enkbayar would toot the horn. If you are walking
passed you are expected to stop and walk around the ovoo three times in
a clockwise direction and add a rock to the pile. A lot of them also had
offerings from passers-by such as money or vodka.


Hannah and Sarah weren't permitted to climb
to the ovoo at the very top. Just to Hannah's
left was a sign which read "woman forbidden".


Gans by the ovoo at the top of the monastery.