Khovd Tourist Places to Visit in Khovd, Mongolia, Asia

Khovd Tourist Places to Visit in Khovd, Mongolia, Asia

Khovd also spelled as Hovd is the capital city of Khovd Province of Mongolia, about 1464 kms west of national capital Ulan Bator. It was founded in the year 1731 and is well known for watermelon and tomato production.

Geography and Climate of Khovd:

Khovd is located between 48°00′15″ N latitude and 91°38′26″ E longitude and is placed about 1395 meters above the mean level of sea. It is spans over an area of 80 sq. km. and is bound by Govi-Altai Province in the east, Uvs Province to the north, Xinjiang, China to the south, Zavkhan Province towards northeast and Bayan-Olgii Province on the northwest. Khovd experiences a cold desert climate.

History of Khovd:

Khovd City was founded during the 17^th century by Galdan Boshogtu Khan of Dzungaria and derives its name from Khovd River.

How to reach Khovd?

Khovd is well connected with the major cities of the country Ulan Bator, Moron, and Bulgan through airway served by Khovd Airport situated 4 kms away from the city centre. Tourists can reach to and from Khovd by booking tickets in advance. It takes around 40 hours to reach Khovd from Ulan Bator by bus. Otherwise tourists can hire Taxi, but costly compared to bus. Airway is the best option to get Khovd.

Food and Shopping in Khovd:

There are few banks and ATMs located in Khovd, these may help tourists to withdraw cash or exchange currency. Khovd is the best city of embroidery product purchasers and Kazakh Embroidery Shop is the main embroidery shop located in the city centre. Tourists can pick products like purses, traditional Kazakh men’s hats, pillowcases, and carpets at reasonable prices. Ih Buyan Zah or Pink Market is a shopping complex and Nomin is a big supermarket of Khovd.

Most of the hotels of Khovd serve tourists with Mongolian and European countries with variations. Usually all the food corners are open from morning 8 AM to evening 9 PM. Hurag is the budgeted restaurant in Khovd and costs about 1000-2500 T for food. The mid range food corners in Khovd are Ochir, Beleg Tov and Buyant Restaurant. Winners and Ikh Mongol are high budget restaurants in Khovd.

Tourist Attractions in Khovd:

Baatar Khairhan Mountain:

Baatar Khairhan Mountain is a historical site located 6 km towards south of Khovd City is visited by huge number of foreign tourists for its historical importance.

Cave Paintings:

Cave Paintings at Tsenkheriin Agui in Mankhan soum are the major tourist attractions of Khovd Province, located about 100 kms southeast of Khovd City. It is said that, these paintings are more than 15,000 years old.

Mineral Springs:

Mineral Springs is a beautiful spring located in the northeast of Khovd City. It is believed that, these springs are best to cure skin diseases. Just near the Mineral Springs, there is one spring located called as ‘Drop Spring’ having power to cure heart diseases.

Khar-Us Lake:

Khar-Us Lake is a stunning lake which covers an area of 1,852 km² in Khovd Province.

Khar Us Nuur National Park:

Khar Us Nuur National Park is 850,000 hectare wide nature reserve located out of Khovd City. It is covered by ltai, Khangai and Tangyn Mountain ranges and is home to endangered species of animals and birds like the Swan Goose, White-tailed Eagle, the Mongolian Saiga, and the Snow Leopard. The entrance fee is 300 Tugrik for Mongolians and 3000 Tugrik for foreigners.

The list of other tourist attractions near Khovd is as follows: