In Kharkhorin, former residence of those who once ruled Mongolia, today there is little left to see. However, a few mysterious sites remain which, along with the Erdene Zuu Monastery, are highly evocative of this ancient city in Central Mongolia.

For thirty two years Kharkhorin was the centre of one of the most powerful empires in the world. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Erdene Zuu Monastery became active once again.

Up until 1938, over sixty individual buildings that housed fifteen hundred devout lamas, stood on the monastery grounds and it is believed that as many as ten thousand lamas once lived there.

Kharkhorin can be traced back to 1222 which was when Ghengis Khan expanded the former main base of the Kereit Clan into a supply base for his army. Its strategic location was excellent, set on the banks of the Orchon River within a wide and fertile valley, it was perfectly suited for huge hordes of men and their horses.

A gentle breath of mystique and melancholy blows over the surviving ruins of this former cosmopolitan city in which, as decreed by Law, multicultural tolerance predominated.