When planning a trip to Manlai, two very different types of local heritage take centre stage: rock art and monastery ruins offer insights into cultural heritage, while fossil sites preserve traces from various periods of the Cretaceous. A local history museum adds its own collection history to these themes. This lets you decide whether you are particularly interested in rock art motifs, the history of religious sites or palaeontological finds.
Cultural Heritage: Owoo, Rock Art and Monastery Ruins
On Khanbogd Mountain in Ögöömör, which is considered especially sacred, there is a consecrated Owoo made of piled-up stones. It is a distinctive cultural landmark in the area. The rock art at Badrakhyn Am offers a different perspective: it is carved into the flat southern face of a small rock. Depicted motifs include ibex, goats, people, riders and archers. The combination of animal and human figures makes the rock art a distinct focus alongside the religious sites.
The ruins of Zasgiin Shütein Monastery in Ögöömör represent a larger historical complex. It had six datsans and seven jas, and was considered one of the larger monasteries in the local area. Its status as ruins is important: this is a historic monastery site, not a currently functioning monastery. Those comparing cultural sites will therefore find a different experience here than at the carved images or the consecrated Owoo.
Fossils from the Lower and Upper Cretaceous
Shar Tsav dates to the Upper Cretaceous, more precisely to the Bayan Shiree period (K2 bs). The palaeontological monument site contains fossilised wood and molluscs, as well as sauropods, Avimimus and dinosaur tracks. Mogoin Del is assigned to the Lower Cretaceous (K1). Remains of plants, insects, molluscs, ostracods and fish have been found there. The two sites therefore differ both in their geological classification and in the finds listed for each: Shar Tsav includes dinosaur remains and tracks, while Mogoin Del features a broad range of fossil plant and animal groups.
Both palaeontological monument sites are included in the national list of protected immovable historical and cultural monuments under Mongolian Government Resolution No. 13 of 2020. Another palaeontological landmark is located on Mount Mogoyt in Bag Dalai. The site lies about 7 km northeast of the centre of Manlay Sum and contains remains of ancient plants and animals.
Understanding Directions and Distances
Three of the sites mentioned are in Bag Ögöömör, southeast of the centre of Manlay Sum: Khanbogd Owoo is about 65 km away, the Zasgiin Shütein Monastery ruins about 70 km, and the Shar Tsav site about 75 km. Badrakhyn Am’s rock art, by contrast, is approximately 44 km northwest of the centre. This comparison highlights the different geographical clusters. The distances are approximate reference figures that help compare locations; they are not travel times.
When choosing accommodation for your trip, these directions can provide an initial guide to which themes to explore: Khanbogd and Zasgiin ShĂĽtein represent religious and architectural heritage, Badrakhyn Am is known for rock art, and Shar Tsav for palaeontology. Mount Mogoyt, located northeast of the centre, is another distinct landmark. This lets you prioritise your research according to your interests without combining the different places into a prescribed route.
The Local History Museum’s Collection History
The history of Manlay’s local history room also offers a distinct way to learn about the region: it began serving the public in 1974 with more than 20 exhibits. In 2017, the museum was expanded into a standards-compliant local history museum. The exhibition comprises 303 exhibits in 122 categories, spread across four halls. These figures convey the size of the collection and how it is organised; together with the rock art, monastery ruins and fossil sites, they provide several clearly distinct cultural and natural history themes to consider when planning your trip.
Discover more destinations: Bayan Bulagiin Hural.
Go to the main travel overview: Umnugovi.
