Khögnö Taryn Khiyd
Location: Bulgan Aimag. four miles north of the main road to Avaikheer, 140 miles west of Ulaan Baatar and forty-two miles east of Kharkhorin, at the southern base of Khögnö Khan Mountain.
Extending north-south some twelve miles, east-west up to six miles, and looming to a height of 6453 feet or about 1500 feet above the surrounding steppe, the immense granite massif originally known as Bat Khan Uul would have served as a conspicuous landmark to anyone traveling eastward from the monastery of Erdene Zuu (see above). In the early 17th century one the Tüsheet khans, probably a son of the Tüsheet Khan Avtai, who founded Erdene Zuu, built at least one temple at the southern base of the mountain. Reportedly Zanabazar, who had been enthroned as the first Bogd Gegen at Shireet Tsagaan Nuur, about fifty-five miles south of here, initiated the construction of more temples and finally a monastery was established. Zanabazar dedicated this monastery to one of his teachers, Erdene-Tsorj, and eventually the complex became known as Erdene Khamba Khiyd. During Zanabazar’s lifetime there were at least ten temples here at two different sites, one at the end of the current-day road and another about a thirty-minute walk north. At the farther site was built the so-called Ovgon Temple (Old Man’s Temple), supposedly a much scaled-down model of the Potala in Lhasa.
Ruins at the lower complex
When the Zungarian chieftain Galdan Bolshigt invaded Khalkh Mongolia in 1688 the monastery was attacked and partly destroyed. According to legend, Galdan’s men tied up thirty to forty monks in a row using the knot which herdsman use to tie up a row of sheep or goats when they are milking them. According to one version all the monks were then castrated, apparently because they were Khalkh Mongols and followers of Zanabazar, the first Bogd Gegen. Another version maintains they were beheaded, while still another claims they were castrated first and then beheaded. The current name of the mountain, Khögnö Khan Uul, reflects this event: Khögnö is based on the verb knognokh, which can mean a way of slaughtering animals by cutting their throats or the act of castrating young sheep. The complex was rebuilt after the deprecations of the Zungarian Mongols and ironically enough became known as Knögnö Taryn Khiyd, taryn referring to the kind of chanting for which the monks who lived here were well-known. The complex was despoiled once again by the communists in the 1930s, but a few small temples have now been restored, notably one dedicated to Jamsran, who monks say guards the gateway to the legendary kingdom of Shambhala. There are several well-known ger camps in the scenic environs nearby and the area is very suitable for camping
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View from the lower complex