Khamriin Khiid Monastery
Today you will explore the grounds of Khamriin Monastery (Sambala Khiid), you will discover petrified wood, dinosaur’s bones, Sambala energy complex, the cave monasteries. We’ll wander around in the beautiful, red coloured sand dunes.
Khamriin Khiid was founded in 1822 by one of Mongolia’s most accomplished and forward-thinking masters, the mahasiddha Danzan Ravjaa. At its height, the oasis at Khamriin Khiid supported around 500 monks and a substantial lay community.
A poet, songsmith, dramatist, painter and naturopathic doctor, Ravjaa augmented the spiritual activity at Khamriin by instituting Mongolia’s first secular secondary and art schools, museum, library, and theatre. The latter staged elaborate, operatic dramas with Buddhist themes each summer. The actors trained at Khamriin and all of the costumes, sets and props were created in its workshops.
In 1938, the Soviet-led Red Army destroyed and looted almost everything at Khamriin Khiid. It was only through the remarkable foresight and courage of a Mongolian man named Tudev that 64 crates of Danzan Ravjaa’s texts, belongings and valuable gifts were buried in the desert for more than 50 years.
You will take the evening train back to Ulaanbaatar at 21:10 PM.
(Overnight train B, L, D)
