Sand dunes are the last thing you expect to find at the edge of a great freshwater-looking lake in the mountains of Mongolia, but the Uvs Nuur basin is a place of surprises. Altan Els, the Golden Sands, is a belt of dunes and sandy steppe on the shore of Uvs Nuur, the largest lake in Mongolia by area, a shallow, salty inland sea that sits in a closed basin between the Altai and the Tannu-Ola ranges, and shares its watershed with the Russian republic of Tuva. The whole basin, in two countries, was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2003 as one of the best examples of Central Asian steppe, desert and mountain ecosystems.
The variety packed into a small area is remarkable. In the space of a day's travel you can pass from snowy peaks and glaciers to larch forest, from open steppe to salt marsh and from dunes to wetlands. The lake is a huge staging post for migrating birds, with cranes, swans, pelicans and geese, and snow leopards, argali sheep and ibex live in the mountains above. Mongolian gazelles and wolves move across the steppe, and the dunes themselves shelter small mammals and reptiles. Tsugeer Els, another dune field in the same basin, and Aryskannyg in Tuva, belong to the same listing.
For riders, this is serious country, and the nearest big town is Ulaangom, the capital of Uvs province, on the south side of the lake. Paved roads are limited, and most of the way you ride on tracks of sand, gravel and hard-packed earth that can turn to mud after rain. Distances are long and navigation can be tricky, so a GPS and a paper map are both sensible, as is a bike light enough to pick up when it falls. Fuel is available only in the larger settlements, so carry extra, and plan your range carefully. Weather is changeable, with strong winds, sudden storms and cold nights even in summer. Winters are fiercely cold.
The best season is June to August, when the grass is green and the days are long, but mosquitoes can be a trial near the lake. Local herders are generous hosts, and if you stop at a ger you may be offered salty milk tea and dried curd. Greet the family, accept food with your right hand, and ask permission before taking photographs.