Gol Mod II lies in the open valleys of central Mongolia, and the first thing to know is that there is no road to it in the sense most riders mean. You reach it on tracks across the steppe, past herders' gers and grazing horses, and then the tombs appear: a field of low mounds and earthworks, and at its heart a huge square structure with a long ramp, the grave of a member of the Xiongnu elite.
The Xiongnu were the steppe empire that dominated the lands north of China from around the third century BC, the people against whom the Chinese built and extended their early walls. Their leaders were buried in deep terraced shafts under square platforms, with ramps leading down from the south, surrounded by smaller satellite graves. Gol Mod II is one of the largest of these cemeteries, and excavations by Mongolian and international teams have uncovered horse skeletons, chariots, gold and silver objects and goods from China and the West, which show how far the Xiongnu reached. Many of the tombs were robbed long ago. The neighbouring site of Gol Mod I is another large Xiongnu cemetery, and the region has deer stones and Bronze Age burials as well.
This is wild riding. The tracks are a braid of parallel ruts across grassland and gravel, firm in dry weather, slippery and boggy after rain, with river crossings that can be dangerous when the snowmelt or summer storms swell them. Navigation needs GPS and patience, since the tracks branch and fade. Summer is the only sensible season; from late autumn to spring the cold is extreme. Distances between settlements are large, and help is far away, so travelling with others is wise.
There are no towns nearby of any size. Fuel is found in sum centres, the small district towns, and in the provincial capitals such as Tsetserleg in Arkhangai; quality varies and pumps can be dry, so carry spare fuel and enough water for the day. Herders are famously hospitable, and you may be offered tea with milk and salt or a bowl of airag, fermented mare's milk, which is an acquired taste and worth acquiring.
The reward is the space. Larch forest on the north-facing slopes, grassland rolling away to the horizon, an eagle circling overhead, and two-thousand-year-old graves under a sky that seems twice the usual size. Ride slowly, camp early, and enjoy the silence.