I went on a 7-days trip from Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi Desert with stops in between. One of the places included in our itinerary is Bayanzag or also known as the Flaming Cliffs.
Chasing the Sunset in Bayanzag
We had some time before we headed out for the cliffs. It was a cold and snowy day, we arrived a little earlier during this leg of our trip so we decided to do what grown ups do, act like children (haha!).
We threw snowballs at each other and decided to build a snowman, in a supposedly arid and desert area. It was fun; it was also my first time to experience winter and snow, of all places, in Mongolia! We started with the base, then the body and head. We took our time to shape the snowman, our work paid off. We were also fortunate that the weather was good, the sky was blue and the sun was out.
We all agreed to wait until sunset before embarking for the cliffs. Bayanzag got its name because of its reddish color, especially at the start of blue hour then when the sun finally sets. The area is also known as an archaeological site where researchers found fossils of dinosaurs.
The snow covered red-colored landscape was nothing short of spectacular, it felt like I was on another planet. There were very few signs of development and other people; we only saw two other cars on the opposite side of the cliffs we were on.
Blue hour and sunset was creeping in.
It was a glorious sunset to cap off our day. The sky turned from a clear white and blue into a blazing red and orange. The cliffs also turned into different shades of the two colors.
It was a fun day of climbing up hills, taking photos, goofing around and watching the sunset.
Camping in Mongolia
I booked a tour with UB Guesthouse in Ulaanbaatar; this trip was part of the 7-days camping excursion that costs US$55 per day. You can visit their website http://ubguesthouse.com for more information.
