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Bayankhongor

File:Nomgon_and_bayankhongor.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Bayankhongor

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Bayankhongor () is the capital of the Bayankhongor Province (aimag) in Mongolia with the administration of the Bayankhongor Sum (district) also located at the same place. The city is at an elevation of 1859 m above sea level, and has a population of 33,147 (2026). Approximately one-third of the aimag's population lives in the city.

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Place details

Locality
Баянхонгор ᠪᠠᠶᠠᠨ ᠬᠣᠩᠭᠣᠷ
Region
Баянхонгор ᠪᠠᠶᠠᠨ ᠬᠣᠩᠭᠣᠷ
Country
Монгол улс ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ
Population
30,931
Timezone
Asia/Ulaanbaatar

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

29US AQIGood
PM2.5
6.7 µg/m³
PM10
8.6 µg/m³
As of 2026-08-15 11:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name
Bayankhongor
Settlement.native_name
Баянхонгор
Settlement.native_name_lang
mn
Settlement.settlement_type
District
Settlement.translit_lang1
Official Cyrillic
Settlement.translit_lang1_type
Mongolian Cyrillic
Settlement.translit_lang1_info
Баянхонгор
Settlement.translit_lang2
Classical Mongolian
Settlement.translit_lang2_type
Mongolian script
Settlement.image_skyline
File:Nomgon and bayankhongor.jpg
Settlement.image_flag
Bayankhongor City Flag.png
Settlement.pushpin_map
Mongolia
Settlement.pushpin_label_position
right
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
Location in Mongolia
Settlement.subdivision_type
Country
Settlement.subdivision_name
Mongolia
Settlement.subdivision_type1
Province
Settlement.subdivision_name1
Bayankhongor

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Understand

Bayankhongor was once home to one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, Gegeen Monastery, in Mongolia with over 10,000 Lama monks until Stalinist purges in the 1930s. It was a major center of learning and religion for the region at the time. However, the communist government destroyed most of the temples and executed many of the monks. In the early 1990s, a small concrete ger was established on the site in an effort to restore Tibetan Buddhism. There are several other active monasteries nearby, plus ruins of other also destroyed by the communists. The city is situated near the northern boundary of the Govi Desert with desert to the south and steppe and forests to the north.

Get around

Getting around the town is pretty easy. You can walk from one side to the other in less than 30 minutes. Even the airport is within easy walking distance if you don't have too much luggage. Taxis in Bayanhongor work like they do elsewhere in Mongolia, wave down a random car or go to the market to hire one. Taxis to the villages (or soums) surrounding Bayanhogor gather at the market. Most drivers live in the villages and drive into Bayanhongor in the morning, leaving in the afternoon.

Do

thumb|Albino camel in Bayankhongor

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Geography
  • Administrative divisions
  • Tourist attractions
  • Transportation
  • References

Bayankhongor () is the capital of the Bayankhongor Province (aimag) in Mongolia with the administration of the Bayankhongor Sum (district) also located at the same place. The city is at an elevation of 1859 m above sea level, and has a population of 33,147 (2026). Approximately one-third of the aimag's population lives in the city.

== History == The original founding of Bayankhongor city coincided with the creation of Bayankhongor Province in 1941 by Resolution No. 115 of the Speakers of the Assembly of Mongolia, Bayankhongor Province, and the Legislative Council of the Mongolian People's Republic. However, in the early years of the city it became apparent that the settlement was not suitable for large-scale human habitation that would befit a provincial capital. This is due to the fact that the land around the city was covered in permafrost. Therefore, the original site of the city was abandoned in 1961 in favour of its current-day location. The 900 families comprising more than 3500 people were relocated. Since then, the population of Bayankhongor city has increased substantially to comprise more than 33 thousand people. More than 38% of the population of Bayankhor Province lives in the capital.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bayankhongor” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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On the map

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