Yolyn Am Valley

Yolyn Am is a gorge in Bulgan sum, Umnugovi Province, about 45 km west of Dalanzadgad, tucked into the Zuun Saikhan mountain of the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan range. Its name comes from the "yol", the lammergeier (bearded vulture). The mean elevation is about 2,800 m and the protected area covers about 64 square kilometers.

It is a narrow canyon cut by a river that runs northeast through Zuun Saikhan. A small stream flows along the bottom and freezes over in winter. Ice once remained all year round, but in recent years much of it has melted because of global warming and other factors; in places that never see sun, ice more than a meter thick still remains. In some sections the sheer rock walls rise as high as 200 m.

A legend is told about this valley. Long ago, a beautiful girl lived with her parents near the Gurvan Saikhan mountains. An old local nobleman wanted her for his wife, but she was already in love with a poor young man. The nobleman plotted with her parents and ordered the young man to bring back the "sangas" from a yol's nest, a remedy used for stomach and intestinal ailments. The yol nests on the tops of cliffs, almost never lands, and cracks animal bones on rocks to eat them, so the nobleman expected the young man to fall to his death.

But the young man risked his life, climbed the sheer cliff and brought back the sangas. Left with no choice, the nobleman gave up, and the two young people married and lived happily. The legend tells that the power of love overcomes any obstacle.

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