Tövkhön Monastery

Zanabazar's Mountaintop Retreat, the 'Land of Happy Solitude'

Perched at roughly 2,300 metres atop the rocky Shireet Ulaan mountain, Tövkhön Monastery was founded in 1648 by the 14-year-old Zanabazar, who would go on to become the first Bogd Gegeen, or spiritual head of Mongolian Buddhism. He named it “Bayasgalant Aglag Oron” — the Land of Happy Solitude — and used it as a personal retreat for meditation and artistic creation for more than three decades.

A Prodigy's Sanctuary

Zanabazar was recognised as a reincarnate lama and became the first head of Mongolian Buddhism at just five years old. After studying in Tibet, he returned to build Tövkhön as a place of retreat, where he worked as a sculptor, painter, and inventor — creating the Soyombo script, still Mongolia’s national symbol, here in 1686.

A Sacred Rock Landscape

The mountain is scattered with features tied to Zanabazar’s life: a carved footprint said to be his own, meditation and library caves, and the narrow Ekhiin Khevlii, or “Mother’s Belly” cave, which pilgrims still crawl through in the belief it cleanses sin before rebirth. An ovoo at the summit offers sweeping views across the forested Khangai range.

Reaching the Hermitage

Tövkhön can only be reached on foot or horseback, via a roughly two-hour hike through dense larch forest — a deliberate isolation that keeps the site’s contemplative atmosphere intact. Note that, in keeping with tradition, women are not permitted to climb to the mountain’s exact summit ovoo.

Gallery

• Hike through larch forest to the mountaintop hermitage
• See the caves and rock features tied to Zanabazar's meditations
• Learn the origin of the Soyombo script, created here in 1686
• Take in panoramic views across the Khangai mountain range