Stretching out for about 1km east of town is the site of ancient Karakorum. The foundations of Karakorum’s buildings are all underground and little has been excavated, so you need lots of imagination when contemplating the grandness of it all, or visit the Karakorum Museum to see the model. The plain was littered with bricks, ruined walls and pillars until the mid-16th century, when everything was picked up and used to build the walls and temples of nearby Erdene Zuu.
Look out for the stone turtle, where you can see an area of raised earth surrounded by a wire fence. It is thought this was the site of Ögedei Khaan’s palace.
