Badain Jaran Desert Scenic Area 巴丹吉林沙漠开放旅游区

About Badain Jaran Desert Scenic Area

Badain Jaran Desert Scenic Area (巴丹吉林沙漠开放旅游区) is the tourist zone of the Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林沙漠) in Alxa Right Banner (阿拉善右旗), Inner Mongolia. The desert lies on the Alxa Plateau (阿拉善高原) and is known for very tall sand mountains with lakes between them.

The desert covers about 49,000 km² and falls administratively within Ejin Banner (额济纳旗) and Alxa Right Banner; most of Alxa Right Banner's territory lies within the desert. The ground sits at 1,200 to 1,700 m above sea level. Shifting dunes cover about 83% of the desert's area. Rain is scarce, 50 to 60 mm a year and mostly between June and August, while evaporation runs 40 to 80 times higher than rainfall.

The centre of the desert is packed with megadunes, usually 200 to 300 m tall, with relative heights reaching more than 500 m. The best known is Bilutu Peak (必鲁图峰), which reaches 1,617 m above sea level and rises about 435 m from its base. In the southeast, around 144 small lakes lie in the hollows between the sand mountains; most hold salt water that cannot be drunk. Plants grow thickly round the shores in rings centred on each lake, giving way to sand-tolerant scrub towards the dunes. In dry summer weather the steep leeward faces of large dunes can boom when sand slides down them, but only on slopes of at least 30 degrees; the dunes stay silent through winter while the sand holds moisture.

Local tradition counts five wonders here: peaks, singing sand, lakes, sacred springs and temples. On 26 July 2024 the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi inscribed "Badain Jaran Desert—Towers of Sand and Lakes" (巴丹吉林沙漠—沙山湖泊群) on the World Heritage List under natural criteria (vii) and (viii).

What to look for

• Bilutu Peak (必鲁图峰), a megadune rising about 435 m to 1,617 m above sea level
• The lakes between the dunes in the southeast, most of them salty, ringed by bands of vegetation
• Booming or singing sand on steep leeward dune faces in dry weather
• Badain Jaran Temple (巴丹吉林庙), a Tibetan Buddhist temple built beside a lake in 1868
• Mandela Mountain petroglyphs (曼德拉山岩画), rock art of hunting and herding life on the desert's eastern and southwestern margins

Location & getting there

Getting to Badain Jaran Desert Scenic Area

• Search for 巴丹吉林沙漠开放旅游区 with 阿拉善盟 and 阿拉善右旗.