White hall
Towering.
Chongkian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pierre André Leclercq — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0
The centre of Buddhism in Mongolia and its most important monastery, founded in 1809 on a hill west of the capital. It was closed in the purges of 1939 and reopened in 1944, remaining the country's only working monastery until 1989. More than a hundred monks live here today. The monastery is a group of temples with curving gold and green roofs in Tibetan and Chinese style, centred on the towering white Migjid Janraisig hall, surrounded by small white stupas, rows of copper prayer wheels and many pigeons in the square. The best time is morning, when monks in red and yellow robes gather to chant prayers in deep voices and residents come to spin the prayer wheels and light candles. The square looks out over the city and the hills. A small entry fee; sources differ on the amount. Monasteries are living places of worship: dress modestly, walk clockwise around temples and prayer wheels, and ask before taking photos inside, as some charge a photo fee. June to September is the best time; winters are bitter, with temperatures far below freezing.
Towering.
Copper.
In the morning.
Bayangol District, west-central Ulaanbaatar
In the morning, when the monks chant; join special rites only if quiet attendance is allowed.
