Erdene Khamba Monastery (Uvgun Monastery) (Mongolian : Эрдэнэ Хамбын Хийд), located at 289 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar, Khogno Khan Mountain (1967m) was considered by locals since immemorial times a sacred place. The mountain and its surrounding is special because it represents forest, mountain steppe and desert zone in a single area.
HOW TO REACH
BY ROAD : 289 kms (4 hours)
BY AIR :
HISTORY
Initially, in the year of 842, an atheist named Landram became the Khan of Tibet and started to destroy monasteries and massively murdered monks throughout the region. According to the ancient legend, a monk called Lhalambaldorj, who managed to escape from the massacre using his own wisdom and special ways and then he came to and settled in a meditating monastery located in Khugnu Khan Mountain.
In 1612, a Mongolian monk, Erdenetsorj, built an additional main temple which was 10 meter high and resembling the structure of the 64-room Yamanda monastery caused the creation of meditation monastery with 13 temples deifying the red deity known as Jamsran Buddha in current Uvgun monastery. But 1688 during the Khalkha and Oirad (majority and western Mongols) war, the monastery was completely destroyed and all the monks were killed. In 1700 the monastery was relocated in a different place with 4 sanctuaries and 3 temples with 200 monks. In 1937, because of communist regime, the monastery was destroyed again and about 20 high ranked monks were executed. Fortunately, today there are two small undestroyed temples and the “Five Khan” monastery walls on the mountain.
Today, there are only the ruins. Erdene Khamba Monastery had two sections: the lower one called the Zaluu Khiid, and the upper one called the Uvgun Khiid. The Erdene Khamba Monastery was destroyed during Middle Age feuds between Western and Eastern Mongolians (Dzungaria and Khalkh Mongolia) after the collapse of the Mongol Empire. The armies of Dzungarian leader, Galdan Boshigt, noticed the golden roofs of the temples in the Mountain and massacred the partisan-monks of the rival Zanabazar in 1640 and killed them by tying their necks with a rope (this killing process is called khugnokh in Mongolia) as if they were goats and sheep. The name of the Mountain was given after the huge killing.
REFERENCE & CREDIT LINKS
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