Övgön Khiid Mongolia

These 17th-century ruins are a lovely 45-minute (2km) walk along a rocky path (follow the pink dots painted on the rocks) up the valley to the right of Erdiin Khambiin Khiid. The monastery was built in 1660 and destroyed (and the monks massacred) by the armies of Zungar Galdan Bochigtu, a rival of Zanabazar’s, in 1640. The ruins are no more than the remaining brick foundations, but arriving here has the feel of being an explorer who's stumbled upon a hidden, long-lost world.