Hike Up To Mongolia’s Aryapala Temple Meditation Center

Also located within Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is Aryabal Temple, known to many as a Buddhist meditation center. Hike up a trail in midst of rolling rivers and generations of trees, 114 plaques of Buddhist philosophy and lesson welcome visitors until 108 steps of stairs that lead up to the Tibetan-style temple with ivory squares and a porcelain roof. The interior design illustrate the story of heaven and hell.

Aryabal is a Buddha that release worshippers from suffering through prayers. The temple was constructed in the form of an elephant’s head, while the 108 steps represent the elephant’s extended trunk.