Gurvan Tsenkher Cave

This site is located in Mankhan county of Khovd province. Related to the upper Paleolithic period, the rock art found in Khoit Tsenkher Cave includes symbols and animal forms painted from the walls up to the ceiling. In one of corners of the cave measuring 2.5 m high and 1.5-2.0 m deep, numerous symbols and animals were painted overlapping each other on the ceiling and wall. A quiet standing stag was portrayed clearly among the animals. Also a standing buffalo with horus looking ahead was represented separately. In another corner of the cave, many animals including oxes, ibexes, elephants, ostriches were pictured, overlapping each other.

On its wall in a cave hollow measuring 10 m long and 8 m wide a camel with two humps was portrayed. Also many symbols and trees were painted at the height of 2.0-2.5 m not far from the wall, where the camel was portrayed. Lions, elephants, argali sheep, ibexes, ostriches, antelopes, camels, as well as symbols were painted with mineral-based paints of rosy and brown colours on the walls deep inside the cave. By the method of painting of different kinds of animals, their colour and view, the Khoit Tsenkher cave rock paintings show their original artistic, cultural and historical features which are different from the other rock paintings in Mongolia and her neighbouring countries.

Some particular parts of the animals such as their horns, necks, humbs are depicted with an exaggerated hyper-realism typical of the Palaeolothic period. This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on August 1, 1996 in the Cultural category.