Desert · Inner Mongolia
Badain Jaran Desert
巴丹吉林沙漠
The tallest stationary dunes on Earth, with lakes between them
The Badain Jaran is a sand sea of about 49,000 km² on the Alxa Plateau in western Inner Mongolia, China's third-largest desert. It holds the world's tallest stabilised mega-dunes, rising some 460 metres above their base, and more than a hundred lakes in the hollows between them, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024.
- UNESCO World Heritage (natural) · 2024
- UNESCO Global Geopark (as part of Alxa Desert) · 2009
Key facts
Overview
Badain Jaran is a landscape of extremes: sand mountains many hundreds of metres high, crested by knife-edged ridges, and between them, in the lowest hollows, lakes of blue, green or red water fringed with reeds. Mongolian herders call the lakes nuur; the desert's name is Mongolian and is usually explained in local tradition as “Badan's thirty (lakes)”, after a herder said to have found them.
The desert lies in Alxa League between the Helan Mountains and the Ejin River, far from any city. Only a few herding families and a small Buddhist temple stand among the lakes. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2024 for its dunes, its concentration of inter-dune lakes and the largest expanse of “singing sands” — sand that booms or hums when it slides.
How the landscape formed
Wind from the north-west has piled sand over a basin of older sediments into complex mega-dunes, with smaller dunes riding on their flanks. The largest, around Bilutu, rise about 460 metres from base to crest, the highest relief of any stabilised dune in the world. The lakes are fed by groundwater that seeps into the lowest hollows; its origin — local rain, distant mountains or deep ancient water — is still studied. Many lakes are saline or alkaline and some turn red from salt-loving algae. Moisture held in the dunes lets their lower slopes stay stable despite constant wind.
Highlights
Bilutu Peak
必鲁图峰
The highest mega-dune, rising about 460 metres from its base, with views over dune crests to the horizon.
Badain Jaran Temple
巴丹吉林庙
A small Tibetan Buddhist temple of the Qing period beside a lake deep in the desert.
Yindeertu spring
音德日图
A freshwater spring emerging from a rock in the middle of a salt lake.
Singing sands
鸣沙
Dune slopes where sliding sand produces a low booming sound.
Noertu Lake
诺尔图
One of the largest and deepest lakes among the dunes.
Plants and wildlife
Around the lakes, reeds, sedges and tamarisk form small oases used by birds and by the camels and goats of herding families. The dunes themselves carry sparse shrubs rooted deep in the moist sand.
Plants
Saxaul
梭梭
Haloxylon ammodendron, a desert shrub on the margins; the host of the parasitic cistanche.
Calligonum
沙拐枣
A leafless shrub stabilising the dune feet.
Common reed
芦苇
Rings the freshwater and brackish lakes.
Wildlife
Bactrian camel
双峰驼
The domestic camels of Alxa herders; Alxa is one of the main camel-breeding regions of China.
Goitered gazelle
鹅喉羚
A desert antelope of the Alxa plateau.
Culture and legend
The desert has been home to a few Mongol herding families for centuries, living by the lakes with camels and goats. The Badain Jaran Temple, built in the Qing dynasty, served them as a place of worship; it was saved from destruction in the twentieth century partly by its remoteness. Alxa's Torghut and Khoshut Mongol heritage, including camel culture, is shown in the towns around the desert.
Alxa
阿拉善
The league (prefecture) that covers the far west of Inner Mongolia, with the Badain Jaran, Tengger and Ulan Buh deserts.
History
Qing dynasty
Badain Jaran Temple built
A Buddhist temple is founded among the lakes for Mongol herders.
2009
Alxa Desert UNESCO Global Geopark
The Badain Jaran becomes part of a geopark with the Tengger and Juyan areas.
2024
UNESCO World Heritage
Inscribed as “Badain Jaran Desert — Towers of Sand and Lakes” for its mega-dunes and lakes.
Through the seasons
Spring
Sandstorms are frequent; not a good season for crossing the dunes.
Summer
Very hot sand by day and cool nights; travel early and late.
Autumn
September and October are the preferred months: clear air, milder heat and golden poplars on the desert margins.
Winter
Freezing nights, clear skies and snow dusting the dunes; lakes may freeze.
Routes and ways in
Four-wheel-drive crossings
Guided vehicles run from the southern edge near Alxa Right Banner to the lakes and Bilutu; driving here requires experienced desert drivers.
Camel and walking treks
Multi-day guided treks between the lakes, sleeping in tents or at herders' homes.
Practical notes
- The desert is remote: travel only with local guides and vehicles equipped for sand, and carry ample water.
- Mobile coverage is patchy among the dunes; register routes with the local operator.
- The Badain Jaran lies in Alxa Right Banner; the nearest airports and railheads are in the small towns of the Alxa League.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Badain Jaran Desert — Towers of Sand and Lakes — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Badain Jaran Desert added to UNESCO World Heritage List — The State Council of the PRC (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- IUCN World Heritage Outlook: Badain Jaran Desert — IUCN (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Inner Mongolia
- Mountain range · 2,029 mGreater Khingan Range大兴安岭China's northern forest frontier, from the steppe to the Amur
- GrasslandHulunbuir Grassland呼伦贝尔草原China's great meadow steppe between the Greater Khingan and the Mongolian border
- Mountain range · 3,556 mHelan Mountains贺兰山The desert rampart above the Yinchuan plain