Once the cap­i­tal of the Mon­gol Empire, Karako­rum is a fas­ci­nat­ing place that is cer­tain­ly worth a vis­it if you’re inter­est­ed in learn­ing more about the his­to­ry and cul­ture of the Mon­gols. Known to locals as Har Horin, the ancient city was vis­it­ed by Mar­co Polo all the way back in the 13th cen­tu­ry. Nowa­days, how­ev­er, the once-great city is but ruins, with end­less sky and steppe in every direc­tion. The main sight is the majes­tic Erdene Zuu Monastery, which was built out of the rem­nants of the ruined city in 1585; the pletho­ra of stu­pas lin­ing its long wall cer­tain­ly do look incred­i­ble. One of the ear­li­est sur­viv­ing Bud­dhist monas­ter­ies in the coun­try, Erdene Zuu has three beau­ti­ful tem­ples, with lots of love­ly stat­ues and carv­ings. Besides this impres­sive sight, Karako­rum has some small­er ruined stu­pas, build­ings, and archae­o­log­i­cal sites for you to wan­der around, although these are decid­ed­ly less spec­tac­u­lar.