Altan Ovoo (Dariganga sum, Sukhbaatar Province)

Altan Ovoo is an extinct volcano standing 1,354 meters high, located right next to the center of Dariganga sum in Sükhbaatar Province, on the northern edge of the Moltsog Sands. It is also known as Dari Ovoo or Altan Dari Ovoo. The conical shape of the volcano remains intact, and volcanic basalt rocks are abundant. Altan Ovoo was established as a local place of worship as early as the 17th century, and in 1913, it became one of Mongolia's major state-worshipped mountains. The balbals (human stone sculptures) located here were placed under state protection in 1998. In 2004, Dari Ovoo was designated as a State-Worshipped Mountain by presidential decree.