You might have heard of the legendary archers of Erdenet, who are famous throughout the steppe for their quick aim and accuracy. What you might not know is that their home is one of the few built-up, urban spots in Mongolia, and, with 75,000 people, the second-largest town overall. In fact, Erdenet started life as a mining service center; its raison d’être the great open-faced copper quarries nearby.
Today, it’s clean and developed, has central gardens, some good museums (dedicated to mining, of course), and access to the mysterious Buddhist shrines of Amarbayasgalant Monastery to the north-east.
