Turtle Rock, Terelj
Turtle Rock in Mongolia's Gorkhi-Terelj National Park: what Melkhi Khad is, how far it is from Ulaanbaatar, how long the tours stop, climbing it, and Aryabal temple nearby. November 2026.
Turtle Rock, Melkhi Khad in Mongolian, is a granite formation shaped like a turtle in Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, about 56 km by road from Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar. Almost every Terelj tour stops there. A simple way to see it is MJ Travel LLC’s Ulaanbaatar: Chinggis Khaan Statue and Turtle Rock Day Tour, from US$59 a person (checked November 2026): a car and a driver-guide for the day, with the statue at 9:00, Turtle Rock at 10:30 and Aryabal temple at 11:30. The tickets, lunch and any camel or horse ride are paid by you, in tugrik.
The calendar is MJ Travel LLC’s day. Its cars carry at most 4 guests, and the guide is the driver.
Where Turtle Rock is
The rock stands beside the road into the park: about 56 km from Sukhbaatar Square, and about 13 km before Terelj village. From the Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex it is about 37 km by road, because the road runs back west before it turns north into the park; MJ Travel LLC’s day allows 30 minutes for that drive.
How long the tours stop
| Tour | At Turtle Rock | Also |
|---|---|---|
| MJ Travel LLC’s Turtle Rock day | 10:30 to 11:10 AM | The statue, Aryabal temple |
| MJ Travel LLC's Terelj day | 10:30 to 11:00 AM | The statue, Aryabal temple |
| Terelj wonder tour LLC's transfer day | A 20-minute stop | The Winter Palace, Zaisan Hill, the statue, the Meditation Temple; no guide |
| Danista Nomads Tour's horse-riding day | About an hour, then an hour’s horse trek | Zaisan Hill, the Winter Palace, Aryabal, the statue |
| Amazing Mongolia LLC's day | Part of the park’s rock formations, with rock climbing as an option | The statue with a camel and an eagle, Aryabal, a ger lunch |
| Arvaintsatsal LLC's 2-day tour | Afternoon of day one | Horse riding, Aryabal, a ger night, the statue |
| Arvaintsatsal LLC's 3-day tour | Morning of day three, a climb for the view | The Mini Gobi, the statue, Aryabal |
The listings’ itineraries on GetYourGuide, checked November 2026.
On MJ Travel LLC’s days Turtle Rock is a stop of 30 to 40 minutes; Danista Nomads Tour’s horse-riding day gives it about an hour.
Climbing it, and the camels
You can climb on the rock on some tours: the 3-day tour’s day three includes the climb, and Amazing Mongolia LLC's day offers guided rock climbing in the park as an option. On the day tours there are horses and camels to ride and eagles to hold for photos; on MJ Travel LLC’s days that costs 10,000 to 30,000 tugrik, paid in cash to the owners, for 5 to 10 minutes.
Aryabal temple, next door
Aryabal Meditation Temple is a short drive from Turtle Rock and then a walk uphill: on the 3-day tour, “not far from the Turtle rock, we will park and will continue on foot”. The two are usually seen together, and on MJ Travel LLC’s days the temple ticket is extra, 5,000 tugrik on its list of exclusions. Aryabal Meditation Temple has the walk.
Which tour for Turtle Rock
Ulaanbaatar: Chinggis Khaan Statue and Turtle Rock Day Tour
MJ Travel LLC: statue at 9, Turtle Rock 10:30 to 11:10, Aryabal at 11:30, back at 3 PM; at most 4 to a car. Statue ticket, Aryabal, lunch and rides paid on the day.
Check dates →Genghis Khan Statue, Terelj Park, Camel Ride, Eagle, Hiking and Rock Tour
Amazing Mongolia LLC: the statue with a camel ride and eagle photo, Terelj's rocks and Turtle Rock, the hike to Aryabal and lunch in a ger; entrance fees in the price.
See the tour →2-Day Gorkhi-Terelj Tour: Horse Riding, Hiking & Ger Stay
Arvaintsatsal LLC: Turtle Rock and Aryabal after a horse ride with a nomadic family, then a night in a ger camp and the statue on day two.
See the 2-day tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
MJ Travel LLC’s card price is not the price of the day: add 60,000 tugrik a person for the statue ticket, Aryabal and lunch on its list of exclusions. A July 2026 reviewer of the Turtle Rock day put it plainly: “the price only covers transportation”. If you want a guide and everything paid, the second card is the better day.
More from Ulaanbaatar
Terelj Park Tours with Open Dates
Day tours, horse rides and ger stays in Terelj with live availability. What each includes, the pickup and the cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Turtle Rock, the Statue and Aryabal
MJ Travel LLC's day from Ulaanbaatar with a driver-guide: the statue at 9, Turtle Rock at 10:30, Aryabal at 11:30, back at 3 PM. Tickets and lunch are paid on the day.
Check dates