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About 40km to the east of Khovd City is Khar Us Nuur (Dark Water Lake), the second-largest freshwater lake (15,800 sq km) in Mongolia – but with an average depth of only 4m. Khovd Gol flows into this lake, creating a giant marsh delta. Khar Us Nuur is the perfect habitat for wild ducks, geese, wood grouse, partridges and seagulls, including rare relict gulls and herring gulls – and by late summer a billion or two of everyone’s friend, the common mosquito.

The outflow from Khar Us Nuur goes into a short river called Chono Khairkhan, which flows into another freshwater lake, Khar Nuur (Black Lake), home to some migratory pelicans. The southern end of Khar Nuur flows into Durgun Nuur, which is a large alkaline lake good for swimming. The eastern side of Durgun Nuur is an area of bone-dry desert and extensive sand dunes.