Ikh Burkhant in Khalkhiin Gol Mongolia

At Ikh Burkhant, a huge image of Janraisag (‘Avalokitesvara’ in Sanskrit) is carved into the

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hillside, its legs splayed out. The carving was commissioned in 1864 by local regent Bat Ochiriin Togtokhtooriin, or Tovan (van means ‘lord’) and was renovated in the mid-1990s. There are fearsome deities guarding the prayer wheels and eerie shattered stone faces scattered about. If you walk up to its head, you'll see a couple entwined in an eternal stone embrace. Ikh Burkhant is right on the roadside, about 32km northwest of Khalkh Gol; there's a military checkpoint here.