The Gobi covers about 1.3 million square kilometres - roughly five times the size of the United Kingdom. Most of it is not sandy at all. Instead you find flat stony plains, jagged cliffs and rolling hills. The famous Khongoryn Els sand dunes rise up to 300 metres tall and stretch for 100 kilometres, earning the nickname 'Singing Sands' because the wind makes them hum.
Scientists have found incredible dinosaur fossils buried in the Gobi's red sandstone cliffs. Whole dinosaur eggs, nesting mothers and animals that lived 80 million years ago have been uncovered here. The Flaming Cliffs, called Bayanzag in Mongolian, glow orange and red at sunset and are one of the world's most famous fossil sites.
Despite being a desert, the Gobi is home to many animals. Bactrian camels roam the plains, snow leopards live in the rocky mountains at its edges, and Gobi bears - one of the rarest bears on Earth - pad quietly through the scrub. Nomadic families herd animals across the desert's grassier fringes, moving with the seasons to find fresh pasture.