Lake Khuvsgul is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the Russian border, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains.

It is drained at the southern end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately flows into Lake Baikal.

The highest mountain is the Bürenkhaan / Mönkh Saridag (3,492 metres (11,457 feet)), whose peak, north of the lake, lies exactly on the border with Russia.

The lake freezes over completely in winter, and the ice cover is strong enough to carry heavy trucks; transport routes on its surface offer shortcuts to the normal roads.

Hovsgol is an ultraoligotrophic lake with low levels of nutrients, primary productivity and high water clarity (Secchi depths > 18 m are common).

The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and the Siberian Taiga.

Now part of an international network of long-term study sites, the Hövsgöl LTERS provides a stage for nurturing Mongolia's scientific and environmental infrastructures, studying climate change, and developing sustainable responses to some of environmental challenges facing the lake and its watershed.

[5][6] The park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose, and sable.