Mongolia

Understand

Mongolia is one of the world's largest landlocked countries, second only to Kazakhstan and is surrounded by two of the world's largest countries: China and Russia. It was the center of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in world history. With only 1.7 people per square kilometre, Mongolia has the lowest population density of any independent country.

The country is nicknamed the "Land of Blue Skies," and with good reason. There are said to be about 250 sunny days throughout each year. The weather is bitterly cold during the winter, dropping down to -40°C in some parts. With many types of terrain — from desert to verdant mountains — the weather during the summer varies from region to region, but is generally hot. Outside of the Gobi desert, this time of year is marked with much rain in some areas, and it can become quite cool at night.

For several letters, the ISO 9 standard transliteration of Cyrillic is not widely used and there is no consensus either in Mongolia nor in Wikivoyage. Particularly, the same Cyrillic letter "х" is transliterated "h" or "kh", the letter "ө" is transliterated "ô", "ö", "o" or "u", but Latin "o" is also the transliteration of the Cyrillic "о", and Latin "u" is also the transliteration of Cyrillic "у" and "ү" (the latter should be transliterated "ù" according to ISO 9, but this is rarely done). So, if you can't find a name as you wrote it, try other spellings.

Mongolia may have geopolitical, cultural and geographical meani…

Get in

Historically, Mongolia had a reputation for being a very difficult country to visit. Until the mid-1990s, you had to solicit an invitation letter from someone living in Mongolia to visit Mongolia.

Lately, the visa rules have been relaxed and most people can enter the country without a visa. The Mongolian government declared the 2023-2024 tourist season the "Year of Mongolia", relaxing visa requirements for many countries, including all major Western nations. Whether this will become a permanent change is yet to be seen.

Get around

If you plan to travel around the countryside without a guide, take a GPS and some maps. The "Mongolia Road Atlas" is available in many book shops, it has over 60 pages and covers the whole country: there is a Latin-character version and Cyrillic-character version, in the countryside most people won't understand the Latin version. More detailed maps are available at the Mongolian Government Map Store. These maps are 1:500,000. Also, some other special-purpose maps and a good map of downtown Ulaanbaatar. The map store is on Ih Toiruu St. Go west from the State Department Store on the main street, called Peace, Peace and Friendship, or Ekhtavan Ave., two blocks to the large intersection with traffic lights, turn right (north) and the map store is about halfway along the block. There is an Elba electronic appliance store set back from the street, a yellow and blue building, the next building is a 4-story, Russian-style office building, the map store entrance is on the west side, toward the south end of the building. It lines up with the north wall of the Elba building.

Whichever the method of long-distance travel, keep in mind that everything in Mongolia has a tendency to break down. Don't be shocked if part of the suspension breaks and the driver jerry-rigs a carved wooden block in the place of a mount. For more serious breakdowns, it can easily take an entire day or longer for somebody to come along and help, so leave plenty of slack in itineraries. Finally, Mongolians are rat…

See

thumb|Monk at the Gandan Monastery

Mongolia is a big country that has been beyond the reach of travellers and the normal trappings of civilization until the 21st century. Even today it can be difficult to travel between the few places that 'exist'. There is little noteworthy architecture in the country. Except for the short-lived capital of the Mongol Empire at Karakorum (Kharkhorin), the descendants of Genghis Khan left little evidence of their power inside their native homeland. Genghis Khan, who leveled cities from the Yellow Sea to the Caspian, was said to have only built one permanent building during his life, a warehouse to store his stupendous amount of loot.

Do

thumb|Mongolian honor guard Experiencing the culture and having a meal or spending the night with a nomadic family are authentic Mongolian experiences. Whether you go just outside of the capital or fly to the far corners of the country, this is the most memorable part of any trip. There are some variations on the experience, depending on the tribal group.

The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the country. Also follow the path of Marco Polo across Europe and Asia into Mongolia to visit the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire in Karakorum.

Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world and has very little development of any kind outside of the capital and a few small towns. There often aren't even roads connecting these towns. This pristine setting means that Mongolia has wide open spaces for experiencing the outdoors for those who want adventure. Traveling across this vast country is often an adventure in itself with tourists and adventurers alike going by car, motorcycle, bike, horse, camel, or foot. Most often this means camping on the shore of a river or with a nomadic family or in small roadside hotels in provincial towns. Along the way or on one of the many wild rivers and nature preserves, there is great fishing, particularly fly-fishing during the summer. Climbing the mountains in the west is popular as well as photographing the wildlife, flora, or the multitude of birds living or migrating through Mongolia.

Canoe down some of Mongolia's major rive…

Eat

thumb|The Mongolian trifecta: khuushuur fried dumplings on the left, buuz steamed dumplings on the right, and pieces of boiled mutton on top

Anywhere you find people in Mongolia, you will also smell the scent of boiled mutton, the principal dish of Mongolia. A typical herder in the countryside will eat little else, flavored only with a little salt. Vegetables and spices are very limited, and even flour may be in short supply, since the climate is poorly suited to agriculture.

Restaurants, canteens and tea shops in Mongolia also have a mutton-centric menu, revolving around three dishes: buuz (бууз) — Steamed dumplings stuffed with meat, often called the national dish of Mongolia. Derived from the Chinese baozi. A set of 6 usually costs 1,200-2,000 ₮. khuushuur (хуушууp) — Deep-fried stuffed flatbread with meat and onion, originally a festive dish but now ubiquitous. 3 or 4 will fill you up. tsuivan (цуйван) — Fried noodles with meat and a few token vegetables, often served with ketchup on the side. Around 2,000-4,000 ₮ a serve.

Horse, yak and beef are also eaten, and dairy products like byaslag (бяслаг), a mild, paneer-like fresh cheese, and öröm (өрөм), clotted cream, are also common. Aaruul (ааруул) dried curds are also a common snack: these are typically rock hard and have to be eaten by slowly dissolving them in your mouth, which eventually turns them into lumps of cheesy putty.

thumb|Preparing a marmot as boodog

For special occasions, bood…

Drink

thumb|A milk pail in Mongolia

The most common drink in Mongolia is salted milk tea (сүүтэй цай süütei tsai), which is essentially a cup of boiled milk and water, sometimes with a couple pieces of tea leaf and/or a pinch of salt thrown in for good measure. A cup of this and a bowl of dried snacks is the first thing served when you visit a ger, and it accompanies food at restaurants as well. The tea can be bulked up into a meal by adding in some toasted millet, rice, meat or bansh. You might want to build up your tolerance by drinking lots of milk in preparation for your stay because they don't drink much else, except perhaps boiled water if you specially request it during a longer stay. Also, most traditional nomadic foods such as dried yogurt and the like require acclimatization to milk as well. Cold drinks don't actually exist in the countryside (unless you intend to drink straight out of a river, generally not recommended).

thumb|A glass of homemade airag, prepared in the blue plastic barrel in the background

The national drink, though, is airag (айраг). Essentially the same as the Central Asian kumiss, this is a summer seasonal drink made from fermented mare's milk, and is certainly an acquired taste. The alcohol content is less than that of beer, but can have noticeable effects. Be careful, if you aren't accustomed to drinking sour milk products, the first time might give you diarrhea as your stomach gets accustomed to it. This should only happen the first time though.…

Sleep

Some western-style accommodation is available in Ulaanbaatar, but it goes for western prices. There are a few nice guest houses in UB for less than US$10 per night (even as cheap as 3,000 ₮ if you're willing to share a room), but they are crowded during the tourist season and hard to get into.

Out in the countryside, most of the hotels are rundown Soviet-era leftovers. A better option is tourist ger, set up by entrepreneurial locals. Staying at one of these costs about ₮5000 per person per night. They often include breakfast and dinner as well. When staying in one of these guest ger, the usual gift-giving customs can be skipped.

Finally, there are also ger-camps. Set up by tour companies, they do occasionally rent out space to independent travellers. Unfortunately, they tend to be both expensive (US$35 per person per night with 3 meals) and out of the way. To stay at a ger camp, use the online booking portals iHotel and Mongolian Ger Camps Network.

Except for the cities and larger towns, all land is publicly owned. This means you can pitch a tent pretty much anywhere. Courtesy dictates that you keep your distance from existing nomad encampments. Common sense dictates that you don't pitch a tent in the middle of or too close to a road.

Nowadays, there are more than 300 hotels in Mongolia and these are graded between 1 and 5 stars. Hotels holding 3 stars or more are for tourist service and must obtain permission in order to operate. The Accommodation Grading Committee,…

Stay safe

thumb|Sunset in Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia is mostly a safe country to visit, but take care in nights and when alcohol is involved, and if venturing out away from shelter with risks of harsh weather. Women should be aware of problems common in conservative regions.

Aggressive dogs may run in packs. Be wary of them since they are not likely to be as tame as domestic dogs elsewhere. Most fenced yards and gers have a guard dog that is usually all bark and no bite, though it is advised to make it aware of you so as to not surprise it, and carry a rock in case it does charge you.

Manhole covers — or more precisely, the lack of such covers — is a surprisingly common cause of injuries among foreigners and (especially drunk) tourists. In smaller cities and outlying areas of the capital, there are many missing or poorly placed covers. Avoid stepping on any manhole and pay attention to where you walk.

Stay healthy

thumb|Air pollution in Ulaanbaatar Nomads' dogs may have rabies. As a precaution, consider having a rabies shot before coming. Marmots should not be eaten at certain times of the year because they can carry bubonic plague. That said, the disease is carried by the marmot's fleas so the afflicted tend to be fur traders, and marmot is not a mainstream dish even in Mongolia. Hepatitis and tuberculosis are common throughout Mongolia. Tap water is unsafe to drink.