Things to Do in Mongolia

About Mongolia

The wind hits you first — a dry, cold slap that carries the smell of horse sweat and burning yak dung across the steppes of Töv Province. Mongolia doesn't ease you in. The capital, Ulaanbaatar, stretches between the Tuul River and the Bogd Khan mountain, where Soviet-era apartment blocks painted Pepto-Bismol pink sit beside 18th-century Buddhist monasteries. The ger districts on the city's outskirts — where half the population lives in traditional felt yurts with satellite dishes — tell the real story: Mongolia is suspended between 13th-century horse culture and 21st-century Bitcoin mining. In the Central Market (Narantuul), grandmothers sell fermented mare's milk (airag) for ₩3,000 ($0.90) a liter next to stalls offering knockoff North Face jackets. The countryside starts thirty minutes outside the city limits, where the road to Terelj National Park turns to dirt and families still move their gers with the seasons. Summer brings temperatures of 25°C (77°F) and grass that grows knee-high; winter drops to -30°C (-22°F) with snow that stays until April. The trade-off is real: you'll ride horses that respond to pressure from your knees, sleep in gers heated by wood stoves, and drink vodka distilled from yak milk — but you'll also use pit toilets in -20°C weather and eat mutton fat with every meal. This is the only place on earth where you can watch nomads race reindeer across the taiga at sunrise and order a flat white in a hipster café that same afternoon.

Travel Tips

Transportation: The Trans-Mongolian Railway from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing runs twice weekly, costs ₩281,000 ($80) for a hard sleeper, and takes 30 hours through the Gobi Desert. Inside UB, download the UB Cab app before you land — it works where regular taxis won't stop, and rides cost ₩1,500-2,500 ($0.40-0.70) compared to ₩5,000 ($1.40) for hailed cabs. Renting a Russian UAZ van with driver for the countryside runs ₩70,000-100,000 ($20-28) per day including fuel — negotiate this in cash at the Dragon Bus Station, not through your hotel. Avoid the airport taxi mafia: take bus #9 to downtown for ₩500 ($0.14) instead of the ₩30,000 ($8.50) taxi scam.

Money: Mongolia runs on tugrik (₩) and cash. ATMs in Ulaanbaatar dispense maximum ₩400,000 ($112) per withdrawal with ₩2,000-4,000 ($0.56-1.12) fees — bring multiple cards. Exchange USD at Golomt Bank on Seoul Street for rates that beat hotels by 8-10%. Carry cash everywhere: the best restaurants in UB still won't take cards, and there's exactly one ATM in the entire Gobi Desert. Tipping isn't expected, but rounding up taxi fares to the nearest ₩500 keeps drivers happy. Pro tip: keep small bills for countryside gas stations that might not break ₩10,000 notes.

Cultural Respect: Walk clockwise around ovoo (stone cairns) and throw three rocks — locals notice when foreigners don't. Don't refuse food offered in gers: even a sip of airag (fermented mare's milk) shows respect. Remove hats when entering Buddhist monasteries like Gandantegchinlen, and never point feet toward altars. The handshake is gentle — Mongolians grasp forearms instead of hands. During Naadam (July 11-15), book ger camps 3 months ahead; prices triple but you get to watch 2,000-year-old wrestling matches where men wear traditional briefs and eagle hunters parade in full regalia. The faux pas that'll actually offend: stepping on ger thresholds or whistling inside.

Food Safety: Eat the mutton — it's cleaner than you'd expect because Mongolian livestock grazes on chemical-free steppes. Street food in UB centers around Peace Avenue where women sell khuushuur (fried meat pies) for ₩1,000 ($0.28) each from plastic tubs; the oil is changed daily. In the countryside, your host will offer salty milk tea — drink it, but avoid the bottom where sheep fat collects. Bottled water costs ₩1,500 ($0.42) everywhere, including the Gobi. The one thing that'll actually make you sick: dairy products in summer heat. If it smells off, skip it. Vodka is safer than water — locals distill it themselves and it's always 40% alcohol, which kills everything.

When to Visit

Mongolia's seasons swing violent extremes. June through August offers the only reliable warmth: 20-28°C (68-82°F) in Ulaanbaatar, 25-30°C (77-86°F) in the Gobi, with long days that don't end until 10 PM. This is peak season — ger camps cost ₩80,000-120,000 ($23-34) instead of ₩40,000-60,000 ($11-17) in shoulder months, and domestic flights to the west run ₩450,000-600,000 ($128-170) instead of ₩300,000 ($85). July brings Naadam Festival, when half of UB camps on the steppes to watch 512 wrestlers compete for honor and pickup trucks. September-October is the sweet spot: temperatures drop to 10-15°C (50-59°F), the grass turns gold, and you'll have the Flaming Cliffs to yourself. November-March is brutal — -15 to -30°C (5 to -22°F) with biting winds, but this is when you see eagle hunters in Bayan-Ölgii and stay in heated gers for ₩25,000-35,000 ($7-10). April-May brings dust storms that last days and temperatures that swing 20 degrees in hours. For families: come in July, book ger camps with attached bathrooms. For budget travelers: September offers 50% lower accommodation costs and empty national parks. For photographers: October's golden steppes and reindeer migrations in the taiga can't be beat. The honest truth? Unless you're coming for eagle hunting or ice festivals, avoid Mongolia from December through March — the cold isn't just uncomfortable, it's dangerous when your ger stove runs out of fuel at 3 AM.