Mongolia Things to Do

  Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
by happyhourkid
 
  • Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
      Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    by happyhourkid
  • Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
      Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    by happyhourkid
  • Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
      Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    by happyhourkid
  • Lenin Statue, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
      Lenin Statue, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    by happyhourkid
  •   Things to Do
    by Willettsworld
 
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Three Beauties (Gurvansaikhan Natural Park)

by Willettsworld

The Gurvansaikhan Mountains are a mountain range in Umnogobi province. They are named for three sub ranges: Baruun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Western Beauty), Dund Saikhanii Nuruu (the Middle Beauty) and Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Eastern Beauty) and so are known in English as The Three Beauties. The highest peak is found in Dund Saikhanii Nuruu, and is 9,268 feet (2,825 meters) above sea level. A notable gorge, Yolyn Am, is found in Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu. Though the range is surrounded by the Gobi desert, Yolyn Am contains a semi-permanent ice field. We drove through the mountain range on our way to the Khongor Sand Dunes.

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Flaming Cliffs (Bayanzag)

by Willettsworld

Bayanzag, 120km northwest of Dalanzadgad in the Gobi desert, earned its place in history as the first spot dinosaur remains were found in Asia by American palaeontologists lead by Roy Chapman Andrews in 1921. Skeletons of protoceratops and tarbosaurus have been found here but it was famous for being the first place on earth where dinosaur eggs were found in 1923. The Americans dubbed these cliffs the “Flaming Cliffs” during their time here and it's not hard to see why. They stand out from the flat featureless plains like flames and make for wonderful photo opportunities. There's a little museum inside a ger overlooking the cliffs that contains fossils and bones as well as some black and white photos of the American expedition.

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The Gobi desert

by Willettsworld

Umnogobi province in southern Mongolia is one of Mongolia’s largest provinces, with a population density of only 0.3 people per sq km. The few people who live here are of the Khaikh ethnic group. It's not hard to see why humans prefer to live elsewhere. With an average annual precipitation of only 130mm a year, and summer temperatures reaching an average of up to 38°C, this is the driest, hottest and harshest region in the country.The world famous Gobi desert is located in this province where the Khongor sand dunes stretch for 36 square miles (92,5 sq. km.), and are 115 miles (185km) in length and the 12 miles (20 km.) wide. The desert is also famous for being the birth place of modern palaeontology where many dinosaur skeletons and fossils have been found including the world's first dinosaur eggs, which were found at the Flaming Cliffs by American Roy Chapman Andrews in 1923.I spent a...

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Ongi Temple

by Willettsworld

Formerly one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia, Ongi Temple, located in Dundgovi Aimag south of Ulaanbaatar and north of the Gobi Desert, was founded in 1760 and combined two temple complexes on the north and south sides of the Ongi River. The older southern side consisted of various administrative buildings which were linked to the northern side by a bridge over the river which has long since disappeared but you can still see the base foundations of it. It used to have around 1000 monks bustling about their daily services in the 30-odd temples that were originally here. I say originally, as the whole monastery was destroyed by Stalin’s cronies in the 1930's and 200 monks were killed and many more imprisoned or forced to join the Communist army. Other monks escaped certain death by becoming farmers and common workers. The temple was then simply left to decay further. However, after...

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Erdene Zuu monastery, Karakorum

by Willettsworld

Erdene Zuu, (meaning "Hundred Treasures"), was the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. The monastery was started in 1586 by Abtai Khaan, but wasn't entirely finished until about 300 years later. It had between 60 and 100 temples, about 300 gers were set up inside the walls and, at its height, up to 1000 monks were in residence.Like Karakorum, the monastery was abandoned and then vandalised by the invading Manchu’s. Attempts at restoration were made in about 1760 and, again, in 1808 under the direction of the famous architect Manzshir, but then came the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. All but three of the temples in Erdene Zuu were destroyed and an unknown number of monks were either killed or shipped off to Siberia and never heard from again.However, a surprising number of statues, tsam masks and scroll paintings were saved from the monastery at the time of the purges - possibly with...

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Hustai National Park

by Willettsworld

The history of Hustai National Park, about 100km south-west of Ulaanbaatar, starts with the extinction of the Mongolian Wild Horse, known as the Przewalski horse or Takhi horse in Mongolian. The species were first discovered by a Russian general and explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky in the 19th century. The horses lived off the grass on the vast Mongolian steppes within this area. But the population declined dramatically in the 20th century for a number of reasons. First of all, the horse was wanted for its chloroplasts. In a chemical process, which is unique to the Przewalski horse, the animal produces certain chloroplasts in the back of their throat as a result of a chemical process after eating steppe grass. The very same chloroplasts were used as an anti-viral drug to conquer an outbreak of a disease in the early 20th century. Secondly, the horse was simply hunted for its meat. It was an...

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Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

by Willettsworld

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, about 80km (50 miles) north-east of Ulaanbaatar in the region of Tov Aimag, is a deservedly popular destination. At 1600m, the area is cool and the alpine scenery is magnificent. Terelj was first developed for tourism in 1964 and 30 years later it became part of the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. One of the most visited sights within the National Park is the Turtle Rock, (Melkhii Khad in Mongolian) which is one of many rock formations, that is shaped like a turtle. I came to the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park on the second day of my 12-day Mongolian tour with a tour company called Black Idex. Myself and an American guy on my tour, first visited the Turtle Rock before heading further up the valley to a monastery. We then headed to our overnight Ger Camp which was the first time that we saw and stayed in a Ger so everything was a bit of a novelty. We then walked...

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Trans-Mongolian Railway

by Willettsworld

The Trans-Mongolian Railway runs for 2215km between Ulan Ude on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining, by way of Ulaanbaatar. The line was built between 1949 and 1961 and in most of Mongolia it is single-track and in China dual-track. The gauge is 1520mm in Russia and Mongolia and 1435mm in China meaning that as change of gauge is required at the Mongolian/Chinese border.I took train No.24 on a Thursday morning at 08:05 from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing (which you arrive at 14:05 the following day) and it was one of the best train journeys I've ever done. I had reserved a 'soft-class' sleeper at the International Railway Ticketing Centre across the road from the main railway station in UB. The train carriage I was in looked very new and my compartment, (which I was lucky enough to have all to myself for the whole journey), featured two bunk beds on one side and...

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Naadam Festival

by Willettsworld

The biggest event of the Mongolian year for foreigners and locals alike is the Naadam Festival held in during three days in July. Part family reunion, part fair and part nomad Olympics, Naadam (meaning 'holiday' or 'festival') has its roots in the nomad assemblies and hunting extravaganzas of the Mongol armies. The communists renamed the festival People's Revolution Day and fixed it to July 11th to 13th, on the anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution of 1921 and this festival still takes place between these dates today.Wrestling, archery and horse racing are held during the first and second days. Day one of the Naadam Festival (July 11th) starts at about 9am with a fantastic, colourful ceremony outside the State Parliament House at Sukhbaatar Square. Chinggis Khaan's nine yak tails, representing the nine tribes of the Mongols, are ceremonially transported from Sukhbaatar Square to Naadam...

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Ulaanbaatar - Bogd Khaan Winter Palace Museum

by Willettsworld

This two-storey wood-framed Winter Palace was constructed in 1905 according to the designs of a Russian architect working under direct orders of the Russian Czar Nicholas II, who was apparently trying to curry favour with the Bogd Khaan at this time. The Qing Emperor, nominal ruler of Mongolia, took exception to the palace being built on European lines, since Europeans were Christians, not Buddhists, and to please him, lotus patterns were painted on the walls and Buddhist ornaments added to the roof (the latter are now no longer present). The Bogd Khaan and his consort Dondogdulam lived in the Palace for almost twenty winters. In 1925, after the Bogd Khaan’s death, many of his personal possessions were auctioned off at a sale organised by Kh. Choibalsan, the future dictator of communist Mongolia, and the following year his Winter Palace was turned into a museum. Despite the dispersal of...

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Fun things to do in Mongolia

Top 3 Hotels in Mongolia

The Continental Hotel  Ulaanbaatar

 1 Review and 23 Opinions  during my stay in UB I was completely cought of guard by this hotel. now they have a new fitness... 

 Hotels in Ulaanbaatar

Chinggis Khaan Hotel  Ulaanbaatar

 1 Review and 46 Opinions  Very good high end hotel. Modern, recently built. Very good service. We went there with very low... 

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Bayangol Hotel  Ulaanbaatar

 2 Reviews and 69 Opinions  I stayed here for a couple of nights - the first and last night’s of my Mongolian tour. This 4-star... 

 Hotels in Ulaanbaatar

34 Hotels in Mongolia
 
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Reviews and photos of Mongolia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Mongolia sightseeing.

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Things to Do: Cities in Mongolia
  1. Ulaanbaatar Things to Do
  2. Erdene-Dzuu Things to Do
  3. Harhorin Things to Do
  4. Ogiy Nuur Things to Do
  5. Ongi Things to Do
  6. Shanh Things to Do

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Ulaanbaatar Hot Things to Do  Ovorhangay Aymag Things to Do  Omnogovi Aymag Things to Do  Hovsgol Aymag Things to Do  Arhangay Aymag Things to Do  Tov Aymag Things to Do  Erdenet Hot Things to Do 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  We have the opportunity of visiting Ulaanbaator for two days in December this year. Could anyone tell me how difficult it is to... 

Fluffy_bunny profile photo

A: That depends, do you know what -20 to -30 C fells like? The locals are used to it. Just because it's cold, doesn't mean the whole city goes into hibernation. Things are... 

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