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East AsiaSteppeNomadic CultureAdventure

Mongolia

The last great nomadic frontier — infinite steppe, ger camps and the legacy of the world's greatest land empire.

East Asia
🐎 Horse Riding⛺ Ger Stays🌅 Endless Steppe🦅 Eagle Hunters

Backpacking Mongolia

Mongolia is one of the last genuinely untouched places on earth. The Gobi Desert, the Mongolian steppe and the forested north contain extraordinary landscapes that most visitors never see because of distance and infrastructure challenges. The nomadic culture is accessible through ger (yurt) stays with herding families. Ulaanbaatar is a chaotic, fascinating post-Soviet capital.

£30–£60/day avg daily budget
Key Info
Mongolian Tögrög (MNT)Mongolian (Russian useful, little English outside UB)Type C/EDrive Right
Tips appreciated — ger host families have very low cash incomes
Weather
Best: Jun–Aug
Summer (Jun–Aug) — only viable window for steppe travel and festivals
October–May is extremely cold (-40°C in winter). June–August is the only practical window for most travellers.
Health
⚠️Treat all water in Mongolia — boil or use iodine tablets everywhere outside UB
Hepatitis Arecommended
Typhoidrecommended
Rabiesconsider — rural areas, dogs common
Transport
Trans-Mongolian trainShared jeepDomestic flight
✈️ UBN Chinggis Khaan International, Ulaanbaatar
Shared jeeps for steppe travel. Domestic flights for Gobi Desert. Trans-Mongolian railway enters from Russia or China.
Emergency
👮 Police102
🚑 Ambulance103
🔥 Fire101
The Highlights

8 Things to Do in Mongolia

01
Naadam Festival (July 11–13) — the national festival of the Three Games (wrestling, archery, horserace)
02
Gobi Desert — the Flaming Cliffs (Bayanzag), singing sand dunes and Yolyn Am ice canyon
03
Ger stay with a nomadic family in the Orkhon Valley — the most genuine cultural immersion in Asia
04
Eagle hunter homestay in Bayan-Ölgii — the Kazakh eagle hunters of western Mongolia
05
Trans-Mongolian Railway from Beijing to Moscow — one of the world's great train journeys
06
Terelj National Park day trip from Ulaanbaatar — the Turtle Rock and Ariyabal meditation temple
07
Khövsgöl Lake in the north — the 'Blue Pearl of Mongolia', largest freshwater lake, pristine taiga forest
08
Karakorum — the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire, now a remote monastery and ruin
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Insider Knowledge

What Most Guides Don't Tell You About Mongolia