Indescribable beauty and culture, clumsy horses, and cheap hospital bills
High-Level Itinerary
Ulaanbaatar: 1 day
North Gobi: 1 day
Kharkhorin: Half day
Orkhon Valley: 2 days
White Lake and Khorgo Uul Volcano: Half Day
Darkhad Valley: 2 days
Tsaatan Reindeer Tribe: 3 days
Naadam Festival: 2 days
Terelj National Park: 1 day
Mongolia is vast. Very, very vast. With so many spectacular regions to see and such massive distances between them, Mongolia was one of our most overwhelming trips to plan. Each Mongolian person we spoke with had a different (very strong) opinion about which regions to visit, but ultimately - trip planning will come down to time and preferences.
We got what we were expecting - nomadic families in traditional attire charging their horses over endless plains herding their livestock, the freshest meat, butter, and milk possible, Chinggis Khaan everywhere, and pristine nature. In fact, you can see gers (Mongolian yurts) and herders on the hour-long drive from Chinggis Khaan International Airport to Ulaanbaatar (a stark contrast to Kyrgyzstan where we had to travel for hours before seeing nomads). We also had some unexpected experiences like no running water or plumbing for days on end, a few nights spent sleeping on the floor of a barn, and more bugs than we’ve ever encountered!
This is an amazing destination, but some regions and experiences are lacking in amenities that other developing countries have. Mongolia is not for the inexperienced traveler, but the culture and landscapes are worth the visit.
Below, we give an overview of the main regions to explore, our rationale for the itinerary we picked, advice, surprises, and fun facts.
Four Main Regions:
History, Hills, and Nomads (Central): Central Mongolia is most easily accessible from Ulaanbaatar and, in our opinion, the best bang for your buck in terms of time spent in exchange for culture and natural beauty. You can drive a few hours to the Orkhon Valley and do a three day horse trek to visit the Eight Lakes. On the way to the valley, you can visit Kharkhorin - the former capital of the Mongol empire founded by Chinggis himself. While there is not much here beyond a small museum and old monastery (the city was razed by the Ming dynasty), it’s a noteworthy stop and a great refresher on a fascinating era in history.
Khovsgol Lake and Tsaatan People (North): Bordering Siberia, Northern Mongolia features the beautiful taiga ecosystem and remote nomadic tribes. Getting to this region is a long drive from Ulaanbaatar, but can be done by overnight bus if you want to save daylight. The key feature is Khovsgol Lake, the smaller sister lake to Baikal across the border in Russia. It is extremely beautiful - as clear and blue as the most spectacular parts of the Caribbean. Yaks can be seen enjoying a swim in the lake as herders ride along the shore.
The key cultural feature is the Tsaatan tribe. More on our experience visiting them below.
Gobi Desert (South): The Gobi region is one of the most popular to visit in Mongolia. It is filled with massive sand dunes, cliffs, canyons, and the unique two-humped bactrian camel (seeing one was a highlight for Jennifer). Driving in this region is purported to be easier than most of the rest of the country given there is a paved road (a byproduct of the mines in the Gobi) all the way from Ulaanbaatar to many points in the desert. There are also nicer hotel options. The highlights of this region are in south Gobi and while the roads there are paved, this still requires many days on the road.
We did not visit this region as we have been to many deserts before and wanted to see a more unique landscape.
Altai Mountains and the Eagle Hunters (Far West): This spectacular mountain region, located 25-hour+ drive or 3-hour flight from Ulaanbaatar, is considered by many Mongolians to be the most beautiful. It is home to the last remaining eagle hunters, however, these are Kazakh people culturally. They are also nomadic, but their customs, language, and religion differ from that of other Mongolian nomads.
We did not visit this region as the flights out west were sold out (they are sold far in advance in summer), travel by car was too long, we have been in the mountains for other long portions of our trip, and we wanted to focus on Mongolian culture.
Advice
Prioritize what makes Mongolia unique - the nomadic culture. While Mongolia has beautiful deserts and mountains, they are very challenging to get to and are not features unique to Mongolia. There are very few places left in the world to see authentic, traditional nomadic culture so we chose to prioritize this in our itinerary and we believe it was the correct choice and recommend you focus on this too while planning your trip.
Add in nomadic homestays to your itinerary. This is the best way to experience nomadic culture and try nomadic cuisine. During many of our remote homestays, we felt like we were living in the pages of National Geographic watching a lifestyle that very few still uphold. At the homestay, you will sleep in a ger, eat with the family, watch the matriarch milk yaks, horses, and potentially even reindeer,. Expect a simple diet of incredibly fresh ingredients provided by the livestock. We ate the freshest meat (we watched with mouths agape as a sheep got driven in on the back of a motorbike for slaughter… that immediately ended up in a delicious stew), flat bread made on the wood burning stoves, and homemade butter and milk.
Warning: Homestays often do not have running water and electricity. Some are more similar to camping.
From top left to bottom right: Horse family eating whole sheep in Darkhad Valley, Jennifer and guide having dinner in ger in Orkhon Valley, milking a mare in Orkhon Valley, barn in Darkhad Valley, fresh yak butter, view inside the teepee.
Spend multiple days in the Orkhon Valley. This is one of the best places on earth to experience nomadic life and, in our opinion, the best place in Mongolia to ride horses. Pictures do not capture the beauty of this immaculate region where the hills appear to be draped in green velvet.
Hills and river in Orkhon Valley Horses Buddhist monastery in Kharkhorin
You can get to Khovsgol Lake by overnight bus to save days of driving. We took a multi-day scenic route through the Orkhon Valley to get to the lake, but took a very efficient overnight bus from Murun back to Ulaanbaatar for the return trip.
Terelj is not worth your time. Yes, this region is close to Ulaanbaatar and features beautiful landscapes. However, we found it overly built up and very touristy.
Ask for daily driving time and distance alongside an itinerary. Other tourists we spoke with were very frustrated by the time spent in cars. This is pretty much unavoidable, you will be spending a lot of time driving. Note that if you go in summer, daylight lasts until 11pm so you can drive for 8 hours a day and still have hours to explore in the morning and evenings.
Consider visiting the Tsaatan people, but do so with caution. Visiting the Tsaatan people was a highlight of our trip, but we could see how the experience could be disappointing. The Tsaatan people have herded reindeer in northern Mongolia for over a thousand years excluding a period where the communists took and collectivized their beloved herds 🙁. While we got extremely lucky to stay with a massive reindeer herd and be a part of a move from a lakeside camp to a colder, icy region to keep the herd comfortable - it’s not hard to see how this activity is becoming precarious.
To reach the Tsaatan, you need to drive for 2 days and ride horses for 5+ hours.
On the first day, we arrived during a move. Larger tour groups are discouraged from coming on move days because it is a bit chaotic. Us and two other American tourists watched as the family packed up their belongings (including a satellite dish) on their reindeer and proceeded to herd the 300+ reindeer through the mountains during four more hours of riding.
The later in summer, the further north the families move to keep the herd near ice. Riding can be very treacherous as explained below (TLDR... Michelle broke her arm).
On our first night, we were there with the Tsaatan family and two other tourists. The second night, 35+ additional tourists joined the camp. We ended up sharing a teepee with 10+ people. Despite how remote these camps are, overtourism is an issue. There are very few families left who host guests, the warm season to visit is limited, and so ultimately many tourists end up in the same camp. We still had a great time thanks to our guide’s close relationship with the host family. Throngs of other people were left idling around taking a few selfies and sitting amongst themselves. Almost all tourists stayed only one night, riding for hours on horseback to and from the camp for a very brief, superficial visit.
We loved this experience, but that was thanks to a very skilled guide with a close relationship to a prosperous family with a large herd, having incredible timing regarding the move (again, coordinated by our guide), and having two nights in the camp. You have to be careful how you plan this part of your trip.
From top left to bottom right: reindeer packed up for the move with the all important satellite dish, horse guide riding through forest to meet Tsaatan family, Michelle and Jennifer with reindeer, warming up in the teepee, sunset on the ice with the herd, and potentially the real Rudolf.
Naadam is only worth attending if it naturally fits with the timing of your trip. We happened to be in Mongolia during their largest festival, Naadam. This consists of 3 sports “the three games of men” - Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery. The opening ceremony is impressive, but lasts about an hour and a half. The games are fun to watch for a bit, especially the horse racing in the countryside an hour outside of Ulaanbaatar. If your trip is starting or ending around the festival, definitely add a day or two for the festivities. We wouldn’t plan a trip around the festival independently though.
Horse racing Opening Ceremony Jennifer with an archer
Surprises
Mongolian horses are very clumsy, but on the brightside, Mongolian hospitals are very cheap! We rode our horses for around 10 hours one day. Mongolian horses are semi-wild and typically better on the steppe versus the mountains. Michelle’s fatigued horse slipped in the mud, leading her to fly off and break her wrist in a very remote region. The horse was very hard to steer in the first place, but compounded with the injury - steering was nearly impossible leading to additional falls. Even our guide’s horse fell repeatedly in the mountains. The riding is rough, so just be careful.
On a positive note, the hospital we visited when we finally got back to Ulaanbaatar was efficient and incredibly affordable. Just something to keep in mind!
The people are warm and helpful. We think the friendliest we have yet to encounter. Their hospitality knows no bounds.
Northern Mongolia is BUGGY. There were more bugs here than anywhere we have been to date. Horse flies, mosquitos, chiggers, ticks, crickets… all sorts of bugs all over the place. You can wear long clothing to avoid bites, but the horse flies can bite through some clothes and chiggers in the forests get through clothes as Jennifer discovered the hard way.
Do not expect a balanced diet. We spent over 3 weeks in Mongolia and had essentially no fruits or vegetables. Expect a diet of mostly sheep, some horse (we recommend avoiding this very gamey, fatty meat), dairy, and carbs. The restaurant scene in Ulaanbaatar was one of the worst we’ve experienced.
Vegetable section in remote grocery store Lamb and dumpling soup Fried lamb pie
Mongolia concerts are like nothing else. We attended a concert by the Mongolian metal band The Hu. Concert connoisseur Jennifer claims this concert to be one of the best of her life despite knowing no songs by the band coming into the show. The mix of traditional Mongolian throat singing, instruments, and heritage with rock and metal was truly innovative. Wow.
Fun Facts
~30% of the Mongolian population is still nomadic.
Mongolia is a majority Buddhist country though Shamanism and Tengrianism, the religion of Chinggis Khaan, are also widely practiced. Shamanism originates in the Northern Mongolia / Siberia region.
Chinggis Khaan is also a religious figure in Mongolia.
8% of Mongolian males are descended from Chinggis Khan as are 0.5% of males on earth.
Cashmere is made out of goat hair. Mongolia is the second largest cashmere producer in the world, making 25%.
Mongolia is home to the only species of wild camel.
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