Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. Mongolia is the world’s largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. A land of vast, unspoiled wilderness, where 30% of the population live in nomadic tribes. Mongolia represents the ultimate adventure and a chance to experience true wilderness.
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Mongolia is a remarkable sunny country enjoying 250 sunny days a year, with warm summers and extremely cold winters. The average temperature in most of the country is below the freezing point from November to March and close to it in April and October. Winter nights of -40C occur most years, summer extremes reach as high as +40C in the Gobi Desert and +33C in Ulaanbaatar.
The best moment to visit this country is between May and September. The weather during this time varies considerably from region to region. The highest rainfall period is in July and August, however, there are still days of glorious sunshine during this time.
Wildlife: from July to September. The hotspots for wildlife safaris include the Altai Mountains, Gobi Desert, and Har Us National Park.
Eagle festival: In the Altai Mountain range around the end of September and beginning of October the Eagle festival is held with the local Kazakh people. They are famous of hunting with eagles, mostly fox, rabbit, and wildcat. In this festival you can participate in trainings such as riding a horse while holding an eagle in your arms, calling your eagle and as well as hunting simulations with the eagle.
Gobi Desert: is in June and September. The spring is a time of strong winds, especially difficult in the sandy areas.
National Naadam Festival: in mid-July.
Birdwatching: in mid-May is a delightful season when birds are in breeding plumage, song fills the air and migrants are still passing through on their way north to Siberia. Also, August to September is the best time for birdwatching due to fall migration.
The Tugrik is the official currency. Typically, 2.700 to 2.900 Tugrik per Euro and 2.300 to 2.600 per US Dollar.
The official language is Khalkga Mongolian and is spoken by 90% of the population. Today, Mongolian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
Visitors to Mongolia must obtain a visa (a tourist visa (30 days validity arrival within 3 months of issue), unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries. Nationals of certain countries may obtain a visa on arrival or an e-Visa online, while others must obtain a visa from a Mongolian diplomatic mission. Visitors must hold passports that are valid for at least 6 months from the date of arrival.
For E-Visa, you can do through this website
For checking if your country is exempt for the visa, you can visit this website
The tögrög has proven itself to be a quite unstable currency in recent years. ATMs are everywhere, but only a few accept debit cards with a microchip. Golomt, Trade & Development Bank, Khan Bank and XacBank all have ATMs in their Ulaanbaatar and countryside branches. These ATMs accept Visa and MasterCard and work most of the time, allowing you to withdraw up to T800,000 per day, although the amount may depend on your home bank.
Chip cards are not accepted at most ATMs, try the XAAH Bank ATMs.
Before leaving home check with your bank about fees for making ATM transactions overseas. A 3% charge is standard nowadays but some banks will only charge 1%.
Shops, department stores and supermarkets are open every day from 08:30-09:30 to 21:30-00:00, including public holidays. Restaurants and bars are always open from around 12:00 to the late night, sometimes even into the small hours or for all night.
Time: GMT + 8 hours.
Chinggis Khaan International Airport (is an international airport located in the Khöshig Valley of Sergelen. The distance from the airport to the centre is 46 kilometres. By car, it takes 44 minutes to get to the centre.
Dalanzadgad Airport (located in Southern Mongolia, the most interesting parts near are: Gobi Desert and GurvanSaikhan National Park. The distance from the airport to the centre is 3 kilometres. By car, it takes 5 minutes to get to the centre.
Mörön Airport (is in Northern Mongolia, it is possible to plan a Khovsgol/Altai Mountian trip. The distance from the airport to the centre is 6 kilometres. By car, it takes 7 minutes to get to the centre.
The transport infrastructure in Mongolia remains at an underdeveloped level. Roads with hard coating are usually found only around major cities, between which buses run. In general, the roads between cities are quite well developed. It is worth noting that the state of the vehicle fleet is in a rather poor condition, although work is currently being done, aimed at gradually trying to update the transport infrastructure.
The most popular form of public transport in Mongolia is the bus. In several large cities, including the capital of Mongolia, there are also trolleybuses. Travelling Mongolia without a tour is possible. The 2nd and 3rd largest cities to visit in Mongolia are near Ulaanbaatar and can be reached on bus travel in Mongolia with private bus companies. If you are venturing out of the cities then minivans and shared jeeps are options to get around. If the idea of 12 hours overland is too much then consider flying internally. You may have to fly via Ulaanbaatar to another destination in Mongolia.
Getting around in Ulaanbaatar by taxi is a great local experience. The capital city has two kinds of taxis sometimes called official taxi or unofficial taxi. There are several taxi companies that offer reliable service with labelled cars with standard meters. The unofficial taxi is a just any car you take from the street. Taxi driving is a very common business for Ulaanbaatar residents.
Mongolia is pretty much easy destination to rent your own car and drive around the country or hire own driver and drive through the wide-open landscape. You can have short term and long-term car rental for travel and tour activities. Like European countries, Mongolia drive on the right side of the road. However, you will see as many right-hand drive cars as left-hand drive cars because of the cheap second-hand car imported from Japan. Luckily, all province centres are connected to the capital city with paved roads. Fuel in Mongolia mostly comes from Russia and fuel stations are evenly distributed around the sum centres, villages, and local towns. If you are travelling to the remote places, it is always better to bring 2 extra cans for fuel storages and 2 spare wheels at least.
The other option to travel around the country is to have your own driver with a tailor-made tour organized by local tour operators.
By train, the Trans-Mongolian Line of the classic and well known Trans-Siberian Railway connects Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar with Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia as well as Beijing, China. This train-route traces the ancient tea caravans, winding its way from Russia to China via the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The Trans-Mongolian splits off from the main Trans-Siberian Railway at Zaudinskiy, just a few kilometres after Ulan-Ude, before crossing the Russian-Mongolian border 250km further south. For more information check this website
By bus, Mongolia has a regional bus network system from Ulaanbaatar city to different provinces and cities. Regional buses also public transportation in Mongolia and ticket price is very economical compared to the other options. No internal flights operate in some provinces from Ulaanbaatar city. That is way long-distance buses are the first option to transport to/from the capital city. There are also several Mongolia bus routes to bordering cities in China and Russia, including Ulan-Ude city in Russia, Elian, and Beijing city in China.
All the buses require an advance seat reservation. You can make a reservation bus ticket online in this website. It is recommended to make a reservation early for popular routes during the busy travel season. However, if the bus ticket is not sold out, it is usually possible to buy a ticket just before departure at the bus terminal. Come to the bus terminal 30 min before departure and show up your ticket. So, you must know which bus terminal that sells the ticket to your planned destination. There are three bus stations/terminals in Ulaanbaatar that operate buses to the Mongolian provinces.
Refusal or pushing something away is a severe breach of etiquette. Hats are important in Mongolian culture, so never wear one indoors, especially in a temple or ger, never touch another person’s hat, even if you are sliding it out of the way, it is also considered bad manners if you do not take off your gloves or coat when inside, especially when eating or drinking. Point with an index finger at anyone, as well as, point with your feet, it is better to use your whole hand palms up to point at someone or something. Remove any objects from an altar or Ovoo. Take photos during prayers and meditation. As a rule, do not take pictures without permission and do not use a flash. Wearing shorts or short skirts or hats in temples or monasteries. Drinking tap water.
Mongolian cuisine predominantly consists of dairy products, as a result, animal fat, and meat figure heavily in Mongolian cuisine. While crops like corn, potatoes, barley, and wheat are produced in Mongolia, about 75% of the land is dedicated to pasture for the rearing of domestic animals like cows, horses, goats, sheep, and camels.
“Buuz” (large dumplings and recipes are dough filled with meat (sheep or beef), onion and garlic and steamed for twenty minutes. Dumpling is the one of the best Mongolian cuisines on national holidays), “Tsuivan” (is a popular Mongolian dish and main recipe, is home-made noodles, fried with meat (sheep and beef) and onions in a covered frying pan),“Bantan” (a thick porridge-like dish made from a broth of meat with onions. Locals add flour to give the dish its thick consistency), “Budaatai huurga” (is a dish made from home-made rice, fried with meat (sheep and beef) and onions in a covered frying pan), “Boortsog” (is national cookies made from flour, oil, salt, and sugar, fried in oil).
In Mongolia, there are two associated plug types, types C and E. Plug type C is the plug which has two round pins and plug type E is the plug which has two round pins and a hole for the socket’s male earthing pin. Mongolia operates on a 220V supply voltage and 50Hz.
Mongolia is generally a healthy country to travel in. Dry, cold climate and sparse population prevent the spread of various types of infectious disease. However, visitors to Mongolia should be in good health and prepared to engage in a reasonable amount of physical activity. Bring your prescribed medicine and anti-diarrheal antacid and antibiotics.The Mongolian government has made it mandatory that all its citizens get free access to primary healthcare, but it is important for tourists to make a medical insurance covers international emergency evacuation. Medical services in Mongolia are available everywhere. However, in some remote regions, the health service may not be as standard as big cities. Owing to bad roads or none in several regions of the country, many citizens, especially in rural areas, must travel long distances to undergo treatment.
There are no mandatory immunizations for travellers to Mongolia though you should be up-to-date with Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, and Hepatitis A. We recommend you seek advice from your doctor or travel center as to the correct immunizations and preventative treatments.
Tipping is not considered conventional traditionally; however, Mongolians working in tourism-related fields (guides, drivers, bellhops, and waiters at restaurants frequented by foreigners) are becoming more open to receiving tips.