Top 12 Experiences
- Stay overnight with a nomadic family in a Ger — Drink salted milk tea, learn about the five types of livestock, help with milking, and fall asleep under the clearest starry sky you've ever seen. → Chap. Central Mongolia
- Climb the singing dunes of the Gobi — The Khongoryn Els rise 300 m into the sky. When the wind sweeps over the ridges, the sand grains produce a deep, humming sound. Unforgettable at sunset. → Chap. Gobi
- Gallop through the steppe on a Mongolian horse — The small, sturdy Mongolian horses carry you through endless grasslands. Multi-day riding tours with nomadic overnight stays are the most authentic Mongolian experience. → Chap. Central Mongolia
- Marvel at the Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue — 40 m high, made of stainless steel, facing east: the largest equestrian statue in the world, 54 km east of Ulaanbaatar. → Chap. Ulaanbaatar
- Search for dinosaur fossils at the Flaming Cliffs — The fiery red cliffs of Bayanzag are where the first dinosaur eggs in the world were discovered in 1923. Fossils still surface today. → Chap. Gobi
- Experience the Naadam Festival — Wrestling, archery, and horse racing: the three Mongolian national sports, celebrated in mid-July throughout Mongolia. → Chap. Culture
- Visit Erdene Zuu — Mongolia's oldest monastery — 108 stupas surround the ruins of the monastery, built on the stones of Genghis Khan's capital, Karakorum. → Chap. Central Mongolia
- Hear the silence at Lake Khövsgöl — Asia's second-largest freshwater lake, surrounded by taiga forests, is so clear that you can see 20 m to the bottom. Ride, paddle, fish — or just sit and marvel. → Chap. North
- Hike through the Yolyn Am Ice Gorge — A narrow gorge in the middle of the Gobi Desert, where ice lingers into summer. Bearded vultures circle above the rocks. Surreal. → Chap. Gobi
- Drink Airag — fermented mare's milk — Slightly alcoholic, sour, fizzy, and the national drink of summer. It is ladled from a leather bag, and yes, it tastes unusual. But you get used to it. → Chap. Culture
- Climb the Turtle Rock in Terelj National Park — Just 70 km from Ulaanbaatar, but a different world: dramatic rock formations, green valleys, and Buddhist meditation temples. → Chap. North
- Observe Przewalski's wild horses in Khustain Nuruu Park — The last true wild horses on Earth, successfully reintroduced in the 1990s. In the evenings, the herds come to the waterholes. → Chap. Central Mongolia
