Tailor Made Holidays in Mongolia: Highlights

Experience the Nadaam Festival

The highlight of the year for Mongolians and tourists alike, Nadaam celebrates the three ‘manly’ sports of wrestling, archery and horse racing with competitors travelling from miles around to compete. The festival dates back centuries and is awash with colourful pageantry, from young children singing to encourage their horses as they race, to the symbolic eagle dance performed by wrestlers in traditional costume whilst their heroic deeds are announced to the assembled crowd. Nadaam takes place in early July every year and can be experienced in a variety of places.

Read more about: Ulaan Baatar & Around
 
Visit the Gandan Monastery in Ulaan Baatar

The largest and most important working monastery in Mongolia, Gandantegchinlen Khiid, a name which means ‘the greatest place of pure joy’, is one of Mongolia’s most impressive sights. Home to 150 Buddhist monks, some as young as 6 years old, the complex is most famous for its 26 metre high, 20 tonne golden statue Migjid Janraisig which is covered with over 500m of silk and contains a wealth of precious stones and medicinal herbs.

Read more about: Ulaan Baatar & Around
 
Discover the ancient city of Genghis Khan at Karakorum

Named as the new Mongolian capital in 1220 by Genghis Khan himself Karakorum served as the political, cultural and economic capital of the Mongol empire for 40 years. Although little of the settlement now remains, Karakorum still holds enormous significance to the Mongolian people and is also home to the monastery of Erdene Zuu the first of many Buddhist monasteries constructed in the country.

Read more about: Karakorum
 
Visit the Eagle Hunters of Bayan-Olgii

Held during the first weekend of October, the Eagle Festival of Bayan-Olgii celebrates the lifestyle, culture and spiritual traditions of a people distinctive within Mongolia by virtue of their close cultural links with neighbouring Kazakhstan. Dark, rocky mountainous terrain serves as the backdrop to the annual festival which sees competitors in full eagle hunting regalia, mounted on magnificent horses, take part in a traditional opening ceremony followed by a series of exciting sporting events such as hunting, wrestling and an all important tug of war.

 
Experience nomadic life

Despite the Soviet occupation of Mongolia the traditional nomadic way of life has survived remarkably intact with about half the population still making their homes in traditional encampments outside of the main cities. As such no trip to this extraordinary country would be complete without experiencing a night spent in a traditional felt ger tent, tasting airag (fermented mares milk) or visiting a nomadic family in their home for the opportunity to learn about this remarkable way of life.

Read more about: The Gobi & The South
 
Meet the Reindeer Herders of Lake Khuvsgul

A celebration of shamanism, nomadic life and the important role that these beautiful creatures play in the lives of Mongolia’s Tsataan people, Lake Khuvsgul’s annual reindeer festival offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet with some of the country’s most fascinating people. Held in late June amidst the magnificent wooded mountains which surround Mongolia’s most beautiful lake, the festival celebrates the life and culture of the reindeer herders through a combination of competitive events, thanksgiving rituals and traditional concerts.

Read more about: Khuvsgul
 
See the spectacular glaciers of Yolyn Am

The last thing most travellers to the vast Gobi region expect to discover on their journey is a gorge filled with glacial ice, yet Yolyn Am, nestled deep in the Mongolian south offers the opportunity to experience just that. Also known as the Eagle Canyon the site is home to a vast array of wildlife from eagles to ibex and even the rare Mongolian snow leopard.

Read more about: The Gobi & The South
 
Hunt for dinosaurs at Bayanzag

Renowned worldwide for the number of dinosaur bones and eggs found in the area by noted palaeontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, Bayanzag is a must-see for those on the trail of these fantastic creatures. Dinosaurs aside it is also an area of outstanding natural beauty offering classic desert landscapes of rock, red sand and an eerie feeling of vast emptiness.

 
See Takhi wild horses in Khustai National Park

It is thought that the Mongolian wild horse (or Takhi) became extinct in the 1960s, with the last remaining specimens found in European zoos. In the 1990s a population was reintroduced that has now flourished to around 150 wild horses. These magnificent animals, with more than a passing similarity to zebras, can be seen in Khustai National Park, around a three-hour drive from Ulaan Baatar.

Read more about: Ulaan Baatar & Around
 
Visit the dunes of the Gobi desert

One of the least populated regions of the world, the Gobi is a challenging environment to travel in, with vast distances and little infrastructure. Those that go are rewarded with a unique landscape, with especially impressive dunes around Khongoryn Els and the chance to see camels, gazelles, and other wildlife. Another way of seeing the desert is to cross it by train as part of the Trans-Mongolian railway.

Read more about: The Gobi & The South
 
Travel to Lake Khovsgol

In the north of Mongolia lies Lake Khovsgol, a large, crystal clear lake with a mountainous backdrop. The local Tsaatan people base their livelihood around reindeer herds and are fascinating to visit. There are also great opportunities for hiking, fishing and horse riding.

Read more about: Khuvsgul
 
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