EAST ASIA

Mongolia travel guides

Mongolia is travelled with a driver-guide: distances are long, roads outside the towns are often tracks, and nights are spent in ger camps. These guides cover entry and registration, getting around by plane, train and road, what a trip costs all in, the best months and the Naadam festival, what to eat, how ger stays work, where to stay in Ulaanbaatar, the capital and Terelj, the Gobi, Kharkhorin and the Orkhon Valley, Lake Khövsgöl, and two routes of 10 and 14 days that keep driving to daylight.

Ulaanbaatar and Terelj Central Mongolia The Gobi Northern Mongolia

Khongoryn Els · Gobi, Mongolia

Destination guides

Each guide helps you decide whether a place fits your trip, how long to stay, where to sleep, what to eat and how to get there.

Ulaanbaatar and Terelj

The capital, its museums and monasteries, and the national park an hour away.

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Sükhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar under a blue sky, with the red Opera House and the city's high-rise towers beyond the open paving

Ulaanbaatar · 2 nights at the start of a Mongolia trip, plus 1 night at the end before the flight home

Ulaanbaatar

How many nights Mongolia's capital needs: Sükhbaatar Square, the Chinggis Khaan museum, Gandan and Choijin Lama temples, the Bogd Khan Palace, hotels and costs.

Stone stairway with yellow railings leading to the gate of the Aryabal Meditation Temple below a rocky mountain in Terelj

Töv · A day trip from Ulaanbaatar (about 09:00 to 18:00), or 2 days and 1 night in a Terelj ger camp

Terelj and the Chinggis Khaan Statue

Whether to see the giant Chinggis Khaan statue, Turtle Rock and Aryabal temple in a day from Ulaanbaatar or with a ger night in Terelj, with tours, camps and costs.

Central Mongolia

Kharkhorin, Erdene Zuu and the Orkhon Valley, the old heart of the empire.

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Temples of Erdene Zuu Monastery with green roofs on a grassy courtyard under a blue sky

Övörkhangai · 4 days and 3 nights: Kharkhorin, the Orkhon Waterfall and Khogno Khan, with Khustai on the way back

Kharkhorin and the Orkhon Valley

Four days in central Mongolia: Erdene Zuu and Kharkhorin, the Orkhon Waterfall, Tövkhön Monastery and Khustai's wild horses, with hours, drives, camps and costs.

The Gobi

Dunes, canyons and cliffs of the southern desert.

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Pale dunes of Khongoryn Els below the dark Gobi Altai mountains under a blue sky

Ömnögovi · 6 days and 5 nights by road from Ulaanbaatar; 4 days and 3 nights on a fly-in lodge stay

Gobi Desert

How to see the South Gobi: the six-day loop to Tsagaan Suvarga, Bayanzag, Khongoryn Els and Yolyn Am, drive times, camps, the fly-in option and what it costs.

Northern Mongolia

Lake Khövsgöl and the taiga hills near the Russian border.

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A pebbly shore of Lake Khövsgöl with driftwood and larch trees above clear blue water

Khövsgöl · 3 days and 2 nights: a flight to Mörön, two nights in a camp by the lake near Khatgal, and the flight back

Lake Khövsgöl

Three days at Lake Khövsgöl from Ulaanbaatar: the flight to Mörön, the drive to Khatgal, lakeside camps, horses and boats, winter ice and an all-in cost.

Make the important choices first

Entry rules, transport, seasons, costs, festivals, food, ger stays and where to stay.

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The white Golden Stupa and smaller stupas of Erdene Zuu Monastery under a bright blue sky

Mongolia · 10 days, 9 nights: 3 in Ulaanbaatar and 6 in ger camps (Tsagaan Suvarga, Yolyn Am, Khongoryn Els, Bayanzag, Ongi, Kharkhorin)

First trip to Mongolia

A first Mongolia trip: why you travel with a driver-guide, the ten-day Gobi and Kharkhorin loop, ger camps and manners, entry, cash, SIM cards and daily costs.

The low terminal of Chinggis Khaan International Airport behind a lawn under a blue sky

Töv · Entry planning before you book; visa-free stays are up to 30 days for most European passports

Entering Mongolia

Who can visit Mongolia without a visa and until when, what changes for a 2027 trip, the 48-hour address registration, and what customs lets you bring in and take home.

A green passenger train winding along a river valley between grassy hills in northern Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar · Transfers and legs for a 10- to 14-day trip from Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi, Kharkhorin and Lake Khövsgöl

Getting around Mongolia

Chinggis Khaan airport to Ulaanbaatar, the train from Beijing, flights to the Gobi and Lake Khövsgöl, long-distance buses and hiring a driver-guide.

Green summer steppe with a lone tree, grazing herds and white gers below rolling hills in Arkhangai

Mongolia · A 10- to 14-day countryside trip, timed for the camp season

Best time to visit Mongolia

When to go to Mongolia: the June to September camp season, July's Naadam crowds, the Gobi's summer heat, Ulaanbaatar's long winter and the camps that close for it.

Pale sand dunes of Khongoryn Els under a blue sky with scattered white clouds

Mongolia · 10 days, 9 nights: 3 in Ulaanbaatar and 6 in ger camps at Tsagaan Suvarga, Yolyn Am, Khongoryn Els, Bayanzag, Ongi and Kharkhorin, arriving and leaving through Chinggis Khaan International Airport.

Mongolia trip cost

Ten days in Mongolia for two, all in: about MNT 6.76 million per person on a group tour, MNT 10.28 million on a private tour or MNT 12.93 million in comfort.

Wrestlers in red and blue doing the eagle dance on the grass of the Naadam stadium in Ulaanbaatar, with the stands behind

Mongolia · Naadam is three days of sport (11-13 July) within a longer public holiday; the winter festivals last one or two days

Mongolia festivals and events 2027

Naadam on 11-13 July, Tsagaan Sar and the camel, ice and eagle festivals: Mongolia's 2027 dates, how firm each is and what a festival trip costs.

A small plate of steamed buuz dumplings in Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia · Two or three days of meals in Ulaanbaatar, then the camps' kitchens on a countryside trip

Mongolian food

Buuz, khuushuur, tsuivan, khorkhog, milk tea and summer airag: where to eat them in Ulaanbaatar and at ger camps, vegetarian options and a day's meal costs.

Inside a tourist ger with beds around the lattice wall, a table and stools, in Kharkhorin

Mongolia · Most nights of a countryside tour; two or three nights at one camp near Ulaanbaatar as a stay on its own

Ger stays in Mongolia

Ger camp or herding family? What a night in a ger includes, from bathrooms, stoves and meals to etiquette, with priced camps near Ulaanbaatar and on the Orkhon route.

Central Ulaanbaatar from above, with the curved glass Blue Sky Tower and apartment blocks under a blue sky

Ulaanbaatar · One night before a countryside trip and two after it

Where to stay in Ulaanbaatar

Which part of Ulaanbaatar to sleep in before and after a countryside trip: the centre, Gandan, the railway station or Khan-Uul near Zaisan, with named hotels and rates.

Brick headquarters of the Bank of Mongolia with potted shrubs and parked cars in front under a blue sky, Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia · Set up before you fly: a Visa or Mastercard, a check of your bank's foreign fees, and dollars or euros in good condition; draw or change tögrög on arrival

Money and payments in Mongolia

Paying in Mongolia: where a foreign card works, what an ATM pays out, which notes to bring and change, cash for the countryside, tipping guides and customs.

Unpaved dirt road running between green hills in Bulgan Province, Mongolia

Mongolia · Start at least 8 weeks before you fly with vaccines and insurance; the rest applies throughout the trip

Health and safety in Mongolia

Emergency numbers, insurance and the 80% hospital deposit, vaccines and rabies, raw milk and plague, night driving, taxis and the laws that catch visitors in Mongolia.

The wide paved expanse of Sükhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar with a few pedestrians and tall buildings behind

Mongolia · Set up before you fly: UBCab, saved numbers, an airport transfer and a booked first night

Solo female travel in Mongolia

Travelling alone as a woman in Mongolia: the UK, German and French advice, the airport after midnight, taxis, nights out, guesthouses and gers, the countryside and 102.

Routes with time to stay

Ten and fourteen days with a driver-guide, from the Gobi to Lake Khövsgöl.

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A tall sand dune of Khongoryn Els rising behind green scrub under a blue sky

Ulaanbaatar, Töv, Dundgovi, Ömnögovi and Övörkhangai, Mongolia · 10 days / 9 nights: Ulaanbaatar 3, six ger camps 1 each

Mongolia in ten days

Three nights in Ulaanbaatar, a Terelj day and a six-camp loop through the Gobi to Kharkhorin with a private driver and guide: drive times, camps and an all-in budget.

Wind-shaped sand ridges of Khongoryn Els under a blue sky in the Gobi

Ulaanbaatar, Töv, Dundgovi, Ömnögovi, Övörkhangai and Khövsgöl, Mongolia · 14 days / 13 nights: Ulaanbaatar 4, seven ger camps 1 each, Lake Khövsgöl 2

Mongolia in fourteen days

A Gobi and Orkhon Valley road loop with a private driver-guide, two nights at Lake Khövsgöl by domestic flight and a Terelj day: drive times, camps and an all-in budget.

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