Welcome to the Land of Blue Sky and the birthplace of Chinggis Khaan!

I have always wanted to visit Mongolia since I was in my second year of college! I had a classmate origins from Mongolia and pictures of beautiful landscapes of Mongolia were shown to me by my classmate. Since then, I promised myself that one day, I would be visiting Mongolia. A few years later, here I am in Mongolia!

The post below is going to tell you all about my personal experiences in Mongolia. I hope you enjoy it!

Best period to visit Mongolia

I would say June – August is the best period to visit Mongolia. If your schedule allows, arrange the trip where you could witness or maybe participate in their national annual Celebration called ” The Nadaam Festival” that always happens on 11th July. Archery, Wrestling, and Horse Racing are the main games in the events and mostly participated by men.

I would not suggest to visit Mongolia during the winter period as the temperature could go down to -40C in average or sometimes it could go down to -50C!

That’s why Ulaanbataar well known as the coldest capital city in the world!

Tour Operator

Sunpath Mongolia. They were my one stop solution in Mongolia. They are well versed, responsive, professional and reliable.

Doljmaa, the owner of Sunpath Mongolia, speaks fluent English and she will help you with all the information you need to know about Mongolia.

You could reach out to Sunpath Mongolia / Doljmaa via email at info@sunpath-Mongolia.com or check out their website here.

PS: I signed up for the 7Days Gobi + 1 Day Terelj National Park Tour. It cost me USD 480 for the whole trip 🙂

Places to stay in Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar – Sunpath Guesthouse (Sunpath Mongolia).
Cost: USD 7 per night. (per person)

Gobi Desert – Ger.

You are going to stay in the Ger built by the nomadic families.
All the basic necessities to make your sleep comfortable is provided inside your Ger. Sleeping bag is provided and extra blanket is available if you need one.
Cost: Included in the tour package.

Travel Insurance

Any travel insurance works! But I personally prefer to purchase an insurance from Worldnomads.com

Getting around

Ulaanbataar: Either by walk or taxi.

As a poor wayfaring stranger, I travelled around Ulaanbataar on foot. The distances from my hostel ( Sunpath Guesthouse) to the ” must-visit” places are within walking distance. 🙂

However, if you prefer to travel by taxi :
There are no official taxi operators in Mongolia. Hail at any cars on the street and hop on the car that stops for you. That’s how the taxi works in Ulaanbataar.

Certainly! You have to pay for the fare according to the kilometre on the car dashboard. 🙂

Gobi Desert: Van

Things to take note

If you signed up for the Gobi Desert Tour, it means you are going to the desert and staying in the Ger in the middle of nowhere where:

1. You are going to have no access to the internet and phone connections during the journey in the countryside.
2. There will be no power plugs inside the Ger to charge your electronics. But they will stop at decent restaurants every 2 or 3 days. There you could charge your electronics. (keep your expectation low) 🙂
3. You are going to have a shower once every 3-4 days :’) 😀
4. Brace yourself for the worst toilet you could ever encounter in your life. Good news! you could stargaze from the inside of the toilet 😂🤪
   ( A sneak peek of the toilet below)

What to prepare prior your trip?

Sunpath Mongolia provides foods, unlimited supply of drinking water and sleeping bags. So you don’t have to worry much. However, these are the additional items you might want to consider to bring along with you during the trip:

Sunscreen – remember, you are in a desert!

Lip balm

A cap and a pair of sunglasses

Clothes for the whole trip and a jacket – the weather can be cold in the night.

A pair of hiking shoes – you are going to hike a lot!

Toilet papers and lots of wet wipes – They are going to be your best friends during your trip!

Headlamp – You’d need one to go to the outdoor toilet in the night

Books and Musics – Most of your time would be in the van, and you’d need something to kill time.

Power bank – You will have limited access to the power plugs during your trip.

Travel adapters

Cameras / Go-pro

Gobi Desert + Gorkhi-Terelj NP Itinerary

(arranged by: Sunpath Mongolia)

Day 1: Tsagaan Suvarga (White Stupa)

The length is 100m wide and 30m height. Million years ago this cliff used to be under water.  After the sea dried, because of the wind other natural factors, it eventually changed in colours.
The different coloured layers indicate different time period!

From the pictures you could see why they called it as “ The Mongolian Grand Canyon” / “Mini Grand Canyon” 😀

Day 2: Yol Valley and Three beauties of Gobi

Brace yourself for some wet hiking here! 🙂

Ice in the middle of the desert. This is completely beyond my imagination. I did not expect to see this in the desert!

Day 3: Khongor Els Sand Dunes

Khongor Els Sand Dunes is huge! It is up to 800m height , 20km metre wide and 100km long! Can you imagine that?

Once you have arrived in Khongor Sand Dunes, you could ride a camel around the desert to get familiar with the area.

It was an amazing experience. However, my butt hurt after the camel ride 😳

Before the sunset, heads up to the Khongor Sand Dunes and starts your hiking journey to the top to catch the sunset! 

Climbing up the dunes was vexatious and arduous (a.k.a bitch!). I swore a lot inside my heart while I was climbing the sand dunes. HOWEVER, the view is worth the sweat.

Due to some health issue, I didn’t complete the hiking journey up to the top of the sand dunes. But I was told the view up there was spectacular.

The picture was taken halfway to the top of the Sand Dunes. Can you imagine how incredible the view would be from the top?

As the wind blows across the desert, you can hear the movement of the sands that brings beautiful music to your ears! Now we know why it’s known as “The Singing Dunes”

Day 4: Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)

This is the place where the American paleontologist, Roy Chapman Andrews, found the first dinosaur egg fossil in 1920. There were other fossils, such as velociraptor,  found in the area too!

During the sunset, the sandstone cliffs turn orangeish colour looks like it’s on a flame. Hence, they named it “Flaming Cliffs”

Once you are back in the Ger, try to wake up at between 4:45 am to 5:00 am the next day to catch the sunrise and moonset.

On the panoramic picture below, you could see the moon (little white dot on the right side) was setting while the sun (on the left side) rose.

Day 5: Ongi Monastery and Petroglyphs

Ongi Monastery is one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia. Unfortunately, it was ruined down during the communist era, leaving a set of ruins that can be seen in the area today.

Hike to the top and you would have a better view of the landscape.

here are some pictures of the petroglyphs!

Day 6: Kharkorin

Kharkorin was one of the ancient cities in Mongolia. It used to be Mongolia’s capital city and one of the largest cities in the world.

What left in Kharkorin is a huge complex of temple with huge wall surrounds it.

Tibetan’s style temples 🙂

Gigantic wall surrounds the temple. Can you believe how gigantic the temple complex is?

Day 7: Khugnu Tarna National Park

Heading to Khugnu Tarna National Park means leaving the Gobi Desert. Greens are everywhere!

Horsie is enjoying his life!

Have a horse back riding in Khugnu Tarna National Park! It’s one of the most amazing experiences you could ever have.

Day 8 : Gorkhi – Terelj National Park

Gorkhi – Terelj National Park is the nearest national park to Ulaanbaatar.

Once you are in Terelj National Park, visit Ariyapala Meditation Centre and hike up to the temple to see the whole park.

Then, go to the famous “Turtle Rock” which formed naturally by the wind and the water erosion.

Lastly, visit the Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex. The largest equestrian statue in the world with 40metre (130ft) tall.

Go up to the observation deck located on top of the horse’s head to have a close up look of Chinggis Khaan 😀

Additional random information:
here is the picture of the amazing tour guides of my Gobi + Terelj trip! I would like to personally thank them as they played a very important role during my trip in Gobi + Gorkhi Terelj National Park! My experiences would not be this incredible without their presences!

Ulaanbaatar Itinerary

State Department Store

State Department Store could be your another one stop solution in Mongolia.  You can do currency exchange on the first floor, buy a local SIM Card on the fifth floor, shop for souvenirs (especially cashmere) on the second floor, etc!

On the opposite side of State Department Store, there’s a park where it has The Beatles statue ( if you are The Beatles fans, you should check it out ). If you are lucky, you could see some event happening in the park. 😀

Sukhbaatar Square

You might be able to see some event / cultural event happening in Sukhbaatar Square during the weekend or maybe weekday.

Then, go to the National Museum of Mongolia (100m away from Sukhbaatar Square). You will be surprised how big the Mongolian empire used to be.

Also, if you want, you could stop by at The Fine Arts Zanabar Museum too 🙂

Winter Palace of Bogd Khan

The temple is amazing! I love the interior and design of the temple!

Zaisan Memorial / Zaisan Monument

It was built by the Soviet to commemorate the Soviet soldiers who died during the war ( If I am not mistaken, it’s World War II ).

Gandantegchinlen monastery and
Megjid Janraisig Sum Temple

It’s the biggest Buddha statue in Mongolia, and it is 26 meter tall!

Pyong Yang Baek Hwa Restaurant

You could visit Pyong Yang Baek Hwa Restaurant to savour North Korean dishes! Yes, A North Korean restaurant in Ulaanbaatar. 🙂

It’s just 15-20 minutes walk away from the Megjid Janraisig Temple.

Show up before 9:00pm as there would be a mini concert by the North Korean singers and dancers. They’re amazing and they will blow your mind with their performances!

Unfortunately, taking pictures during the performance is not allowed! Make sure you don’t take a picture of stuff you are not allowed to take pictures.

A sneak peek of the restaurant 🙂

Try the North Korean beer here! Tae Dong Gang Beer is a brand of North Korean beer.

Choijin Lama Temple

If you have extra time to kill, you can visit Choijin Lama Temple. It is a cool museum, but I prefer Winter Palace of Bogd Khan.

Few metre away from Choijin Lama Temple Museum, you will find this instagramable ” Ulaanbaatar ” sign in the corner of the street.

So, that is all the information about my trip in Mongolia! Feel free to give me a shout at rookie.trotamundos@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments! More than happy to answer!

Cheers!