Mongolia
Mongolia
Travel Guide
Mongolia Travel Guide 2026
How to use my travel guides
My travel guides are organised in two main sections:
Overview
This will help you to decide if this is a location for you, and if so, where you may want to spend your time. For larger countries, I also provide additional overviews of different regions, states and territories.
Best things to do in…
Here I list specific things to see and do. For each, I provide star ratings so that you can easily see how good, unique and adventurous each place is. This means that you can easily pick out where sounds right for you!
Photos note: All of the photos you see on my website are taken by me or of me!
Overview
Mongolia is awesome! A lot of my best times have been spent just ambling around the country and stumbling across incredible places by sheer luck. For me, that’s a massive part of Mongolia’s charm. That being said, some spots are too good not to share with my followers, so here they are!
Best things to do in Mongolia 2026
I provide star ratings for each of my recommendations so that you can quickly narrow down what appeals to you. Explanations for what these mean can be found here.
I use Google Maps to plan all my trips and it’s a game-changer! I’ve added links to Google Maps for each of the locations below so you can easily add them to your own map. Be sure to copy this web link into the description of each location you save so that you can easily refer back to this guide later. Check out this blog for more tips on how to use Google Maps to enhance your travels!
Category: City
Recommended Duration: 2 days, 1 night+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Ulaanbaatar is Mongolia’s capital city and its only ‘real’ city in that other urban areas typically resemble small towns rather than expansive urban areas. It’s a great city and I really enjoyed it there, from the communist-era architecture to the old palaces. There is so much to do there that I’ve made a seperate guide for the city.
Ulaanbaatar Travel Guide
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Desert
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
The Gobi Desert is huge! It spans from southern Mongolia and across northern China. Much of the desert is flat and dry, although there are some areas of sand dunes too. You will still find nomads living in areas here, often with herds of goats.
It’s a good idea to book a tour for this area, where you’ll likely bumble around in an iconic grey Russian van, which they love in Mongolia and which is a vibe in itself. Getting there from Ulanbaatar, you also go through some beautiful steppes too. I was here in late July and found it pleasant to sleep outside under the stars, which was incredible!
Note: The arterial roads down here are paved and good. There are lots of mines in the Gobi which bring money in, hence the good roads. As soon as you get off these roads, however, you will notice that, like most of Mongolia, you will have tracks at best.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Desert, landscapes, views, cliffs
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Flaming Cliffs, also known as Bayanzag, are located in Ömnögovi Province, southern Mongolia. These epic rocky cliffs are impressive and offer amazing views of the surrounding desert landscape. This should be part of your Gobi Desert adventure, but I felt it deserved a special mention.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Culture, horse trekking and adventure!
Recommended Duration: 3 days+ (plus travel time to horse guides)
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
If you want something unique and have some balls, this one is for you. The Dukha (sometimes called the ‘Tsaatan’) are a small group of people who live in the far north of Mongolia close to the border with Siberia.
You need to organise a tour to get there, as you will need a local horse guide who knows the way. I did a horse tour which went up to here and then tagged it on with a trek to Lake Khuvsgul too, making for around a 10-day trip in all – more on that as a separate note below. For my tour, I went with a couple of friends I had made at my hostel in Ulaanbaatar. We got a local coach to the northern town of Murun and then got an old grey Russian van (which is commonplace in rural Mongolia) further north to the home of my non-English speaking horse guide. It was a two-day trek from there up to see the Dukha people, where we stayed overnight. You don’t need any horse riding experience as the horses are pretty intuitive. The ride up to the tribe is incredible, be sure to pack waterproofs in case it rains though (ideally a jacket with a hood and trousers) as it can rain and get cold up there even in the summer. This area of Mongolia isn’t steppe; it has more valleys, trees, and rivers. It rained a lot of the way there when I went. I was the second to cross a river after my guide and seeing his horse stumble in a deep, fast, surging river. The horse nearly rolled completely, which could have been very bad.
Drama avoided, we carried on and met the Dukha people and stayed with them. My small group and I (five tourists in all) were the only tourists there. The secluded valley was stunning with teepees rather than gers (yurts) used for accommodation by the Dukhas, differeing to the rest of Mongolia. I saw how the locals live off the land, including their reindeer. The best part was seeing the Dukhas (even the small children) ride reindeer and having a go myself! I will remember rocking up there, soaking wet and seeing a kid on a massive reindeer trot up to us looking like a complete badass!
This adventure is better with friends as the guides don’t typically speak English. I met a girl who went solo, and she said it was good, but a bit lonely at times. Also, be aware that this can be dangerous. You are on a horse in the middle of nowhere and the only way to get to your destination (and back) is on horse trails, so take a first aid kit and bear that in mind. My horse trek to here and beyond to Lake Khuvsgul was definitely one of the travel highlights, not just for Mongolia but of all time!
Location Note: Research and book your tour while you are in Ulaanbaatar. The location I have linked is for a small town called Murun which is where I took the bus from before then venturing further north in a van and then by horse.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Lake
Recommended Duration: 1 day+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Lake Khuvsgul is the largest lake in Mongolia and so large that it contains 0.4% of the planet’s freshwater. Located in the far north of Mongolia, close to the Russian Siberian border.
The landscapes are beautiful here too. I did a 10-day horse trek to see the Tsaatan people (see my notes above) and then turned east to here through smaller valleys. One of the best things I’ve ever done, you are camping in the middle of nowhere with nothing but valleys, trees, mountains, wolves and each other. If you don’t fancy doing a horse trek to get here, you can always get to the southern tip by road.
Horse Trek
I’ve included some photos below of the horse trek element to give you a flavour of it. The area is very remote, with horse trails and the odd motorbike track being the only way to get around. I had to bring and cook my own food on this trip, with only a tent being provided. Horse guides in the area also typically don’t speak any English. Bear in mind that if you choose this option, you are committed and can’t bow out whenever you like and it can rain a lot up there even in the summer, so make sure you come prepared in terms of equiptment and mentally. It was one of my favourite travel adventures ever, however and also as a bonus, if you are a fan of westerns, many Mongolian towns look like they are straight out of one and I must say it feels pretty badass to ride into one with your posse.
Hustai National Park
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: National Park and wildlife
Recommended Duration: 4 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This national park has rolling hills, but the main attraction is the Przewalski’s horses. These rare and endangered wild horses are short and stocky.
They were extinct in the wild until they were reintroduced into this national park in the 1990s. They are originally from Mongolia too, making it great for them to come home. These horses are also believed to be the only ‘true’ wild horses left in the world, with other free-roaming horses such as the American Mustang and the like being feral horses with domesticated horse genetics; Przewalskis, however, have never been domesticated in their entire ancestry!
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: History
Recommended Duration: 30 mins+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
When I was in Mongolia, I found it littered with burial mounds. They are rarely marked on any map and are often made of shapes of loose rocks piled together.
I have seen some awesome ones on my travels there, including some which are on west-facing slopes of hills overlooking valleys and rivers, similar to that of many ancient European burial sites. The location I have marked is just one site. I chose not to share the locations of the many others because I stumbled across them by accident as I explored the country. To me, that’s what made these places really special and it made me feel like finding these sites should be for those who are willing to venture off the beaten track.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscapes
Recommended Duration: 4 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
I don’t know the name for this area; maybe it doesn’t have one, but I stayed here for a while and found it really beautiful. There are nice mountains and valleys in the area, which were beautiful and green when I went. I was here in late July and slept under the stars, which was beautiful (although it was a bit cold, so bring plenty of blankets).
Ger Complex
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Restaurant
Recommended Duration: 30 mins+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is a ‘ger-ate’ service station where you can fill up nearby, but more importantly, it has great food and is clean and modern. Mark this on your map and stop in if you are passing, which many of you will on your way from Ulaanbaatar to nearby Kharkhorin.
Note: To explain my amazing ‘ger-ate’ pun for those who don’t get it, the Mongolians call their nomadic animal-hide dwellings ‘gers’, in other words, what foreigners often call a yurt.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: History
Recommended Duration: 3 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Karakorum is the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire, founded by the man himself, Chinggis Khan; that’s Genghis to us westerners. The ancient city was destroyed by the Chinese who ruled over Mongolia for some time, but some has been reconstructed. It’s an awesome place and worth seeing, especially as so much of Mongolia’s history is nomadic; it’s great to see some grand ancient architecture.
Kharakhorum Museum
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Museum
Recommended Duration: 30 mins+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
The Kharakhorum Museum is located very close to the ancient city. If you are at Kharakhorum and you like history, be sure to take a look.
Gaya's Guest House, Kharkhorin
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Accommodation
Recommended Duration: 1 night+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is a really great guest house in Kharkhorin, the modern town which is adjacent to the ancient Mongolian capital of Kharakhorum. The family who owns this place are angels!
They speak some English and are incredibly friendly and nice. You stay in Gers (yurts) on the outskirts of the town, where it’s nice and quiet. I also met some other nice travellers here too, although there isn’t a shared common area like a hostel. A good story about how nice the owners are is this: I was on a solo motorbike trip on a bike which broke down constantly. I was pushing it several miles back to the town because I had broken down on the highway as I left, luckily, where it was fairly flat, so pushing my bike wasn’t too bad. I rang ahead for a room as it was getting late by the time I got in and when the owner heard of my hardship, she drove to meet me at the nearby petrol (gas) station to get my bags from my bike so that it was easier for me to push up the small hill to her place. Lovely people, great local info and they were also happy to help me translate with the local mechanics on the phone to get me on the road again.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscape
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
One of the best places you will ever see if you like adventure. This beautiful valley around the Orkhon River has it all: valleys, plains, rivers, some trees, yaks, nomads in gers (yurts), mountain hikes, waterfalls and ancient burial mounds.
It is also a UNESCO site. I would recommend visiting Kharkhorin (details above) and then head south-west into the valley. I explored the area with a rented motorbike and a tent and bought my own camping gear cheaply in Ulanbataar for the trip. This is honestly the trip of a lifetime. I would recommend taking a guide unless you are very confident and are happy to go on a motorbike or horse and even then it’s safer in a group. You can camp wherever you like in the valley and explore all that it has to offer. I don’t want to list many specific things to see here as I feel like it’s somewhere you have to experience and explore yourself, getting lost, setting your own quests and exploring whatever appeals to you. I have some of my best memories of travelling from this trip – I by chance had met a Colombian in Ulaanbaatar the day before I planned to leave, coincidentally, he was renting a bike from the same place and we decided to end up exploring this area together. It was the perfect place for a boys’ trip and we enjoyed fording rivers on our bikes, camping wherever we saw fit, hiking up mountains and building fires. Be aware that if you do choose to head down here on a motorbike, you should fill up with fuel wherever you can and check in every town for fuel; they often have somewhere to fill up but it’s normally not on any map. Motorbikes there are unreliable, so I spent a lot of time in mechanics, which are often not signposted in the smaller towns. I spent time down residential streets, asking around and tracking down nondescript mechanics. Also, take plenty of cash with you, if you do need to pay for anything card is no good here!
Be aware that I only saw one major bridge on the whole trip and there aren’t any roads here either. You will be following small tracks and occasionally hitting sand and mud, which can send you off easily. Crossing rivers will mean you need to drive slowly across at fording points. Awesome place to explore but take a guide if you don’t want to rough it! I suggest heading down one bank of the river and as far as you like, then head back up the other. Alternatively, you can keep on going towards the 8 Lakes, more on that later.
Bonus Tips: I used maps.me for my navigation here and occasionally downloaded offline Google Maps to plan my route. Be sure to do the same while you have internet. Also mark ‘Орхон Бетон Гүүр’ (46°52’37.1″N 102°11’26.7″E) on your map as this is a good bridge to cross the river should you need. The small town of Bat-Ulzii (446°49’17.5″N 102°14’45.0″E) is also worth noting as there are some services here, such as shops, petrol (gas), a small mechanic etc., should you need any essentials. To make your life easy, I have also linked these below should you be keen to undertake an Orkhon Valley adventure. Also, be sure to mark any restaurants and fuel on your map, which you can find notes about online before you go.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Buddhist Monastery
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is one of the most remote monasteries in the world. It was previously destroyed but has since been rebuilt and is now a functioning monastery once more.
It is open to the public, but keep in mind that it is a functioning monastery and be respectful. This is located on the north side of the river. I took a rental motorbike up here and hiked up to the monastery, but there are also tours which go there, as when I arrived, I saw one of the classic old grey Russian vans driving up without tourists as I arrived. The hike up through the trees to get there is beautiful and I heard and saw the monks chanting as I entered. The complex is small but beautiful. You can even climb up past the monastery onto the peak just above and I enjoyed the view there and watching the birds of prey soaring around. Besides the restaurant below, this is my only special recommendation for visiting the Orkhon Valley because, as I mentioned before, I think everyone should explore this place for themselves – this attraction, however, you likely wouldn’t find it if you don’t know where to look, as it’s set back slightly from the valley slightly.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Resturant
Recommended Duration: 30 mins+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Listed as ‘Hotel Supermarket’ on Google maps, Bat-Ulzii. This is a restaurant worth plotting on your map before any trip to the Orkhon Valley. After living on camping meals for a while during my time here, it was great to go to a restaurant for some food variety. The food isn’t Michelin star, but it felt like it at the time! Definitely worth eating at if you are passing through. Not much information online about this place and I visited in 2023, so I can’t guarantee it’s still open, so don’t get your hopes up.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscapes
Recommended Duration: 1 day+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Often referred to as the ‘8 lakes’, this is a beautiful area with rolling mountains and, you guessed it, lakes! The largest is Khuisiin Naiman. I personally think there are more beautiful areas of Mongolia than here, but if you are in the area, it can be a good adventure to get here, as it’s pretty remote.
The locals told me that they camp up by the lakes in the winter, however the government makes them move into the surrounding valleys in the summer so that the lake is open to all and kept as a beauty area for the summer, so you will find a few nomads just before you get up to Khuisiin Naiman Lake. When I was there, I hiked up some of the mountains in the area and swam in the lake to cool off.
Danger warning: High wolf risk area
Be aware that wolves are a very real risk in Mongolia and I can vouch for them being active in this area: this was the only place in Mongolia where I saw nomads carry rifles during the day with them on the hills of that reason and I was also stalked by a wolf south-east of here on my way back towards Ulanabataar (more on that in my blog post here). I was told by the locals that if you do camp by the lake to keep a fire burning at night (not easily done when tired and solo) however the people who told me this were kind enough to let me camp by their ger (yurt) for two nights with their huge Bankhar dog (also known as a Mongolian wolfhound) nearby to keep the wolves away. I wouldn’t recommend this a place to go on a tour as despite this being a beautiful area there are nicer areas of Mongolia to visit with more wildlife and better even more beautiful landscapes however if you are planning an epic adventure without a tour and want somewhere to go where you will be in danger and have limit risk of rescue this could be a good option for you.
Ulaagchiin Har Nuur
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscape and swimming
Recommended Duration: 2 hours+
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Location: The location I have attached to my Google Map link is hopefully somewhere close to the right place, but who knows!
Description
A Mongolian highly recommended this place to me, however I didn’t end up in this area to see it, as I ran out of time. It sounds awesome though! I was told that near this town is a beautiful lake with sand dunes where you can swim. It was recommended to me to take a 4×4, then hike the last section to get there. I was also told that 30m (100ft) high sand dunes near the lake have water running out of the base of them into the picturesque lake swimming spot. I was told this place is frequented by local tourists but isn’t known to foreigners and tour groups. I was also told that a natural rock arch is nearby. This will take some investigation work when you’re there to get specifics for all of these but happy hunting if you end up over here!
Altai Mountains
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscapes and culture
Recommended Duration: 3 days+
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Description
The Altai Mountains are located in the far west of Mongolia, close to Kazakhstan. They are famous for being incredibly beautiful with mountains and lakes at every turn, so much so that some people call this region the ‘Switzerland of Asia’.
Many people I had met went there and said it was beautiful. I spent two months in Mongolia, sadly leaving as my tourist visa ran out and didn’t get time to go here. If you do go here, you can take craaazy long, uncomfortable bus journeys or take a more expensive domestic flight. It comes highly recommended, but the logistics of getting here and back from Ulaanbaatar mean it will take time – be aware you will need to get back because all international flights (as far as I am aware) go through there.
Category: Travel
Recommended Duration: 30 hours (approx.)
Andy visited?: No, but people have recommended it to me
Description
You can choose to travel from Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar to Beijing, China by rail. I had friends who did this and loved it. I also had plans to do it, but given my poor planning, I didn’t have a Chinese visa when I landed in Mongolia and there was no means to apply for one in Mongolia; because Mongolians can enter China visa-free, so no Chinese visa office in Mongolia.
You can get a visa in Seoul though and there are cheap flights from Mongolia to Korea, so you can stop there en route to Mongolia and get a visa sorted if you haven’t already. My friends did this, and it worked out well for them. I am a big fan of crossing borders without using flights and it makes for a cool adventure! For a bit more background information for this adventure, the Trans-Siberian Railway goes from Moscow in the west to Vladivostok on Russia’s east coast and the Sea of Japan. An offshoot from the Trans-Siberian Railway is the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which heads north-south through Mongolia, via Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, into China and terminating in Beijing.
You can also get a train from Ulaanbaatar into Russia (again, subject to having the correct visa). I’ve not met anyone who went from Mongolia to Russia by train, but I did meet a Frenchman in Ulaanbaatar who had hitchhiked from Paris to Moscow and then took a train from there to Mongolia. What a badass!
More Mongolia Travel Guides
An overview of this incredible country, which is an adventurer’s dream
A guide for the best places to visit in and around Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city
I hope that you have found this free Travel Guide useful. It took a lot of time and travel for me to make this, so if you would like to show your thanks by sending a small donation, I would be very grateful. This can be done on my Support Me page. Thank you!
Happy travels!
Andy Argo
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Title image: Camping with nomads in central Mongolia. My motorbike and tent are in the foreground.