Mongolia

Mongolia generally receives extreme continental climate all year round. With more than two hundred and sixty sunny days in a year, Mongolia experiences three types of climate when the travelers can visit the location with ease and utter comfort:

• Spring: During the springtime, Mongolia witnesses’ unpredictable weather that creates snowstorms that are generally intermixed with spells of sunshine and light blowing wind. Besides the northern border of Khentii and Khovsgol, the Taiga region of Mongolia receives maximum rainfall. Sunshine is generally intense and humidity is near to zero.
• Summer: The perfect time to travel Mongolia is in the middle of May. During early May, the region has the chances of receiving snowfall, especially in the North region. The June weather is generally good and dry throughout the central and southern area. The northern location and the mountains are cold. During July, the visitors can also view Naadam Festival. Summer is considered as a peak season for tourist attractions.
• Winter: During the month of winter in between November to February. Zud or a harsh weather condition accompanied with snowstorms and the cold wind is experienced during this month zone. Later, when the weather normalizes and becomes stables, the tourist attends Ice Festival, Camel Festival and Tsagaan Sar.

You can travel to Mongolia by Air:

• By Air

Mongolia, a landlocked region can be reached either by air or land. Genghis Khan International Airport (ULN) is one of those major international airports that is situated fifteen kilometers in the southwest direction of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There are no direct flights to Mongolia. The below connection flights are available from India through:

• Hong Kong – Ulaanbaatar by MIAT Mongolian Airlines
• Seoul – Ulaanbaatar by the Korean Airlines
• Beijing – Ulaanbaatar by Air China

The holder of Indian passport is required to apply for the Mongolian visa to the Mongolian embassy in New Delhi.

There are basic requirements to avail Mongolian visa:

• Must have a passport which should be valid for six months beginning from the day of travel to Mongolia.
• Must have visa application form.
• One passport sized photograph.
• A letter of amiable invitation from the host company residing in Mongolia.
• Moreover, the visa fee depends upon the type of visa that you have been enrolled to.

The currency of Mongolia is Mongolian Tugrik. The big banks in the country practically offer all services that one can expect including exchanging of money. There are many exchange shops located in Mongolia.

Mongolia calls to be a perfect tourist destination for travelers who seek to blend or take a glimpse of the distinct nomadic and traditional culture. Must visit destination spots in Mongolia are as follows:

• Gobi Desert
• Khuvsgul Lake
• Terelj National Park
• Altai 5 bogd
• Karakorum-Erdenezuu
• Orkhon valley
• Khustai National Park
• Ulaanbaatar city
• Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park
• Tsagaan suwarga

Mongolia is an awesome place to travel because of its fantastic landscapes and other worldliness. In Ulaanbaatar, you will find the capital stand in poised edge aligned between East and West direction. Here, tourism is still at an infancy stage in the country. Moreover, traveling to Mongolia is both challenging and exciting job. Most of the travel companies in Ulaanbaatar still face trouble with the web. But even after this shortcoming, the travelers don’t seem to deter from taking the trip set for a lifetime.

Following are the things you can do in Ulaanbaatar.

• Sights & landmarks viewing
• Visiting nature and parks
• Overview of Museums
• Travel tours or hiking
• Shopping
• Viewing concerts and shows
• Relishing the water and amusement parks
• Viewing the nightlife
• Spas and entire body wellness

Generally, the food in Mongolia is influenced by extreme continental climate due to which the diet of the nomads primarily comprise of meat, dairy products and fat of animals. Spices along with vegetables are served but generally are in limits. Due to the rich retrospective history merged with China and Russia, the cuisine portrays an influential mix of both cultures.

Following are the must-try cuisines of Mongolia:

• Aaruul – Mongolian dried cheese biscuits. It is another dish which is thoroughly relished by the tourists.
• Airag – Fermented mares’ milk.
• Horhog – Sheep meat cut and baked.
• Boodog – Mongolian barbeque version
• Buuz - Mongolian mutton dumplings. Buuz is a national dish of Mongolia which is often found on the roadhouses of Mongolia.
• Boortsog – Deep fried sweet donuts.
• Bantan – Mongolian creamy textured soup.
• Suutei Tsai – Mongolian traditional milk tea.

You must taste the Mongolian food from the following restaurants:

• Monet Fine Dining
• Hutong Restaurant
• Soup Bar Restaurant
• Luna Blanca
• The Loving Hut
• Cafe Austria
• Yu-Long Chinese Restaurant

Few tourist prefers to travel Mongolia with an organized tour. Few of them share the expense incurred on hiring a jeep and few use general public transport to commute around Mongolia. The people who adapt to the Mongolian traveling ways generally find it rewarding because Mongolia delineates the cheapest way to travel to different places.

Travelling to the countryside:

The tourists take buses that go from Ulaanbaatar to all the provinces of Aimag centers. From the province of Aimag, the travelers wait for the van to be filled by others who are going to a sum center or district. If you wish to go to a tourist attraction spot that is not on the public route of transport, then the traveler will have to book a jeep or van to take him to a specific area.

Other public transport includes:

• Buses
• Minibuses
• Vans
• Cars

The travelers must be up to date with the vaccination routine while they travel to Mongolia.

• Routine Vaccine: The tourist must make sure to become up to date with vaccines before going on to a trip. The routine vaccines include (MMR) measles- mumps- rubella vaccine, varicella vaccine and yearly flu shot.
• Hepatitis Vaccination: The vaccination of hepatitis is recommended to the travelers as there are chances of guzzling food and water that are contaminated.
• Typhoid: The traveler can also get typhoid through contaminated water and food in Mongolia. CDC recommends the typhoid vaccine to most of the travelers if they are visiting smaller or nomadic areas of Mongolia.
• Rabies: In Mongolia, rabies can be found in bats, dogs and other mammals in Mongolia. Therefore, CDC recommends the traveler to take the vaccine for the following listed groups:

- Travellers who are indulged in outdoor activities like camping, hiking, biking, adventure, traveling and caving. These activities can put them at risk for animal bites.

- The professional tourist who have visited Mongolia to work with or around various animals.

- Children must be vaccinated against rabies because they tend to play outdoors and on getting an animal bite, they fail to report.

The official language of Mongolia is Khalkha Mongolia which is spoken by 90% of the Mongolian population. It is also considered one of the official languages which are spoken in the People’s Republic of China or Inner Mongolia and has six million speakers all over the globe. Mongolian is a language spoken by most residents of Mongolia. The language has similarities with other Mongolian languages like the Bonan, Santa and Mongour which is spoken in Qinghai and Gansu, Khamnigan and Dagur are spoken in Greater Mongolia and Shira Yugur. The modified Cyrillic alphabets are used in the Mongolian language. English and Russia are the most foreign and popular Mongolian language.

Greetings in the Mongolian language are as follows:

• Hi - Sain baina uu?
• Morning - Ogloon mend.
• Afternoon – Odriin mend.
• Evening- Oroin mend