{"id":55175,"date":"2025-08-12T15:42:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/?post_type=country&p=55175"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T18:09:17","slug":"mongolia","status":"publish","type":"country","link":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/country\/mongolia\/","title":{"rendered":"Mongolia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mongolia is a land of nomadic traditions, endless steppe, and Soviet-era legacies. It\u2019s vast, sparse, and also completely raw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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need to know for traveling in Mongolia<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Quick facts<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Capital: Ulaanbaatar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Population: <\/strong>3.5 million (131rd)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Languages<\/strong>: Mongolian (they use the Cyrillic alphabet)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Area<\/strong>: 1,564,000km\u00b2 (18th largest country)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Visa<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Free visa on arrival<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tours for Mongolia<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Against the Compass has several scheduled expeditions to Mongolia every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 23rd to July 3rd, 2026<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Travel Insurance<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance<\/a><\/strong> is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Mongolia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GET A QUOTE<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Best time to visit<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

May to September is the ideal time to visit, with July and August being the peak season. For festivals, come in July for Naadam, and in September for the Eagle Hunters Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In winter, Mongolia is completely frozen, but you’ll have it all to yourself\u2014no tourists, only locals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Money<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The official currency is Mongolian T\u00f6gr\u00f6g<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 USD = 3,500 MNT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign cards, but having always spare cash is 100% recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budget: <\/strong>starting at $25 a day for budget backpackers; but expect to pay 4 to 8 times more if going on a tour and\/or hiring a car with a driver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Soviet & Communist heritage in Mongolia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"mongolia<\/picture><\/figure>
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While Mongolia was never formally part of the USSR, Soviet influence shaped its infrastructure, and education. They also adopted the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1940s. From austere apartment blocks and government buildings in towns and cities, the legacy of communism is still very visible. The capital, Ulaanbaatar\u2014whose name means \u201cRed Hero\u201d\u2014features the most prominent examples, but remnants can also be found in the many abandoned factories, Communist murals and old collective farms.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top experiences in Mogolia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Living with nomads<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Living<\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia concentrates the largest population in the world of nomads, and staying with them is an essential part of understanding their culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Driving through the steppe<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Driving<\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia is massively empty, and the only way to assimilate it is by driving across the steppe, preferably on a UAZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ulaanbaatar City Life<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ulaanbaatar<\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where Soviet-era buildings blend with Buddhist temples, and where traces of nomadic culture remain highly visible in the lively bazaars, which attract nomads from the surrounding rolling steppe, all of that coexisting with a rising modern Mongolian society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Experience country’s rawness<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Experience<\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As soon as you leave the capital, few countries are as raw and traditional as Mongolia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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tips for Mongolia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Accommodation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In towns and cities, basic guest houses can be found all over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the country side, travelers always stay in ger camps (yurts)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Getting in<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN) is the main airport. Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa have flights there regularly. Also, check the local airline (Mongolian Airlines (MIAT). Entering by land from China and Russia is also possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Transportation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Backpacking is rough and slow, but shared minivans and taxis run between major towns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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ALL MY ARTICLES ON MONGOLIA<\/h3>\n\n\n","protected":false},"featured_media":55176,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55175","country","type-country","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/55175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/country"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}