Mongolia is a landlocked country surrounded by Russia and the Northern China. It is one of the nineteenth largest countries in the world with a land area of 1,564,116 km2. Although most of its land area is covered by unproductive steppes, its mountain and the Gobi Dessert is certainly one of the unique natures of Mongolia. It has a population of 2.9 mil with 30% of them still leading a nomadic or semi-nomadic life.

Mongolia is divided into 21 aimags (provinces), which are in turn divided into 315 sums (districts) The capital-Ulaanbaatar is administrated separately as a khot (municipality) with provincial status. The aimags are:

• Arkhangai
• Bayan-Ölgii
• Bayankhongor
• Bulgan
• Darkhan-Uul
• Dornod
• Dornogovi
• Dundgovi
• Govi-Altai
• Govisümber
• Khentii
• Khovd
• Khövsgöl
• Ömnögovi
• Orkhon
• Övörkhangai
• Selenge
• Sükhbaatar
• Töv
• Uvs
• Zavkhan

About 40 percent of the population live in the capital – Ulaanbaatar. A further 23% lived in Darkhan and Erdenet. In 2002, about 30 percent of all households in Mongolia lived from breeding livestock who follow a pattern of nomadic or semi-nomadic

Key and Nature Attractions:

1) The Land of Blue Sky & distinctive nature tour

Mongolia is a landlocked country which surrounded by high mountains, forest, steppe, and deserts. Its distinctive nature surroundings, blue sky and warm sunshine make most of the country side a unique place to visit. Most of its natural environment remains in good shape compared to other countries. Mongolia also has a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna that is unknown to the world. The large grassland and untouched nature make it a wild and peaceful place which has yet to be discovered by many people.

2) Nomadic Lifestyle & Ger

The extreme climate and geography greatly influenced the Mongols who have always live closed to the animals and close to the steppes. Mongolian nomads are usually called the “five animals people” and many Mongolians herd animals like horses, camels, bovines/cattle, sheep and goats. A small number of Tsaatan people also herded reindeers. You can always see sheep and cattle grazing around the mountain. Mongolian are usually good horse rider and it is believed that the children are taught to ride at very young age. Mares are milked and fermented milk – called “airag” is the Mongolian favourite drink. “Airag” can also be distilled into alcohol called – “arkhi”. The Ger – a circular felt covered dwelling of the nomads can be found from the city to the countryside. It is easy to build and dismantle and sustain the difficult condition or extreme weathers in Mongolia.

3) Wildlife

The wildlife survives and flourishes in Mongolia despite its extreme climate and the Mongolian nature of love in hunting. According to Mongolian Expat magazine (May’2007 issues), Mongolia has 136 mammal species, 400 different types of bird and 76 species of fish. Central and Northern Mongolia are home to wolf, wild boar, elk, roe deer and brown bear. The steppes and forest support marmot, muskrat, fox and sable. The Altai Mountains are home to wild cats like lynx and snow leopard. The Gobi desert and eastern Mongolia has thousands of gazelles.

4) Mongolian Arts

Mongolia has developed unique forms of music, dance, costume, paintings, sculpture, handicraft, carpet and textiles. Most Mongolian traditional art is closely related to Tibetan Art and religious in nature. You can also see many elderly wearing the traditional Mongolian costumes especially during the Nadam festival. Mongolian calligraphy is a composition of different scripts and letters that has been created and used by the Mongols 2000 years ago. You can find rock-drawings and petroglyphs with different carved paintings/figures, letters and scripts. As for their costumes, the most common traditional costume is the “Del” – a long piece of gown made from wool. There are a lot of handicraft which is handmade and unique in nature such as the some leather goods, boxes, cashmere clothings. Besides that, Deer carvings in rock not only reflects the historical monuments of ancient Mongolia but evidence of the development and wealth of sculpture in ancient Mongolia.

Brief History of Mongolia:

The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century under Chinggis KHAN’s leadership. He conquered a huge Eurasian empire. However, the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states after his death which broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and in the late 17th century came under Chinese ruling. Mongolia won its independence in 11/7/1921 with the backing of Soviet. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. Following a peaceful democratic revolution, the ex-Communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won elections in 1990 and 1992, but was defeated by the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC) in the 1996 parliamentary election. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000, but 2004 elections reduced MPRP representation and, therefore, its authority.

People & Culture

Majority of Mongolian citizens are of Mongol descent but there are small populations of Kazakh, Tuvan, and Tungus peoples. Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups. They are distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The Khalkha make up 90% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 10% include Buryats, Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east. Turkic peoples (Kazakhs, Tuvans, and Chantuu (Uzbek) constitute 7% of Mongolia’s population, and the rest are Tungusic peoples, Chinese, and Russians.

About 50% of the Mongolian follow the Tibetan Buddism as you can see temple in most of the places around Mongolia. Sharmanist, Christian and Catholic is also being practised among Mongolians and minority of them were Muslims.

Language

The official language of Mongolia is Khalkha Mongolian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and is spoken by 90% of the population. A variety of different dialects are spoken across the country. In the west the Kazakh and Tuvan languages, among others, are also spoken. The older generation can speak Russian and English is slowly being emphasized to the younger generation due to the influence of foreign investments in the country. Korean gained a popularity as tens of thousands of Mongolians work in South Korea as there are lots of Korean visiting Mongolia.

Mongolian is one of the Mongolic languages. Mongolic is frequently included in the Altaic languages, a group of languages named after the Altay Mountains that also includes the Turkic and Tungusic languages.

Mongolia’s Harsh and Challenging Climate.

Mongolia’s average altitude is almost 1,600 meters above sea level. Its higher altitude combines with the altitude to intensify the semi-arid climate. Winters are long and cold. Average temperatures fall below freezing for six months of the year. It is very dry during the winter seasons. The cold climate started from October to March. The coldest month will be from December to January. Temperatures in January average about -25 degrees Celsius. The warm climate started from April to September. However, there will also be rain from April to June. The best time to visit Mongolia is during Mid June to August where the temperature will range from 15-18’c. The countryside will be covered by steppe and large grassland with lots of outdoor activities.

Currency

Mongolia Tugrug (Tg/MNT) is the official currency. However, US dollar is accepted widely in most of the restaurants and outlets. 1USD = 1160 Tg

 

Let’s find out more in my Mongolia Travel Blog