Chinggis Khaan airport in Ulaanbaatar. Photo by E.Kulakov

Growth in the number of citizens of Russia and Mongolia crossing the border in both directions after the abolition of visas continues Among Russians, especially from Buryatia, many would like to plan their trip to Ulaanbaatar. Transport, currency, accommodation, meals. We offer a brief useful information for travelers.

Administration of Ubsunur aimag since November 14 this year. organizes trips of the regular bus along the route "Ulangom (center of the aimag) - Kyzyl (capital of Tuva) - Ulangom".

Ulaanbaatar-Moscow-Ulaanbaatar

Train number 5 departs from Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday and Friday and arrives in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday.

Train number 6 leaves Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday, arriving in Ulaanbaatar on Monday and Tuesday.

Ulaanbaatar-Sukhe-Bator-Irkutsk

Trains No. 263, 264 depart from Ulaanbaatar every day.

And by plane

Ulaanbaatar-Moscow-Ulaanbaatar or Ulaanbaatar-Seoul-Ulaanbaatar.

For residents of the Far East, it is easier to get through Seoul:

AIR TICKETS

Aeroflot representative office: Ulaanbaatar, 15 Seulskaya St. Tel.: 976-11-320720, fax: 323321, e-mail: [email protected]

AirTrans: 303030, 313131, 323232, 322581

Daily from 9.00 to 18.00, on weekends - 10.00-16.00

Air market: 315050, 319899

Daily from 9.00 to 18.00, weekends - 10.00-15.00

Aviacom: 77117070 www.aviacom.mn

Eznis Airways: Daily from 9.00 to 19.00, weekends - 10.00-16.00

Or in your car

Driving in Mongolia is possible only if you have a Mongolian driver's license and a warning ticket from the Mongolian Traffic Police or an international driver's license. There are no prohibitions when traveling by car on the territory of Mongolia.

In Ulaanbaatar, evacuators are very active and efficient. Be careful when parking. It is better to rent a hotel room with parking for cars or take care of parking places (garage) for cars in advance.

How to get around, how to pay and where to live in Ulaanbaatar

Prices per km in a taxi are usually stable - 800 tugriks (45 cents). Thus, from the airport to the center of Ulaanbaatar can be reached for 20 thousand tugriks. Taxi phone numbers: 19001950, 19001109 (you must notify that you are ordering a taxi), and you can also ask at the hotel reception.

As for accommodation in the hotels of the capital of Mongolia: in large hotels the cost of rooms is up to 300 US dollars, in small hotels - from 20 US dollars per day.

In Ulaanbaatar, currency exchange is carried out without presenting documents at the Naiman Sharga exchange office (in the city center), as well as at all bank branches (with the provision of documents).

eat

You can dine in numerous restaurants of Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Indian, Thai, Russian, Mongolian and others. Lunch without the inclusion of alcoholic beverages on average per person is up to 20 US dollars.

Required phone numbers for citizens of the Russian Federation in Ulaanbaatar:

Embassy of the Russian Federation in Mongolia: 11-327191, 11-312851

Ambulance: 103

Police: 102

Taxi: 19001950, 19001109 (you must notify that you are ordering a taxi), and you can also ask at the hotel counter.

ARD will continue to inform its readers in detail about the conditions of a trip to Mongolia and about how you can relax or work there.

I was in Mongolia from June 19 to July 8, 2009. Together with Agnieszka from Poland, who works in Ulan-Ude, we entered the country through the border crossing in Kyakhta (Buryatia), spent two days in Ulaanbaatar, drove along the route Ulaanbaatar-Arvaikheer--Bayankhongor--Altai--Khovd-- Ulaangom - Kharkhorin - Ulaanbaatar. Then I traveled alone along the route Ulaanbaatar - Underkhaan - Bayan-Ula and left for Russia through the Verkhniy Ulkhun border crossing (Trans-Baikal Territory). Most of the way we traveled by hitchhiking, part by minibuses and buses.

Pros and cons

The first plus is the nomadic population that has preserved the traditional way of life. They say that for the Mongols, life has not changed much since the time of Genghis Khan, and this seems to be true: a significant part of the country still lives in yurts, raises cattle, roams from place to place in search of new pastures, eats meat and milk. Except that many now roam in UAZs and Japanese trucks, while the most prosperous have satellite dishes and solar panels next to their yurts. And the rest is the same - up to the national costumes that the Mongols wear not on major holidays, but in everyday life.

The second plus is the beautiful and untouched nature.

This is not that dull steppe of the south of Russia or Ukraine, which brings boredom. The Mongolian steppe landscapes are beautiful and varied and very rarely disfigured by human structures. The plain receding into the distance on the horizon is always framed by beautiful hills, somewhere picturesque rocks or stones come across, somewhere the steppe turns into a rocky or sandy desert, somewhere it is replaced by mountains covered with forest. And along these Mongolian expanses here and there there are yurts and fat herds of large and small livestock roam: cows, goats, sheep, horses, camels, yaks.

The cons of Mongolia logically follow from the pros.

Beautiful nature and traditional way of life have been preserved due to the fact that civilization has not yet reached here. Only Ulaanbaatar can be called a civilized city, where there is everything you need for the city life to which we are all accustomed. Most of the rest of the cities are rather urban-type settlements. The regional center of Mongolia resembles the last Russian regional center, the Mongolian regional centers even resemble villages. And between these cities there are huge spaces where the human presence is noticeable only by the lonely standing yurts and ruts in the steppe.

After traveling through Mongolia, Russia begins to seem like a completely civilized country, which has many roads and railways, roadside cafes, toilets, shops and supermarkets. When I left Mongolia for Russia, there was a clear feeling that I was returning from Asia to Europe: the last 50 km before the border there was a dead dirt road with holes and puddles, along which 1-2 cars passed a day, and after the border smooth asphalt began with good traffic. In a word, it's nice that we have overtaken at least some country a hundred years ahead.

The only thing in which Mongolia is noticeably ahead of us is animal husbandry.

After seeing herds of several hundred animals that, like locusts, have occupied the verdant Mongolian pasture, it is not very joyful to look at three or four thin, hungry cows wandering near some Transbaikal village. But otherwise, as I said, our country is much more civilized. With all my passion for travel, I still love comfort, smooth roads, fast cars, a hot lunch at least once a day and a hot shower at least once every two days, so I returned to Russia after Mongolia with some relief.

Country Information

There is a pretty good Lonely Planet guide to Mongolia at English language and the rather lousy "Le Petit Fute" in Russian. To get acquainted with the cultural and historical context, I recommend reading the wonderful book by Isai Kalashnikov "The Cruel Age" (the life story of Genghis Khan from birth to death), as well as watching the excellent film by Nikita Mikhalkov "Urga - the territory of love" (about the relationship between Russians and Mongols).

Visas

There is an embassy in Moscow, and consulates of Mongolia in Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk and Kyzyl. It is usually difficult to make a visa on your own without an invitation: the Mongols immediately send it to a travel agency. Applying for a visa at a travel agency takes an average of 1-2 weeks and costs 2-3 thousand rubles (including consular fees).

How to get there

Aeroflot and Mongolian Airlines (Miat - Mongolian Airlines) fly directly from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar. A round-trip ticket for both companies costs 20-30 thousand rubles, but Aeroflot sometimes has special offers and sales, during which the price of the flight is halved.

Also, from the Yaroslavsky station, trains Moscow - Ulaanbaatar and Moscow - Beijing (via Ulaanbaatar) run every week. Travel time is more than four days. The cost of a reserved seat is 5-6 thousand rubles one way.

Another option is to fly by plane from Moscow to Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude, and from there travel by land. There are buses from Ulan-Ude to Ulaanbaatar, and from Irkutsk there is a train to Ulaanbaatar.

The border

There are a dozen border crossings between Russia and Mongolia. They usually work from 9.00 to 17.00. It must be borne in mind that only three crossings are international, that is, residents of third countries can cross the border there. That is, if you are not a citizen of Mongolia or Russia, it will be possible to cross the border only in Kyakhta (Buryatia), Tashant (Republic of Altai) and Naushki (Buryatia). Please note that the main crossing located in Kyakhta is a car crossing, you cannot cross it on foot, so if you are hitchhiking, you will have to fit into some kind of car at the border.

Climate

The weather in Mongolia is changeable, with sharp fluctuations in temperature. It is very cold in winter (Ulaanbaatar is even considered the coldest capital in the world) - from 25 to 30 degrees below zero, in summer it is usually hot - from 25 to 35 degrees Celsius. The summer heat is softened by the winds that blow across the Mongolian plain, but they also sometimes create great difficulties. A couple of times the wind was so strong that it was simply impossible to set up a tent (at the same time, it is often impossible to find any shelter from the wind on the plain). I can’t even imagine how terrible it must be here in winter with such a wind.

Money

1 dollar is equal to 1422 tugriks, 1 ruble - 48 tugriks. It is better to change money for the entire trip right away in Ulaanbaatar. In the rest of Mongolia, banks are found in numbers that do not exceed the limits of statistical error.

Like Belarusian rubles, Mongolian tugriks exist exclusively in paper form, so during the trip there is a feeling that you have a lot of money.

Roads

Before traveling to Mongolia, I thought that there were no roads in Russia. Now I realized that there are roads in our country, and even good ones, because the Mongolian roads are a quiet horror. Only from north to south (from Russia to China) through Ulan Bator there is a decent asphalt road, plus there are sections from Ulan Bator west to Arvaikheer with a branch to Kharkhorin and from Ulan Bator east to Underkhan.

The rest of the roads, including the most important routes connecting the west and east of the country, are usually three or four rolled tracks in the steppe that converge and diverge and lead from one town to another.

Between the settlements there are no gas stations, no cafes, no kilometer posts, no road signs, no traffic cops, no cell coverage - only a bare plain, along which everyone drives as he pleases. However, the quality of the roads is such that it will not be possible to break the speed limit with all the will, and the abundance of ruts reduces collisions to a minimum. The relief is usually such that you can even move off the track and drive across the steppe in any direction.

On such roads, some even manage to drive simple cars, but it’s still better to use Japanese SUVs or Russian UAZs. The latter, by the way, are preferable, because they are very common among the Mongols and, if something happens, you will quickly find spare parts. The Mongols also ride motorcycles, Korean minibuses, Japanese trucks, Russian KamAZ trucks. Foreign tourists usually travel by jeeps and motorcycles. On the track, we met travelers four times: Poles on motorcycles, an Australian on a motorcycle, a group of Frenchmen in jeeps and a group of Koreans in a minibus.

If you are traveling by your own transport, be sure to stock up on a GPS navigator:

instead of roads, there are directions here, so it’s quite possible to get lost, accidentally leaving along a rut leading to some remote village. It is better to buy a map in Mongolian - then it will be easier to find out from the nomads where you are and where you should go. If you hitchhike, you can basically do without a navigator: drivers usually know the way and go from one city to another. The main thing is to find out exactly where the driver is going, and then entrust him with finding the right path.

Hitch-hiking

Mongolia is the hardest hitchhiking country I've ever been to. However, hitchhiking here is interesting and fun, and if you have time to spare, you can ride this way.

Just keep in mind some features of the Mongolian hitchhiking.

The first and main problem is low traffic. It is very good to drive only on paved roads. The route from the border crossing in Tashanta to Ulaanbaatar (via Ulaangom and Tsetserlag) is still quite busy, although here you can sometimes wait for a ride for several hours. On the other roads, cars pass extremely rarely - up to three or four cars a day. So be patient, and also books, magazines or crossword puzzles - you can at least do something while you sit by the track for half a day. In short, “I have eight volumes of fat and matches and Turgenev in my backpack” - this is just about Mongolia.

Sometimes we got so tired of sitting by the road that we took backpacks and walked, so many Mongols - drivers and local residents - got the feeling that we were walking through their country. The essence of hitchhiking is difficult to explain to them, so it’s even better. Also note that between the regional centers (if this road does not lead to Ulaanbaatar) the traffic is very low. For example, it will hardly be possible to get directly from Ulaangom to Murun, because the main flow of cars to Ulaanbaatar goes south, through Tsetserlag. And it’s not even worth trying to hitchhike on local roads if you don’t want to get stuck somewhere for a week.

The second problem is the choice of the right track for voting.

The easiest way is at the exit from a large city: usually there is one paved road several kilometers before and after a large settlement, so it is enough to leave the city and start voting near this road. The situation is different in the steppe or near small towns and villages: here the tracks can diverge for a distance of up to half a kilometer and it is quite difficult to choose the right one from them. Sometimes you can navigate along the power lines (usually the poles are along the main track), but this rule does not always work. It is best to find some kind of elevation, from where it opens up a view of the surroundings, keep track of which road the car will appear on, and in which case quickly move there. If you wave your arms and the driver sees you, he will most likely stop or even turn and drive towards you.

The third problem is overcrowding.

During the trip, we only rode twice in a car where there was one driver. Usually, in addition to him, there are passengers in the car, who, as a rule, occupy all the seats. Interestingly, cars stop even if they are full (find out if something happened to you), but getting into a stopped car is far from always possible. Sometimes I had to ride in a car with four or five of us in the back seat, putting a Mongolian child on my knees, sometimes I had to lie on luggage in the back of a truck, covered with dust and sand, sometimes I had to sit on a sleeping bag in the cab of a long-distance driver, slightly pushing a bunch of things and distant relatives the driver he took with him. In short, don't expect comfort.

And the fourth problem is the money supply of the local population.

In principle, everyone expects money for transportation, but the majority is persuaded to give a ride for free. “There is no money” in Mongolian - “mungo baikhgo”. Before getting into the car, it is always worth saying these words once or twice. Only four times the drivers, having heard such a phrase, disappointedly drove on - and all these times it happened on a busy section of the highway, where we quickly caught the next car. In other places, the drivers understand that you will have to wait another half a day for the next car, and after heavy thought, they still nod - they say, get in. However, truckers and wealthy Ulaanbaatar residents in jeeps do this without much thought. But it’s still a little hard - especially after Russia, where almost none of the drivers ask about money from hitchhikers (for example, I don’t even warn that I’m going for free).

If funds do not allow, but time allows, use a bicycle - it will not be much slower, and if you are an experienced bike biker, then maybe even faster than hitchhiking. So, for example, we drove a section from Bayankhongor to Altai, 390 km long, in three days. And it took me a whole day to get to the section from the city of Bayan-Uul to the Upper Ulkhun border crossing, 49 km long (here I could walk in the same time).

But no matter how difficult hitchhiking in Mongolia is, it still helps to get to know the local life better, to communicate with the Mongols, many of whom know Russian. So if the listed difficulties do not bother you, pack your backpack and go.

Scheduled transport

Only in Ulaanbaatar there is some kind of bus station, from which buses leave for different regional centers according to a certain schedule and tariffs. In other cities, buses run as God puts it on the soul.

Guidebooks recommend looking for minibuses in the city market. There you can also find drivers who travel to other cities and are looking for fellow travelers to compensate for expenses. For some reason, Lonely Planet calls this “hitch-hiking”, that is, it recommends going to the market and finding such a car. I don’t know, in my opinion, traditional hitchhiking is still more effective.

It was quite difficult to navigate the prices of buses. For example, from Ulaanbaatar to Lun (130 km) we traveled for 6 thousand tugriks, but from Ulaanbaatar to Darkhan (220 km) my fellow traveler traveled for the same money. Although, maybe the point is that you need to go to Darkhan along an asphalt road, and part of the way to Lun is the already described rut in the steppe.

Accommodation

Everyone who travels around Mongolia should definitely spend the night with nomads at least once. This is easy to do, just go to the yurt in the steppe and politely ask for a visit. During our only check-in in the yurt, we acted very delicately: we asked if it was possible to pitch a tent next to the yurt, but then, while we were sitting and resting after a hot day, we were invited to the yurt itself. In general, if you find yourself in the steppe and there is a yurt nearby, feel free to ask for a visit. It is better to take sweets and chocolates in advance to distribute to children. Put something on the table for tea and everyone will be happy. If you're lucky, you'll get a hearty dinner.

Another good option for an overnight stay is roadside cafes.

Almost each has one or more large beds 4-5 meters wide, where anyone who orders dinner or breakfast in this eatery can spend the night for free (usually dinner for one costs 2-3 thousand tugriks). True, several more people will sleep on the same bed, but I think this will not bother free travelers if they have their own sleeping bag.

There are also hotels in large cities. We have stayed there twice. In the city of Arvaikheer, a double room cost 11,000 tugriks, in Altai, 15,000 tugriks. In the first hotel there was no shower, in the second there was no hot water. But if anything, in the cities you can find public baths and take a shower there for 1-2 thousand tugriks.

In places that are especially popular among tourists, there are guesthouses and hostels, including some kind of yurt campsites (several yurts where you can spend the night). However, those who spent the night in a real yurt will not be particularly interested: there are no attributes of nomadic life inside, only a few beds and bedside tables. In Kharkhorin, such a guesthouse cost 5 thousand tugriks per person.

And, of course, there is a huge choice of accommodation in Ulaanbaatar.

Firstly, this is the only city where more or less active members of the Hospitalityclub and Couchsurfing live, so you can easily find a free overnight stay. Secondly, there are hotels, hostels, guesthouses for every taste and pocket.

Food

Vegetarians in Mongolia have nothing to do. All vegetables and fruits are imported from China, and the Mongols themselves make and eat almost everything from meat or milk. Only in Ulaanbaatar you can find vegetable salads, in other places such a luxury is a rarity. I have always been a meat-eater and anti-vegan, but then I even began to feel nostalgic for vinaigrette or tomato-cucumber salad. So be prepared, if you can’t stand meat at all, buy the necessary products in Ulaanbaatar and take them with you.

The most popular dish in Mongolia is buuzy, known to those who have been to the Irkutsk region or Buryatia under the name "poses".

This is finely minced meat wrapped in dough and steamed. Very tasty and nutritious stuff. To eat, I needed 4-5 pieces. They usually cost 300 tugriks apiece. Another popular food is khushuur, which resembles our cheburek and costs 300-400 tugriks apiece. Also popular is "tsuiwang", noodles with pieces of meat and potatoes. It costs 2-2.5 thousand tugriks. These three dishes we mostly ate on the trip.

Even in Mongolia, there are a lot of interesting dairy dishes, but they, as a rule, are not sold in canteens - we were treated to them either in yurts or in cars.

I especially remember the cheese, which tastes like cottage cheese, very tasty creamy butter and a low-alcohol drink based on milk, reminiscent of koumiss. The main non-alcoholic drink is tea with milk. In Ulaanbaatar, I didn’t like him, but then, having no choice, I had to fall in love with him. It is usually served without sugar, slightly salted (however, I didn’t particularly feel this salt). In the capital, some oil is also added to tea, but this is not the case in the provinces. A very nutritious thing. It costs 100-200 tugriks per cup, and sometimes it is served completely free of charge.

As in all other aspects, Ulaanbaatar and the rest of Mongolia are two big differences.

In the capital, the choice of food is large and varied. There are both cheap canteens with the dishes and prices mentioned above, as well as pathos restaurants with Italian, Japanese and other cuisines for every taste and pocket. Once we even wandered into a vegetarian cafe.

A cheap eatery can usually be identified by the word "gazar" on the sign.

As for products, there is also a big difference between the capital and the province. There are many shops and supermarkets in Ulaanbaatar with good choice products, in other cities - mostly small shops, the choice in which is less than in any Russian rural store. Their usual set is soda, vodka, chocolate cookies and, if you're lucky, a huge piece of meat in the refrigerator. Even bread is rare. The store can be identified by the word "delguur" on the sign.

Cafes and large shops are found only in cities, therefore, given the quality of roads and low traffic, it is better to always have a supply of water and food with you at least for one day.

Language

In Mongolia, quite a lot of people speak Russian. Once we were even given a ride by a graduate of the philological faculty of Moscow State University. Most of the drivers I met knew at least a few words and phrases in Russian, and about every third one could even explain themselves quite tolerably.

But still, you should not specifically count on the fact that you will come across Russian-speaking Mongols.

Try to learn a little Mongolian, it will make your travel life much easier and help you get to know the local life much better. Unfortunately, I knew only a few phrases important for the traveler, and I supplemented the rest with Russian words and gestures. But if with gestures I could still say “can I put up a tent here?” or “stop here, please,” then it was no longer possible to ask more complex and interesting questions (“how do nomad children go to school?”, “what do you heat the stove with?”, etc.).

People know English much worse than Russian. Basically, educated youth, metropolitan beggars and tourism workers can boast of this.

Internet and communication

There are several mobile operators, of which Mobicom was recommended to us. On the road, cellular communication, of course, does not work, but in almost all large and small settlements there is coverage. One or two Internet cafes are found in most regional centers and are abundant in Ulaanbaatar.

From Barnaul to the capital of the homeland of Genghis Khan - 2372.51 km. Many Altai tourists are increasingly choosing this direction for travel. We tell you what attracts Mongolia, how to get there, what to see and how much the trip will cost.

Why Mongolia?

Not everyone will dare to rush to Mongolia. Despite the relative proximity to the Altai Territory, the path ahead is not the closest. Mostly this direction is preferred by independent tourists.

Mongolia is located on a vast territory, so the distances between settlements are quite impressive, and the quality of the roadway can not always be called good. Travelers are attracted by wild, untouched by man nature, national flavor, gastronomic novelties and landscapes unusual for the eyes.

And also the endless steppes, transparent lakes, the Gobi desert, snowy peaks, the hospitality of the locals. Here, yurts are not entertainment for tourists, but ordinary life, food on a fire.

Mongolia is called the land of the blue sky for a reason. There are more than 260 sunny days a year, and in the Gobi desert it may not rain for several years.

How to get there?

If you are traveling by car from Barnaul, then it is better to split the trip into several days. For example, to get to the village of Aktash in the Altai Mountains, stop there for the night, relax. Moreover, the road to the Ulagansky district of the republic runs along amazing beautiful places. And it is simply impossible to go without stops.

For example, you will have to overcome two passes: Seminsky and Chike-Taman, where you must take a photo as a keepsake. This also applies to the place where the Katun and Chuya merge, and a few kilometers from the village of Aktash is the famous Geyser Lake, which has become popular among tourists.

The road along the Chuisky tract is in excellent condition, but some sections are being repaired, so there may be forced stops or even traffic jams. Some travelers say that they had to stand up to four hours before they were allowed to pass.

The road along the Chuisky tract, although good, is not easy, you won’t be able to go fast, and few people want to accelerate on mountain serpentines and winding descents. So the next stop can be made, for example, in the village of Tashanta, to rest, gain strength and move on.

What documents are needed to travel to Mongolia?

You need a passport, driver's license, documents for the car. But you don't need to apply for a visa. More precisely, if you are going to stay in Mongolia for less than 30 days, then it will not be needed. If you expect that the trip will last more than a month, then a visa is needed.

Of course, the import of drugs, psychotropic drugs and explosives, weapons and ammunition, samples of animal and plant tissues, as well as pornography is prohibited. If you are going to take out furs and skins, gold, precious metals and precious stones, as well as items of cultural or artistic value from Mongolia, they must be presented at customs. The cost of each item should not exceed 500 USD; if this amount is exceeded, a duty from 10% to 100% must be paid.

These are not all restrictions, but there are not many of them. Please read them carefully before your trip.

Where to live?

Since interest in Mongolia has been increasing in recent years, there are enough offers for tourists. In cities, tourists are offered accommodation in hotels, inns, and recreation centers. Prices vary, on the Internet there are both very inexpensive offers (from 700 rubles per day), and hotel rooms for 20 thousand rubles.

But outside of Ulaanbaatar and major cities, everything is much more complicated. The only accommodation option is a yurt. Most yurt camps are owned by private individuals. There are both cheap ones and expensive ones. A range of services from basic camping accommodation to luxury options with all amenities. Meals are usually half board or full board. The cost of accommodation starts from 2000 rubles per day.

It is advisable to look for a place to spend the night in advance, having already planned the route.

What is?

National Mongolian cuisine. Everyone has a different attitude towards it. Someone recommends not relying too much on gastronomic pleasure, so as not to be disappointed. Others fall in love once and for all with tea with cream and salt, koumiss, lamb dishes. By the way, basically all meat dishes are prepared from sheep, and they also love goat meat there. Less often horse meat and beef. The food is rich and fatty. So if you are on a special diet for health reasons, it is better to take cereals with you and cook yourself.

By the way, food in a cafe will cost quite inexpensively, for example, you will have to pay about 120 rubles for a plate of noodles with lamb.

When to go?

Officially, the best season in Mongolia is from June to early September. However, travelers who have traveled at other times also say that Mongolia is always beautiful. The main thing is to take the right clothes. The more warm things, the better.

What to watch?

Depending on what interests you in the first place. Some go for fishing and landscapes, others consider it necessary to visit the Gobi Desert. Mongolia is different for everyone. And this country occupies a vast territory. So you won't be able to watch it in its entirety at once. Or it will take a very long time.

But still there are places that are highly recommended to visit.

Natural sights of Mongolia: Khovsgol lake, the deepest in Central Asia. By the way, it is very popular for fishing and ecotourism. Also, travelers choose to visit the valley of the Selenga River, which flows into Lake Baikal. You can also visit the sacred mountain Bogdo-Ula, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, the surroundings of which have the status of a conservation area. And, of course, if you are primarily interested in nature, go to the Gobi Desert. This, of course, is a drop in the ocean from what you can see in Mongolia.

One lunch or dinner in an inexpensive restaurant will cost about 190 rubles. In an institution of a higher class - about 1200 rubles. Prices for food in supermarkets differ from those in Barnaul. Mongolia is more expensive. For example, a loaf of bread costs 44 rubles, and a carton of milk costs about 62 rubles, eggs (12 pieces) - 142 rubles. Vegetables and fruits are also more expensive than in Barnaul.

Accommodation, if you are not traveling with tents, is also a significant expense item.

Population of the country: 3.04 million people (94.9% Mongols, 5% Turks, 0.1% Chinese, Russians)

Religion: 96% Buddhist, Sunni Islam

Official language: Mongolian (Khalkha Mongol)

Currency unit: Tugrik

Flight time: Moscow-Ulaanbaatar (6 hours)

Visa: Need not

Mongolia is a state in East Asia.

It borders with Russia in the north and with China in the east, south and west. Has no access to the sea.

Area - 1,564,116 km²

Dry, sharply continental, can rightly be called "the most continental" on the planet.

Average temperatures in January are from -35°С to -10°С, in July from +15°С to +26°С, in the south - up to +40°С. There is little precipitation (mainly from mid-July to September), in the form of short but powerful heavy rains.

The snow cover is not deep, but lasts a very long time (in mountainous areas, almost all year round). The country has up to 260 sunny days a year, which is why Mongolia is often called the “Land of the Blue Sky”.

Dust storms are frequent between May and June.

You can move around Mongolia by intercity buses, trains and planes. Public transport runs mainly between Ulaanbaatar and major cities of the country; if you need to travel from one locality to another, you will almost certainly need to transfer in the capital. Most of the buses are of the old Soviet type. Modern minivans serve Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet.

Buses depart from the bus station, where you need to buy tickets (you will need a passport), which indicate the baggage allowance. You will be asked to pay for the excess. There is a schedule, and Mongolian drivers try to follow it. By train you can get from Ulaanbaatar to Darkhan, Sukhbaatar and Erdenet. Mongolian railways developed with the participation of the USSR, so the division of cars into classes is known: compartments, reserved seats and seats.

Comfort is the most basic, besides, the MRR often sell "extra" tickets for sold-out destinations. It is better to buy tickets in advance, especially from June to August. When buying, you will be asked to show your passport. You can also travel by plane in Mongolia: there are 44 airports in the country, of which only 12 have designed runways.

Air tickets are relatively inexpensive, however, the difference in price for the local population and foreigners is still significant. For avid motorcycle racers Mongolia - real paradise: on perfectly flat steppes one just asks to ride at high speed.

Many of the world's car rental brands are represented in Mongolia, but it is also one of the countries where renting a car does not make much sense.

There are very few paved roads in the country, and the most interesting nature reserves and National parks located at a considerable distance from settlements where there are no acceptable paths. Even if you have an all-wheel drive car, it is extremely difficult and even dangerous to try to conquer the vast Gobi desert or the mountains of eastern Altai on your own.

Most tourists choose organized jeep safaris, accompanied by experienced Mongolian guides who know the area well, plan ahead for overnight stays in yurts along the way and always take significant supplies of fuel, water, and food with them. By the way, in Mongolia it is impossible to rent a car without a driver.

You can only rent a car using a local driver.

Meat and dairy products are the basis of Mongolian cuisine. The Mongols prefer lamb and goat meat, beef and horse meat are less common on the menu, sometimes exotic ingredients such as marmot meat come across.

Cooking options - boiled, baked, fried, dried, dried, etc. Popular dishes: slightly boiled meat "khorkhog" and its antipode - boiled to the separation of fibers "bolkhoyryuk", lamb "boodog" fried with hot stones (stones heated on a fire put inside the carcass and bake it from the inside), goat “bakhan” prepared in the same way, pancakes with onion and meat filling “khushur”, steam dumplings “buz”, dried meat “borts” and many other anti-vegetarian dishes.

Most of the dishes are noticeably fatty, so when you are going to enjoy Mongolian dishes, it is better to have medicines on hand that get rid of unpleasant consequences. Fans of a healthy diet will not remain hungry in Mongolia either - there is no less variety of dairy and sour-milk dishes for them: all kinds of unsweetened yoghurts, koumiss and sour milk "airan", fermented baked milk "tarag", cottage cheese - regular and dried "arul", soft cheeses.

Mongolian pastries are made from unleavened dough and cooked in a frying pan with plenty of oil; pies with meat or horsemeat “khashur”, pancakes “bortsog”, milk muffin “halmag” are popular. The Mongols even drink tea with the addition of milk - they do not brew it, but boil it in a pot for a long time. From alcoholic beverages, they use vodka from mare's milk "archi" and its stronger version "shimin-archi", homemade moonshine "airag".

Foreign drinks are sold everywhere, as well as "state" vodkas, of which the best are Genghis Khan, Soyombo and Golden Chingis. Mongolian beer is very good, popular varieties are the same "Chinggis", "Borgio" and "Sengur". You can have a snack during the day or have a hearty lunch in numerous restaurants in the cities of the country.

The province also has catering establishments located along popular tourist routes. When moving around on your own, it is better to have a supply of food with you, and for lunch it will not be reprehensible to go “for a light” to the nomads’ yurt.

Cashmere, the precious wool of a mountain goat, is the main wealth of Mongolia. In the spring, during molting, animals are carefully combed out and the thinnest undercoat hairs are painstakingly selected (hairs from the neck are of particular value), from which yarn is then woven and hats, scarves, socks and other knitted products are made. Cashmere items are exceptionally soft, warm and almost weightless.

It is better to buy cashmere in specialized stores, the most famous brands are Goyo, Gobi Cashmere and Buyan. In the countryside, you can also buy cashmere products - the design may be lame, but the heating properties will remain unchanged. Mongolia is also known for copper mines located in Erdenet and Oyu-Tolgoi.

As a result, a lot of copper trinkets (for example, bookmarks for books), decorations and interior items that are sold everywhere in souvenir shops. It is worth paying attention to Mongolian carpets - an excellent carpet factory operates in Erdenet. Funny slippers with a "carpet" top are also made there.

You can also bring items of national costume from the country: traditional hats and winter fur hats with ornaments, caftans, riding boots, leather slippers decorated with national embroidery. Small souvenirs: figurines of the Mongols in folk clothes, figurines of horses, goats, yaks, images of Genghis Khan, tursuks - flasks lined with felt, with a wooden cork, caskets.

Sights of Mongolia - monuments of the great empire of Genghis Khan and his descendants, Buddhist shrines and unusually beautiful and diverse nature. The original way of life, which has not changed much over the millennia, is interesting.

Interesting places of Ulaanbaatar: the modern city center and the Peace Bell, the mausoleum and monument of the national hero Sukhbaatar, the Parliament building and the Palace of Culture, which houses the Art Gallery, Winter Palace Emperor Bogdykhan, Khan's Headquarters. In the vicinity of the capital there are famous monasteries - the largest Gandan with a significant Zhanrai-Sing temple, a wooden monastery and a museum of Buddhist art "Choidzin-Lam", a picturesque monastery Manzushir, standing on a rock above a wide valley.

The Ulaanbaatar Museum of Natural History houses one of the world's largest collections of dinosaur fossils. The most famous archaeological park in Mongolia is Karakorum, the former capital of the empire in the 13th-16th centuries. Here you can see the Palace of Khan Ogedei, the ruins of the quarter of artisans, temples and city walls. Nearby is the country's first Buddhist monastery - Erdene-Zu.

The oldest monuments of the history of mankind are rock paintings in the area of ​​Chultyn-Gol and the canyon of the Chulut River, runic steles of the 6th-8th centuries, found in abundance in the steppes. Natural sights of Mongolia: Lake Khovsgol, the deepest in Central Asia, a popular place for fishing and ecotourism, and the valley of the Selenga River, which flows into Lake Baikal, the sacred mountain Bogdo-Ula, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, the surroundings of which have the status of a nature protection zone.

The Gobi Desert is not only sandy landscapes that go beyond the horizon, but also the largest cemetery of the remains of prehistoric animals from the period 120-70 million years ago. Leisure in Mongolia - river rafting, living in yurts on high mountain pastures and campsites, sport fishing, horse riding tours and motorcycle races.

Mongolia is generally a safe country for tourists. In Ulaanbaatar, you should beware of pickpockets, especially around the central station and markets, as well as at bus stops and public transport.

When traveling on horseback around the country, you need to be vigilant and organize a night watch: during sleep, personal belongings and even horses are often stolen. Another danger is packs of feral dogs, among which cases of rabies are periodically observed. It is better to drink bottled water; At the same time, there are many natural springs with surprisingly tasty water in the foothills of Altai.

Do not forget about sunscreen - Mongolia has a high level of solar activity. Hospitality and respect for the host is the basis of Mongolian ethics, from which many nuances of behavior follow. Ignorance of all the details for a foreigner is excusable, but it is better to remember and follow the basic rules. You should not refuse treats, you need to take at least a small piece or take a sip of the proposed drink (while holding the cup by the bottom).

You should take it with your right hand, the same applies to a joint meal from a common dish. In a yurt, you can’t lean on the central supporting pillar, stand on the threshold and whistle. It is better not to touch the head of another person, especially a child, and turn your back on the elders. Fire for the Mongols is sacred: you can not trample it, fill it with water and throw garbage into it.

The communication system in the country is relatively poorly developed, the density of telephone lines is very low (about 3.5 telephones per thousand inhabitants).

Payphones are rare even in the capital, mostly only found in hotels and post offices. An international call can be made from a telephone exchange or from a call center. Tariffs for international calls are quite high (1 minute of conversation with Russia or China costs about $1-2, to other countries - from $3.4 to 5).

Wi-fi is now available in almost all hotels and there is no additional charge for it. Free Internet access points are available in the Sukhbaatar area in the capital of the country. Internet cafes are quite common in the capital and other major cities of Mongolia. During long trips to the mountains and the Gobi desert, you will have to forget about the Internet, since communication (including cellular) disappears immediately outside the settlements.

Internet and communication providers in Mongolia: Bodicomputers, MagicNet and Micom provide fairly stable, but not too fast access. In recent years, Mongolian cellular communication is experiencing a real boom.

A major mobile operator is Mobicom.