Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar, is Mongolia's capital and the largest city in the country. According to travel website Best Wind, Mongolia has the coldest capital city in the world. Ulan Bator's median annual temperature is just 29.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The ground there suffers from permafrost, and doesn't fully thaw even in summer, making it impossible to grow crops.

Outdoor Adventures

Ulan Bator is the starting point for many outdoor adventure tours. To explore Mongolia's amazing scenery, you can join a group tour leaving the city or rent a motorcycle or a car and explore on your own. Look for tours that take you to the Gobi desert, full of canyons and sand dunes, or to Mount Kharkhiraa for hiking and overnight trekking. Many companies organize off-road motorcycle, camel and horseback tours to allow for more direct contact with the landscape. Ulan Bator sits where the rivers Selbe and Tuul meet, in the valley under Bogd Khan Uul mountain. Visitors often take hiking and walking tours of the surrounding areas, especially in the summer, when the weather is warmer but not overly hot.

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, just outside the city, connects with Ulan Bator by a paved road. The park is famous for being home to several tourist camps, with yurts for overnight stays. The camps also have restaurants and camels for rent, and organize their own tours of the park. Exploring the park on your own is basically impossible, because most of it is undeveloped and has no roads. Khagiin Khar, a glacial lake, is one of the park's main attractions. Other sights include a Buddhist monastery, natural hot springs and an impressive number of brown bears and other fauna.

Choijin Lama Temple Museum

Choijin Lama was converted into a museum in 1942. Before that, it was a Buddhist temple, home to the Luvsan Haidav Choijin Lama, adviser and oracle to the state. The Choijin Lama is actually a five-temple structure, housing important Buddha statues, mummified remains of respected monks and the oracle's throne. While gold is a common metal in many Buddhist temples, Choijin Lama has statues made of bronze and wood. The museum also houses a collection of feudal artifacts and art. Live performances of traditional tsam-mask dancing can be seen every evening during the summer.

Bogd Khaan Palace Museum

Despite the word "palace" in its name, Bogd Khaan doesn't resemble the imperial palaces you would see in other Asian countries, such as Japan or China. Bogd Khaan consists of a series of buildings: a European-style building that houses the museum, he Winter Palace and a number of small temples. The museum is home to a collection of items and artifacts depicting the history of Mongolia, as well as art such as silk paintings and bronze castings. The palace grounds house antique furniture, royal clothing and Thangka, or religious paintings. The palace grounds also have a library, where visitors can find Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese sutras, a collection of aphorisms and canonical scriptures.

About the Author


Suggest an Article Correction