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Useful Information

Geography: Area 1,566,000 square kilometers
Located between Russia and China – borders with Russia 3485kms and China 4677 kms. Average altitude is 1580 m above sea level

Climate: Mongolia has a continental climate and four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Average summer temperature +20”C, average winter temperature –26”C, average rainfull 200-220 mm.

Population: 2,8 million

Language: Khalha Mongol. Most Mongols speak Russian as a second language, but many also speak a third language. English, German, French and Japanese.

Religion: Buddhism-94%. Muslim, Shamanism and Christian

State structure: Mongolia is unitary state and divided administratively into 21 Aimags and a capital sity.

Capital: Ulaanbaatar

Government: Parliamentary republic. President  elected for four years.The prime minister is appointed by the State Great Khural and serves for a period of four years.

Time: Add 8 hours to GMT

Currency: The basic monetary unit  in Mongolia is TUGRUG . USD 1= T 1180. No limit on foreign  currency but must be registered at Mongolian customs. USD and Euros are accepted in hotels and restaurants. Hotels and tourist shops accept credit cards ( American Express, Visa, Master card and Diners Club).

Electric current: The standard voltage is 220 volts/50Hz.

Communications: Most hotels and Houses have international direct dialing, as well as telex, fax facilities and internet connection.

Country code: 976 and area code for Ulaanbaatar 11.

Health: No specific requirements. Visitors are advised to have medical insurance policy of their native countries. Safety : Mongolia is very safe country.

Economy: This traditionally is based on agriculture, Livestock breeding ( camels, horses, bovine, goats and sheep) and also Mining ( mainly gold, coal and copper)

Shopping: There are many departments and local shops. In these shops have a wide range of goods with favorable prices – Mongolian souvenirs, furs, cashmere garments, camel wool blankets, national costumes, boots, jewelry, carpets, records etc.

Accommodation: There are  comfortable hotels with 3-4 stars. Also many smaller hotels, guest houses and hostels of varying standards.Outside the capital, comfortable tourist camps are available.

Food: Mongolian food includes beef, mutton, dairy products, pasta, rice and seasonal fruits and vegetables. A variety of restaurants in Ulaanbaatar offer traditional Mongolian food as well as European and Asian cuisine.

Public holidays: 1 January – New Year
January/February - Lunar New Year (Tsagaan Sar) 
8 March -  International Women’s day
1 June - Mother and Children’s  day
11-13 July - National Holiday (Naadam)
26 November - Independent  day

Visa: Visa is issued by Mongolian Embassies and Diplomatic Missions around the world. If travelling on an organized tour, visas can be obtained through tourism companies or travel agencies.

Transportation: There are two possibilities to enter Mongolia – by air and by train.

MONGOLIAN NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

NAADAM
Mongolian National Holiday, the Naadam Festival is celebrated all over the country , normally between the11 and 13 of July each year. It was  organized since many centuries ago as a test of courage, strength and daring . The Naadam Festival , Men’s Three Games consists  of Horse racing Wrestling and Archery.

Wrestling. Wrestlers wear ornamental kneeboots with upturned toes , tight trunks and openfronted, long sleeved vest of silk.The wrestler performsthe eagle’s dance with his arms imitating a flying bird.This dance symbolizes power and invincibility. There are a variety of tricks in Mongolian wrestling, it requires not only strength but also perfect technique. The wrestler who forces his contestant’s knee or elbow to touch  the ground is the winner.Wrestling is held in several rounds, depending on the number of participants. Nowadays, some 512 contestants take part in the wrestling competition, the winner of which is known after nine rounds.

Horseracing. Horseracing is the favorite sport of the herdsmen, who bring their best horses from great distances. The races are organized according to the age of the horses. It is a test of endurance for the horses as well as riders. (children  six to ten years of age with a distance of 15 to 30kms). Before the start the riders sing an ancient song “Giingoo”. After the race, praise –singer extol the best riders and their horses. Also, the winner is honored with a cup of “Airag” (fermented mare’s milk) which he drinks and pours over the heads of the winning horses.

Archery. Archery contest is a tradition dating from the time of Chinggis Khaan . Small round leather targets are put at a distance of 60-100 ms from the archers. When the target is hit , several men stand on either side of the target singing a short song of praise (uuhai) to clear the contestants and then use hand signals to indicate the results . The best archer receives the title of “mergen” (marksman).

TSAGAAN SAR (Lunar New Year) Mongols have been celebrating Tsagaan Sar for more than 2000 years, to mark the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring.  Mongolian  Tsagaan Sar is a nationwide holiday, celebrated according to the Lunar Calendar.  The actual date varies from year to year.  Each year of lunar calendar is named after one of twelve animals, such as: mouse, bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig. Mongols celebrate Tsagaan Sar with three days of feasting with their families. At this time monasteries are full of people, usually wearing new dels (The Mongolian National Dress). Tables literally drown with a great variety of milk products,  buuz (beef and mutton dumplings) and mare’s milk (airag). Families traditionally kill the fattest sheep in the flock and then display the boiled lower back and tail throughout the holiday.