One country, several very different landscapes
Mongolia is a large, sparsely populated country, and its landscapes change dramatically from one side to the other. Mountains, forest, open grassland and desert all appear within a single country, and the people who live in each setting have adapted in different ways. Mongolia has no single official system of travel regions, so the divisions below are a general, informal way of organizing the map. Official administrative units are provinces, called aimags, and one region often spans several of them. Boundaries between regions are blurry, and different writers draw them slightly differently.
For a wider look at mountains, lakes and rivers across the whole country, the Mongolian geography primer goes into more detail. This article simply orients you.
The west: high mountains and a different culture
The far west is the highest and most rugged part of the country. The Altai Mountains run along the border area, with permanent snow, glaciers and some of the tallest peaks in Mongolia. Large lakes sit in basins to the east of the range, and the climate is generally harsher and more extreme than elsewhere.
The west is also culturally distinct. Bayan-Olgii, the westernmost province, has a Kazakh majority, with its own language, Muslim traditions and the well-known practice of hunting with golden eagles. Other western provinces have a mix of Mongolian groups, and the area as a whole feels noticeably different from the central heartland. Distances are large and travel can be slow, so the west tends to reward people with extra time.
The center: river valleys and old capitals
The central region, centered on the Khangai Mountains and the grassland valleys around them, is often considered the historical heart of the country. Rivers rise in the mountains and cross rolling steppe, and the land is good for grazing, so herding families have lived here for a very long time. Several of the great steppe powers placed their centers in this area, and Mongol rulers later did the same.
This is where you find the Orkhon Valley, early Buddhist monasteries, the site of the old Mongol capital, hot springs and extinct volcanic features. It is also relatively accessible from the capital, which makes it a common choice for a first journey into the countryside. Traditions about Genghis Khan point mainly to the northeast, but the empire he founded later built its capital in these central valleys.
The north: forest, lakes and taiga
Northern Mongolia gets more rain and has more trees than most of the country. Here the steppe gives way to larch and pine forest, a landscape that belongs to the same broad belt as Siberian taiga. The main landmark is Lake Khuvsgul, a very large and deep lake surrounded by forested mountains. West of it lies the remote Darkhad basin, where a small community of reindeer herders keeps a way of life found in very few places.
Summers in the north are green and relatively mild, and winters are long and cold, with the lake freezing over. Roads can be rough and slow, and some areas near the border are subject to special entry rules, so check current official guidance before planning.
The east: plains and border country
The east is a broad, flat to gently rolling steppe that stretches toward the borders with China and Russia. It is much less visited than the west, center or south. It is sometimes described as among the largest remaining areas of intact temperate grassland in the world, and it is known for large herds of wildlife, including Mongolian gazelles, whose gazelle migration across the plains is one of the region’s best-known natural events.
Visitors seldom come here for dramatic scenery. They come for open horizons, birdlife, quiet and the sense of seeing a part of the country that few travelers reach. Some of the best-known places in Mongolian history, including areas linked to the Mongol founding story, are in the northeast, in the Khentii region.
The south: the Gobi
The southern third of the country is dominated by the Gobi Desert, which is far more varied than the word “desert” suggests. It includes sand dunes, rocky mountains, gravel plains, canyons and dry grassland. Winters are cold, summers can be hot, and water is scarce, so herders here keep camels, goats and sheep. The Gobi is famous for fossil discoveries, wild Bactrian camels and rare desert wildlife, and it is the most common destination after the capital and central region.
The capital as a gateway
Ulaanbaatar, in the central-north, sits in a valley near the Tuul River. About half of Mongolia’s people live in or around it, and nearly every international arrival passes through it. It is a busy modern city rather than a scenic destination, but most routes start here.
Choosing between regions
A few general points can help:
- Distances are large, and roads outside the main routes can be slow and rough, so trying to see every region in one trip is rarely realistic. A two week trip typically focuses on two or three regions.
- The best time to visit varies by region. Summer is the most popular season for the north and center, while the Gobi is often more comfortable in late spring and early fall.
- The Mongolian climate is strongly continental, with big seasonal swings, so local conditions in each region matter more than national averages.
- A number of famous places lie within protected areas, which may have their own rules, fees or permit requirements.
For anyone planning a first journey, a first-time itinerary usually combines the capital with one or two regions rather than all five. Flying within the country saves time, and domestic travel by road, rail or air each suit different goals.
How the regions fit together
It helps to think of Mongolia as a set of belts. Mountains in the west and north feed rivers and lakes, the central valleys and eastern plains are the great grasslands, and the south is dry. Nomadic life exists in all of them, but what herders keep, how far they move and how they live vary with the land. Seeing more than one region, even briefly, gives a much better picture of the country than staying in a single place.
The articles that follow in this section look at each area in turn, from the Altai to the Gobi, from the Orkhon Valley to the eastern plains, and from the capital to the northern lake.