The vast expanses of Mongolia offer incredible opportunities to explore one of the last true wilderness in the world. It is a country three times the size of France and less populous than Wales.
The Mongols are a nomadic people and urbanization did not begin until the communist years of the 20th century. More than a third of the population now lives in the capital Ulaanbaatar , the political and cultural center of the region and entry and exit point for the vast majority of foreign visitors.
Best travel time
If you are planning a trip to Mongolia it depends a lot on the weather and climate. Mongolia has four seasons and the seasons are very different. The winter lasts from November to February spring from March to mid-May, summer from mid-May to the end of August and the fall is in September and October. The cold weather in the north can last a month or two longer than in the Gobi areas. In Mongolia, you can even experience four seasons in one day. With more than 260 sunny days per year Mongolia is known as the “land of blue skies”. Mongolia has an extremely continental climate, the country is so far within the Asian continent that no sea mitigates the climate. As you travel to Mongolia, you should therefore always keep an eye on this extreme climate.
According to Softwareleverage, Ulaanbaatar is considered to be the coldest capital in the world . Temperatures can quickly drop to 0 ° C in late October, in January and February the temperatures regularly drop to an icy cold -30 ° C and stay around freezing point until April. July through September are comfortable, but it can still turn cold. The summers are short and sometimes it rains, the temperatures are up to 35 ° C. The wind is particularly strong in spring and sand storms can occur.
In the Gobi Desert , the summers are very hot and the heat is scorching. The best time to travel to Mongolia is from May to September . Then there is the best chance of good and, above all, not too cold weather.
If the Gobi Desert want to visit, which is optimal travel time during the months of June to September . The desert is then not as hot as usual.
Climate in Ulaanbaatar
The maximum temperature in Mongolia is 22 ° C in July. In January the thermometer rises to a maximum of −16 ° C. The summer (June to September) with average 19 ° C mild . In the winter months it is around -10 ° C very cold . During the day, the average annual temperature in Mongolia is 4.6 ° C.
At night it gets coldest in January with -25 ° C. The thermometer rarely falls below 12 ° C in July. While the nights in summer are averaging a mild 9 ° C, the thermometer drops to a very cold −20 ° C between November and March at night. The temperature at night is an average of −6.2 ° C throughout the year.
With 9 rainy days, July is the rainiest month of the year. From June to September Mongolia is quite dry with an average of around 7 rainy days each, the winter (November to March) is very dry with only 1 rainy day. On an annual average, rain falls on only 3.3 days per month.
Food and drink
Traditional Mongolian dishes include buuds (small, steamed meat dumplings), chuuschuur (flat, meat-filled, dried pancakes), and soups. Many traditional products are made from milk. Despite Mongolia’s reputation as a nation of meat eaters, vegetarians shouldn’t starve here. The traditional dishes mentioned above are also available filled with cabbage and other vegetables.
Language
Mongolian is the language spoken by the vast majority of people. It is an Altaic language related to modern day Turkish. Younger people sometimes speak some English, especially in hotels and tourist destinations.
Currency
The currency of Mongolia is the Mongolian Tugrik. There are plenty of ATMs in Ulaanbaatar where you can withdraw Tugrik. Money can be exchanged wherever you need your passport. US dollars are often easier to exchange than euros and pounds sterling. There are only a few banks outside of Ulaanbaatar. So don’t rely on being able to withdraw money outside of the capital, especially if you are traveling in the countryside.
