The Beauty

In every Mongolia travel guide you pick up, you will find an abundance of stunning pictures of camels in a beautiful desert, yaks in the mountains, and horses by rivers. Just try a “Mongolia” google search and you can see the images yourself. The Mongolian countryside really is just that beautiful. Although it is incredibly difficult to encompass the beauty and vastness of the country in pictures and words, just try and ask any Mongolian. They won’t hesitate to proudly boast about their country’s blue sky, green steppe, crystal lakes, alpine mountains, and golden Gobi Desert. There are very few countries where you can see ice, desert, and grasslands in the span of just a few days! If you want to get the most out of Mongolia’s beauty, we recommend The Big Mongolia Circuit Tour.

Untouched nature

One comment we have heard repeatedly on our tours while driving through the countryside is:

“Where are all the fences?”

Well, mostly, they don’t exist. Mongolian nomads will move twice a year, for winter and for summer. There are no fences and their cattle are free range. While the capital of Mongolia has seen massive development in the past years, the countryside still remains vastly empty with small towns seemingly sprinkled randomly. These, and some more factors, add up to a sprawling land seemingly untouched by humankind.

The Disconnect

As we have said, Mongolia is incredibly vast. One can drive for 5 hours and not see a single person, yet count about 200 goats, 150 sheep, 30 horses, and a few yaks and camels. When visitors are asked what their favorite thing about Mongolia is, a common answer is the disconnect. Disconnect from their phone, their work, and all of the other worries they have thousands of miles away.

The Hospitality

Mongolian Hospitality is legendary. The Silk Road, under the conquest of the Mongol empire, was said to be so safe that “a maiden bearing a nugget of gold on her head could wander safely throughout the realm.” This culture of hospitality and protection is still offered to this day. Within five minutes of visiting a Mongolian Ger (or yurt), you will have laid out for you milk tea and numerous dishes of foods that you have probably never seen before. If you spend the night, a Mongolian family would almost feel like they have failed if you hadn’t gained weight and walked away with a smile.

However, please don’t misunderstand us. It is not right to think that one can stop anywhere and receive free food and a place to stay whenever they want. Please respect the country and people. If you do visit a family, bring some small, inexpensive gifts! They will be very grateful and you will have made some good friends!