Spend a Quintessential Holiday in Mongolia to Explore Unique Wonders!

- By Alberto Rodriguez

Hello folks, I am going to share my travel experience of visiting Mongolia with my better half and my sweet little daughter. Me and my wife are globetrotters, so obviously we like to explore new places or countries. However, it’s been quite long since we have visited any new country. My wife was really into discovering the nomadic culture and diverse landscape of Mongolia. So, this time, I also agreed to visit Mongolia. The unique culture, history, and traditions of this country attracted us to make our travel plans. I always choose to get along with a reliable travel partner, so this time, I chose Myholidays. Booking tickets and finalising hotel accommodation is a serious task. However, with the help of Myholidays and the team, all such issues were sorted. I am thankful to them for making our trip so memorable. Since we travelled with our kiddo, we wanted everything to be perfect.

They not only met all our requirements but also reduced certain complexities. We booked a 6-day, 5-night holiday package in Mongolia. It was such an unforgettable trip of our life. Our Mongolia packages included private transfers, hotel accommodation, free breakfast, a city tour, and a guide. They were also open to customer support in case of any emergencies. Flight tickets, lunch, dinners, and other expenses were not included in the package. Me and my wife were extremely satisfied with the services and would like to recommend Myholidays as your travel partner. Now moving ahead, let’s start our magnificent Mongolian travel story.

Day1: Arrival & Ulaanbaatar City Tour

Upon arrival at the Ulaanbaatar city tour, the Myholidays team were there to greet us. After meeting and greeting, they escorted us to our hotel. Our hotel was located at a convenient distance from the airport, in the middle of the city centre. Since we arrived early, so we had enough time to explore the capital city of Mongolia. Well, before we started, we really needed to freshen up and have something delicious to eat. We both had really nice Pancakes and Cappuccino for breakfast.

After relaxing for a while, we were ready to explore every corner of the city. First, we visited the well-recognised, newly constructed Genghis Khan Museum. It is one of the largest museums in Mongolia. It has more than 10000 artifacts from Mongolian history and the Xiongnu era. These artifacts are displayed across nine exhibition halls.

Visiting this museum was a great start to our city tour. Me and my wife both have great interest in exploring the ancient history, culture and traditions of countries or cities we visit. The next stop of our Ulaanbaatar city tour was the stunning Bogd Khan’s winter and summer palace. I just wanted to let you know that Bogd Khan was the last Mongolian ruler. Both these palaces are now converted into museums. These two distinct structures showcase a blend of Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian architectural styles. At these palace museums, we saw a vast collection of religious items, artifacts, gifts from foreign delegates, and traditional royal attire.

Our next city tour was to Gandan Monastery, which is also known as Gandantegchinlen. It’s a great place to witness the local Buddhist religion and Mongolian culture. The structure of this monastery is attractive, and the beauty and the surroundings are mesmerising. I can’t express in words what we experienced at this monastery. We explored various shrines and admired the magnificent statue of Migjid Janraisig draped in gold silk cloth. We had to leave the monastery a bit early because my princess was being a little cranky.

Before heading towards our last destination of this city tour, we stopped for our lunch. First of all, we ordered vegetable soup and a smoothie for my daughter. I wanted to have some authentic Mongolian food, so I ordered mouthwatering Mutton dumplings and Tusivan for my wife. Finishing off the delicious lunch, we headed to our last destination, Zaisan Hill. I must tell you; this place is ideal for a panoramic view of Ulaanbaatar. We took some pictures, enjoyed the view and returned to our hotel after a 5–6-hour city tour. We called it a day after enjoying a light dinner at the hotel premises.

Day 2: A Tour to Gorkhi Terelj National Park & Genghis Khan Statue

Our Day 2 of the Mongolia trip started with a sweet morning kiss from our daughter. She gets cranky sometimes, but usually, she is a happy kid, and morning kisses are our daily ritual. After a quick shower, we were ready for our breakfast. Me and wife just had fresh berries, a smoothie, and banana porridge for my sweetie. Now, we're ready to travel to Gorkhi Terelj National Park. This park is around 70 km away from Ulaanbaatar. Our route was surrounded by lush green hills and magnificent granite cliffs. The beauty of this valley was blooming with beautiful wildflowers, and it is home to goats, sheep and yaks. My daughter gets so excited by watching all the animals that we literally had to stop by and let her play with the sheep. It is a great place to swim in the flowing river water, hike, or simply soak in the beauty of nature.

We explored several notable sites on our way to the national park. Our first stop was the Genghis Khan Statue. It's an impressive aluminium statue of Genghis Khan on a horse. Tourists are allowed to climb the top of the monument to take panoramic pictures with stunning views. We were clearly not ready to climb the top, so we took some pictures while standing by the statue. We also visited the Turtle Rock and Aryaval Monastery and went to the serene mountain base to enjoy hiking, horse riding and other activities. The day was truly filled with adventure and nature's beauty. By dawn, we had returned to the Terelj lodge to spend our night. This accommodation was included in our package, and we really liked the services and room at this staycation. On this note, we ended our day 2 and headed for our beauty sleep.

Day 3: Exploring Karakorum & Nearby Attractions

On day 3, after breakfast, we checked out the lodge and were ready to explore Karakorum. It is also known as Karakhorin or Harhorin. This city was the capital of Genghis Khan's Mongolian empire in the 13th century. We were ready to visit the Erdene Zuu Monastery in this historic Mongolian city. This monastery is famous for surviving anti-religious crackdowns. It consists of 108 stupas and the main Zuu of Buddha Temple. It is basically a reflection of the country's religious beliefs and traditions. It has three remaining temples: Dalai Lama, Zuu Buddha and Lavrin Temple.

Our next spot was the Karakorum Archaeological Museum. This museum is bustling with hundreds of artifacts from the 13th and 14th centuries. This museum is a live example of Mongolia's rich culture. As soon as we completed our tour of this museum, our guide suggested we explore the local market. From this market, we bought some local artists' artifacts, traditional attire, and small gift items for our family and friends, after visiting this market, all three of us were excited about our lunch because we were so hungry by then.

Delicious Khorkhog, Tusivan, and Buuz were there at the restaurant we chose to eat. This tour was quite tiring; my daughter fell asleep, so we left her in the car and packed some food for her, too. Although her mother never allowed fried or packed food for her, we had no choice.

Anyway, after having such a soulful meal, we explored the place a little more and returned to our hotel. As soon as we returned to the hotel, our daughter woke up, and she was not ready to just lie down or relax. She was in her full energy; we had to let her be with her toys and cartoons. On the other hand, me and wife was exhausted and just wanted to take a nap. However, the hotel staff served our dinner to the room, we three had our meal and called it a day.

Day 4: A Trip to Khustai/Hustai National Park

The fourth day of our Mongolia holiday was planned especially for our daughter. We were really excited to introduce her to unique animals and natural wonders. Our day started with breakfast in bed, followed by a shower. We were ready to explore the day, so we quickly checked out of the hotel and started our journey to Khustani National Park. Nowadays, this park is also known as Hustai National Park. Scenic landscapes and unique wildlife exploration are the primary things to do at this park. It is the largest wildlife conservation area in Mongolia, only home to Takhi (wild horses). You must know that this park is the only place where you can find Takhi. Apart from Takhi we also saw Red deer, Mongolian gazelles, Foxes and Marmots.

This park was established as a wildlife reserve in 1993 and was elevated to a national park in 1998. We took the help of our guide to understand the wildlife and the ongoing projects of this park. Pleasant weather, lush green hills and a tranquil atmosphere made my day; I must say, it was the best day of our trip. Even my daughter enjoyed it a lot; she was giggling while watching wild horses and Deer. It was such an enjoyable moment for me and my wife. Watching your child happy is undoubtedly the best blessing in the world. After spending our day in nature’s lap, we were ready for camping.

Since we were going to spend our night at the camp of Khustai National Park, we also opted for traditional camping. In Mongolia, you can experience the ancient camping style, which includes cooking traditional dishes and sitting around the fire. It was my long-time desire to cook authentic lamb dishes from Mongolia. Well, here I am, accompanied by two staff members, and I was all set to cook the delicacy. Since it was my first time, my wife was not expecting much from me, but I was surprised. The dish turned out so delicious that we all finished that in one go. Obviously, I distributed some to the staff. My little one slept early, so we didn’t wake her up. Instead, we decided to make it a romantic night. The weather and the surroundings automatically turned the night into a romantic date night.

Day 5: Returned to the Captial of Mongolia

Ahh! After spending a tremendous holiday in Mongolia, we ended our trip and returned to the capital city. We woke up in the camp room and went for a nature walk. The morning was more beautiful than the night. Cool breezes, pleasant weather and green surroundings were a perfect combination for a happy start to the day. As soon as we returned to our tent, our breakfast was served on the table. I really appreciate the kind gesture of the camp staff, they took care of all our requirements. Not only for us, but they also prepared special breakfast dishes for our daughter.

After a meeting and a greeting session, we were ready to return to Ulaanbaatar. Since we had already explored all the prominent places of this city, we were free to spend a leisurely day. But wait, my wife had another plan: she wanted to explore the premium shops and the city’s traditional market. Meanwhile, I booked our tickets for the Mongolian cultural performances. Our trip would not have been completed without witnessing the art and culture of the country. After finishing that shopping session, we had our lunch and returned to the hotel. Spent a few hours in a hotel and then attended the Folklore show featuring Throat singers. It was a magical show where we explored unique Mongolian music and dance forms. Not only me and my wife but my little toddler also enjoyed the show.

Since it was our last night in Mongolia, I had planned a surprise dinner for my sweet family. We went to Hutong restaurant and ordered some quintessential Mongolian delicacies. The food was soul-satisfying and rich in flavours. We were so full that we directly took a taxi and returned to our hotel. Now it was the time for the most difficult part of your holiday: packing your bags. My wife, with a little sad face, started packing all the bags, and we called it a day.

Day 6: Bayartai (Goodbye) Mongolia

The time has arrived to say bayartai Mongolia. Well, Bayratai is goodbye in the Mongolian language. Well, it was the day when my daughter was not ready to get ready or do anything. Her morning started with asking about the staff of Khustai camp. Well, yes, you heard that right, this demand of hers amazed us and we were sure it's gonna be tough for us. We had our flight in the next 3 hours, and without wasting a minute, I took her to the hotel park to distract her mind. After a few attempts, I succeeded and got back to our room for the final checkout process.

When our taxi awaited us, we hurried up and went towards the airport while discussing our next holiday destination. Mongolia was phenomenal, I will advise every traveller to visit Mongolia at least once. Also, never forget to get a holiday package from Myholidays. It was indeed a well-planned holiday; everything was just perfect. Here are a few suggestions if you are going to plan a trip to Mongolia anytime soon.

Tips to Follow Before Planning a Trip to Mongolia

Before booking your flight tickets, always create your itinerary.
Always consider the best time to visit Mongolia, which is between May and September.
Get along with a reliable travel partner to minimise the complexities associated with international trips.
Check the visa procedure and apply accordingly.
Since Mongolia has cold to cold weather, do not forget to pack your warm clothes.
Take special precautions if you are travelling with kids, and do not forget to pack extra clothes for them.
If you are vegetarian, please bring your own food, as you get more non-vegetarian food in Mongolia.
Do your research about Mongolian culture and tradition, it will help you to gel up with locals.
Bio-gradable soaps, hand sanitisers, and wet wipes are significant essentials to be packed.
English is not the primary language of Mongolia, so it will be better if you learn certain Mongolian words before landing in the country.