Mongolia is a country of history, tradition and beautiful unspoiled nature. It is known as the "Land of the Eternal Blue Sky” with thousands of kilometers of vast steppes, clear lakes, snow capped mountains, and golden deserts that seem timeless.
If you are traveling to Mongolia for the first time, you have four areas of Mongolia to visit to best experience the beauty of Mongolia: Arhangai, Hentii, Huvsgul, and the Gobi Desert.
Arkhangai – Mongolia's Equestrian Heartland
Arkhangai, or "Switzerland of Mongolia," is gleaming green valleys, volcanic landscapes, and tranquil rivers. This is where you can truly immerse yourself in the Mongolian relationship with horses. You can ride freely across open steppes, visit nomadic herders, and taste airag (fermented mare's milk), hopping from one cultural experience to another.
The place is also home to Kharhorin, the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire. Also here is the restored Erdene Zuu Monastery, where centuries of history have been told. The Khogno Khan Nature Reserve is also nearby, where you can find beautiful rock formations and sacred ruins. Arkhangai has it all in terms of culture, history, and nature.
Hentii – Homeland of Chinggis Khan
Hentii’s beauty lies in its wilderness: quiet valleys, sacred peaks, and endless skies. It’s a place that feels both historic and wild, where you can sense the spirit of Mongolia’s most iconic leader.
Khuvsgul — Mongolia’s Blue Pearl and the Reindeer People
To the north is Lake Khuvsgul, Mongolia’s “Blue Pearl,” 100 miles long, 300-feet deep, and contains almost 2% of the world’s fresh water with sparkling gemstone colors of blue and green with depths appearing as shimmering sapphire, dragonfly languidly hovering over the surface of the water in the surrounding mountains and dense forests.
The clear waters and alpine beauty are enough to make Lake Khuvsgul one of the most stunning places in the world.
Beyond Lake Khuvsgul, the remote and sweeping Darhad Valley awaits your adventure on the steppes, along the taiga forest to meet the Tsaatan (Reindeer People). To visit this ever shrinking community of reindeer herders is to enter a vortex to worlds without modernity, where ancient traditions still survive.
If you desire to feel Mongolia’s wild north in a pure form, then Khuvsgul is your destination.
The Gobi Desert – Sands, Fossils, and Nomadic Life
The Gobi Desert is legendary—a vast, otherworldly landscape where extremes meet. At the Yol Valley, icy streams flow through rocky canyons, while the towering Khongoryn Els dunes hum in the wind as you climb them for sweeping desert views.
The Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag, where the red sandstone glows with sunset hues while whispers of the prehistoric past—this was the first site where dinosaur fossils were discovered.
However, the Gobi is much more than just landscapes—the Gobi is life. Meeting really wonderful camel-breeding families, riding two-humped Bactrian camels, and staying in ger camps, necessarily allows you to connect with desert nomads with incredible resilience to continue living for thousands of years as they have in numerous climates and terrains.
After the Gobi, you have a lasting impression of wonder, of history, and of facing cultures that you will never forget.