Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia
Created by: Maralzaya Buyanbadrakh

Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

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Introduction : Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

Location

Mongolia is a country that located between China and Russia. There are only these 2 countries in the border of Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar is the capital city and it is in the slightly east of the center of Mongolia. It is the biggest and most populated city.

History

In history, there is a research that capital city has moved 28 times between 1640-1855. It is because of the nomadic traditional life style. People used to set a religious leader as the head of the country and every time the head of the country changes, they move the capital city. In october29, 1924, it is settled as the capital city and Named Ulaanbaatar. In 1900’s, the government and parliament were established. Through the world war2 between Germany and Soviet Union, Mongolia helped Soviet Union with economic support which are livestock, money, food and clothing. Now there is a peak for the memory for the friendship between Mongolia and Russia in the Ulaanbaatar city.

Weather

Mongolia has 4 seasons and the winter seems the longest season of the year. It will get colder in October and starts to snow and it continues to get colder until March. The lowest temperature in winter would get -40C (-40F) with strong snowy wind. In March the climate will be warmer. But the spring time is the windiest season and it will be so dusty outside. Summer will be between June to August. This is really short time of warm weather and hot sun. Summer will be the most comfortable time for the tourists. People started to travel from May until October. Not only tourists, the people travels within the country. It usually rainy in August indicating that it is Fall.

Tourism

We receive most tourists in summer because winter is not that comfortable to travel and visit places. The top 5 countries that tourists came from to Mongolia in 2018were Chine, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the USA. People usually spend at least 7 days because Mongolia has a large landscape and traveling one place to another takes quite time. Mongolia offers people to enjoy beautiful and unique nature formation, large plain field, nomadic life style, culture and the history. The statistics showed in 2018 that Mongolia receive 529,000 tourist in a year (www.discovermongolia.mn). The number is even growing each year.

Most tourist known Mongolia by Chinggis Khan. There is a fascinating story that everyone interested to listen. Not far from the Ulaanbaatar city, there is a Great Statue of Chinggis Khan and it shows the 13th century Mongolian life style. It is one of the biggest place that tourist visit. Also, tourists really interested to see Mongolian traditional home called ger and how people just live in this small kind of tent. There are so many layers to make ger warm and to protect from the rain and snow. People will make a fire inside to warm up the ger during winter.

The last thing I am going to mention is the culture. Everyone loves to see a traditional clothes, ceremonies, art and dance. There is a show for the tourists which includes singing, dance, contortion, and instruments. Everyone loves this show. There will be many other places that I did not mentioned, and I am sure that tourists will never get bored of learning about Mongolia.

Transportations

Getting to your location

The main transportations in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia are air travel, ground travel and rail travel.

Air: There is only “Chinggis Khaan International Airport” currently working and new airport is at the end of its construction. It is located 15.2 km away from the center of the city and it takes 33 minutes to go by car. However, it depends on the traffic. MIAT Mongolia Airlines, Aero Mongolia, Hunnu Air are the domestic airlines and Aeroflot, Korean Air, Air Chine and Turkish Airlines offers scheduled services.

Water: There is no ocean or sea which connects to border of other country. Therefore, there is no water travel in Mongolia.

Ground: Local buses are available from 7am to 10pm on workdays and 8am to 9pm on weekends. Sixt company offers a car rental service. Also, “Noyon Zuuch” taxi company and Help Cab & Tours companies offer official taxi services and they have English speaking dispatchers. However you will find many unofficial taxi drivers there. Cycling World hires a mountain bikes for 11 USD.

Rail: Rail travel is one of the main transportation to some of the cities and provinces such as Erdenet, Darkhan, Choibalsan and Choir. It offers scheduled services every day. Also,train goes to Ulan Ude in Russia and Erenhot and Beijing in China as they are neighbor countries of Mongolia.

Getting around your location

Total land area of Ulaanbaatar city is 4,704.4 km2. Local people usually catches bus or taxi and few people uses bicycles. Taking bus costs 20cent for per route. There are trolley buses and regular buses which connects to most important destinations in the city. As said earlier, you can find official and unofficial taxis quickly and it costs 40 cent for per kilometer. Also, you could rent a car at the “Sixt” company and it costs 42USD per day. If you rent a car, you should be careful with the rude drivers. The busiest time of the day starts 8am to 11am in the morning and 6pm to 8pm in the evening. I would suggest to walk if the destination is not far away in the center of the city during this time because of the heavy traffic. Half of the population of Mongolia lives in Ulaanbaatar and every house has at least one car. So it makes the traffic heavier. There is no railway or tram in the city, the train goes to the other provinces from the middle of the city. The best way is to use google map as you travel in the city, so that you will not get confused and it makes everything easy.

Accomodations

The Chinggis Khan airport is located 10 kilometers away from the city. There are many hotels and motels on the main road in the Ulaanbaatar city. The prices are different depending on the services and rate. If hotels are close to the center of the city, they are quality and have a higher price. You could go shops and malls, or visit museums or visit attractive places by just walking. Little hotels or motel offer low prices and they places mostly on the edge of the city.

Hotels / Resorts

Name	Category	Cost	Amenities	Audience	Stars
Ulaanbaatar Hotel	Hotel	76$	Dining room, Restaurant, gym	Right in the middle of the city, clean and spacious	5
Tuushin Hotel	Hotel	122$	Spa, wellness center, fitness center, family room	-	5
Blue Sky Hotel	Hotel	119$	Airport shuttle, swimming pool,	European-style decoration and modern interior	5
Shangri-La Hotel	Hotel	269$	1 swimming pool, gym, parking, family room, bar	Currency exchange and car rental service	5

There are 2 options besides of renting hotels in Ulaanbaatar city. Some people rent houses for the tourists. You can feel like you are home for this option. Another option is that guests could drive to the “Terelj National Park” and rent lodge there. It takes about 80km from the airport. There are many ger camps ( ger – a traditional yurt).

NAME	Category	Cost	Amenities	Audience	Stars
Accommodation name	Resort/midrange/economy/ etc.	Cost per night	What kinds of services would attract guests?	Who does this accommodation appeal to?	Usually reported as 1–4
House rent	Apartment	$70-90	Just like home	Personal space	3
Terelj Resort and Lodge	Resort	$250+	Recreational activities, swimming pool	Beautiful view and Mongolian culture	5
Ger Rent	Resort	$35+	Hiking	Recreational activities	3

Food & Beverage

There are many types of food and beverage options around the city. You can find the fast food places easily such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Burger King. Recommended restaurants are in the center of the city. They are expensive but it has a good environment. They are good places to go out and eat with your family.

About the cuisines, there are various choices depending on the meal. There are Indian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Turkish and Mongolian cuisines near the center of the city. They all have their unique taste.

There are few places that are well known to the local people. The Bull Hotpot Restaurant is popular with their hotpot. Since the cold weather is dominated throughout the year, it is always good choice to have a hotpot. The Bull is always full of travelers and local people.

All the restaurants have a good beverage options. Good thing to know for the tourist is that you can find some good places around the edge of the city. Also, most places are full booked on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays since it is a good time for everyone to go out and have a good meal with their friends and families. You should book restaurant first if you are eating out on these days.

Quick Service Restaurants:

Name	Cuisine	Meals	Features	Price
Bluefin Cuisine D’art	Fine dining and take away.	Lunch and dinner.	Beef Stakes, lunch set and Burgers	$$$
Ali Baba Arabian and Medeterranean Cuisine	Casual	Lunch and dinner	Special Arabian dishes	$$
Mughul Indian and Hazara cuisine	Casual	Lunch and dinner	Indian traditional dishes	$

Casual Restaurants:

Name	Cuisine	Meals	Features	Price
The Joy Underground dining and Lounge	Casual	Lunch and dinner	-	$$
Guru lounge and restaurant	Casual	Lunch and dinner	-	$
Modern Nomads	Casual	Lunch and dinner	Mongolian traditional dishes	$$$

Fine Dining Restaurants

Name	Cuisine	Meals	Features	Price
California	Dine in and take away	Lunch and dinner	There are different features each day	$$$
Cafe Park	Fine dine in	Breakfast, lunch and dinner	Mongolian traditional dishes	$$$$
The Bull Hotpot	Dine in	Lunch and dinner	Hotpot	$$$

Meeting and Convention in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Family reunion for 50 attendees.

The Corporate Hotel and Convention Centre- www.corporatehotel.mn
Terelj International Resort- www.tereljhotel.com
Shangri-La Hotel- www.shangrilacentreub.mn
Kempinski Hotel- www.kempinski.com/en/ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar Hotel- www.ubhotel.mn
Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel- www.bestwesternmongolia.mn
The Continental Hotel- www.ubcontinentalhotel.com
The Blue Sky Hotel and Tower- www.hotelbluesky.mn
Chinggis Khaan Hotel- www.chinggis-hotel.com
Ramada Hotel- www.ramadaub.mn

From all of these hotels that I could hold a family reunion, I would choose 3 of them because they have the best facilities to accommodate guests in wheelchairs. Those are:

The Corporate Hotel and Convention Centre
Shangri-La Hotel
The Blue Sky Hotel and Tower

The biggest reason why I chose those 3 hotels are that they offer a spacious elevator that has access to all the floors. It will be relieving for the guests with a wheelchair to have enough space to fit more people in the elevator while they are in. Also, they have flat stairs that suits for the wheelchair. There will be no difficulties to go up and down. The last reason is that they have a kind employees that would be willing to help those people who need a hand.

Recreation and Entertainment

There are many places that tourist could go for the recreational and entertainment activities. The most popular place is the “Terelj National Park”. I will take about an hour to get there from the center of the city. It is a beautiful place surrounded by the green environment and unique rocky mountains. There are many recreational activities you could experience at “Terelj National Park” such as horse riding, zip line, rock climbing at the “Extreme Mongolia”.

In the city, people go to “Bogd Mountain” to hike. It will take 2 hours to hike up to the top. This hike is available any season of the year. “Soyol Wellness Center” and “Gobi Sauna” are available in the city. It is a great place for the massage and spa.

“Gandantegchilen Monastery” is a place that you can see Mongolian popular religion which is Buddhist. You can see how people worship and monk pray. Also you can see some huge Buddhist statues there.

There are 2 main museum that tourist could enjoy. Frist one is National Historical Museum. You can learn about Mongolian history from Chinggis Khan in 13th century until modern days. The life style of ancient people, warriors, kings and queens are the highlight of this museum. Second, “The Museum of Bogd” was the residence of Bogd Khan who is the last king of Mongolia. You will see impressive Mongolian architecture with cultural and religious art crafts.

There is no water activities available near to the city. If you travel to the big lakes, you will be able to experience some water activities.

Natural Wonders:

Sports & Recreation Spas:

Arts, Culture, Entertainment:

Itinerary

A itinerary for adventurous travelers (3 Days )

Day 1

We will go to “Terelj National Park” and have some extreme activities and explore more about Mongolian Landscape and Natural wonders.

Morning: “Terelj National Park is the most popular place for tourist. It is located 50 kilometers away from the Ulaanbaatar city and it will take about an hour to drive there. The park is surrounded by a unique formatted rocks and this will show you the beautiful view of Mongolia. One interesting rock will be “Turtle Rock” and we will hike to the rock. Also, there are horse riding and camel riding activities are available for the tourists.

Afternoon: Not far from the Turtle Rock, there is a “Ariyapal Meditation Center” open for tourists. You can discover about Buddhist temple and how Mongolians worship and pray. The most exciting part is that we will visit “Extreme Mongolia”. You can go through the zip line that is 430 meters long and 33 meters high, walk on the bridge that is 110 meters and 30 meters high, and rock climbing. Then we will stay night at a ger which is a traditional little accommodation.

DAY 2:

Morning: After breakfast, we will pack and go to the “The Statue of Chinggis Khan”. The statue of Chinggis Khaan sitting on the back of horse is 40 meters high and made by a stainless steel. The English speaking guides are available there to explain the history to you. There you can discover more about Mongolians in 13th century and Chinggis Khaan;s family and history. Also, you can visit a museum and souvenir shops. In the basement of the Statue, there is a little hall that you can watch a movie about how the statue build.

Afternoon: You can try an archery outside of the statue. This is one of the traditional sports. Then we will continue our journey to the Sand Dunes. It will take 4 hours to get there. Even though the drive seems long, the destination will be absolutely amazing. The “Elsen Tasarkhai” sand dunes has the extraordinary view. You will see a lake between desert and green landscape.

DAY 3:

Morning: We will go to the sand dunes with camel. This will be a great experience to walk on the sand dunes with camel. After we reach the dunes, we will hike up there. I will take such an effort to make it to the top. We will enjoy the beautiful view on the sand dunes and spend time with a nomadic family. You will be able to see Mongolian traditional way of life. The sheep, goats, horses, cows and camels are in one place. You will see how people milk the cows and how they gather them. It is so interesting to see the nomadic life style.

Afternoon: We will head back to the Ulaanbaatar city and we will stop by a “Kugnu Khan” mountain. There you will see old Buddist temples and huge mountain. The mountain has such a beautiful view. Then we will continue our drive and reach to the city in the evening and transfer you to your accommodation.

SWOT Analysis of Tourism in Your Location

Strengths

The history- Most people are interested in Mongolian history because of Chinggis Khaan. There are many places that tourists could go to discover more about Mongolian history.
Natural formation- Mongolia has many destinations that shows beauty of the nature. There are rocky mountains, big lakes and sand dunes.
Nomadic life style- In the country side, people still live in a nomadic life style. Tourists enjoy learning about traditional way of life.
Art and culture- Mongolian traditional clothes are so unique. Also, Mongolian dance, Khuumii, ( throat singing), traditional art, contortion and music instruments draw tourists attention.

Weakness

Accommodation- Most tourist stay in the countryside for their travel, but some of the accommodations don’t meet the basic requirements.
Tourist come only in summer.- There is no way to travel in the long distance during winter. Because it gets down -30C degrees. Basically tourism stops during winter.
Pollution in the city- Half of the population lives in the Ulaanbaatar city which makes a heavy traffic. It makes people frustrated.
The destinations are far from each other and it takes hours to drive to one another. It is tiring for old people.

Opportunities

Improvement for the accommodations- As mentioned above, hotels and camps are not very well developed in some areas. If they improve services in the countryside, it will have more benefits.
Flight services- Only few provinces has small airport. If they build more airports, it will make travel easier. Tourist will save their time and it will be more comfortable.
Repairing some cultural destinations- Over time, some of the great statues and destinations are broken and got old.
Road signs- There is no road sign and no way to go on travel on our own. Only the people who know the road very well will bring you to the destinations.

Threats

Heavy traffic in the city- If the traffic still continues in the coming years, tourists will get tired of traffic and will not choose to come to Mongolia.
Train the tour guides well- It is something that I saw in my country. Tour companies send sometime who speaks English for the tourist. Sometimes they don’t have an idea of how they introduce destinations.
Theft- People should be really careful with thieves in the streets and in the public transportation.

Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia
Created by: Maralzaya Buyanbadrakh