The Millennium Experience

Few places on earth are more remote, traditional, and insanely difficult to travel than this isolated land of huge deserts, mountain lakes, and untouched forests holding some of the most abundant wildlife in Asia. Although Mongolia once had much contact with the West (mostly by invading it), the country has been almost completely isolated since the Marxist revolution of 1921. Now, Mongolia is slowly opening up again, leaving today’s visitors with huge areas of countryside largely untouched by Western culture. Soviet and Chinese communism increased the differences between the two areas.

In both Mongolias you can stay in yurts (circular felt tents called gers in Mongolian—the word yurt is of Turkic origin), eat mutton, drink airag (fermented mare’s milk), and watch riders use urgas (pole-mounted lassos) to round up horses, sheep, goats, cows, and camels. Mid-summer Naadam fairs feature spectacular competitions in archery, Mongolian wrestling, and horseracing.

Those who break through the bureaucracy and manage to step off the train or plane during the summer will get to know Mongolia at its festive peak.