Ulaanbaatar — Sights
A gridlocked capital with endless steppe an hour away.
- Sükhbaatar Square & Government Palace — A vast stone plaza between a mounted hero and a seated Chinggis
- Gandan Monastery — A 26 m golden bodhisattva and monks chanting through the incense
- Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue — A 40 m steel Chinggis on the steppe; stand on the horse's head
- Terelj National Park & Turtle Rock — A 24 m granite turtle on the grass, and a night in a ger
- Zaisan Memorial — A ring of Soviet mosaics with the whole city below
- Chinggis Khaan National Museum — Nine floors of nomad empires, from the Xiongnu to the Great Khans
- Bogd Khan Palace Museum — The last khan's winter palace, with a snow-leopard-skin ger
- Choijin Lama Temple Museum — A century-old temple boxed in by glass towers, full of tsam masks
- Naadam Festival (11–13 July) — Wrestling, horse racing and archery: three days the whole country waits for
- Tumen Ekh Folk Show — Throat singing in two notes at once, and contortion that defies bones
- State Department Store area — Souvenirs upstairs, snacks in the basement, all under one roof
- Narantuul Market (Black Market) — Deels, riding boots, even ger doors: Mongolian life for sale
- Hustai National Park wild horses — Hunting for takhi, the world's last truly wild horse
- Gobi Desert tour (multi-day) — A 4–7 night desert loop from the capital, under a ridiculous sky
- Lake Khövsgöl (multi-day) — Mongolia's 'blue pearl', a clear lake ringed by taiga and mountains
- Bogd Khan Mountain & Tsetsee Gun Peak Hike — Ulaanbaatar from the ridge right behind town
- National Museum of Mongolia — Stone Age to the 20th century under one roof
- Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts — Buddha figures, thangkas, a great sculptor's work
- Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery — Mongolian painting from Soviet days to now
- Migjid Janraisig Statue — A 26 m Avalokiteshvara inside a hilltop hall
- Seoul Street — Cafes and restaurants for an evening stroll
- State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet — Evening opera and ballet in a Soviet-era hall