Naadam Festival (11–13 July)

Үндэсний их баяр наадам

Wrestling, horse racing and archery: three days the whole country waits for

⚠ July only; book rooms early

Hours

11–13 July every year (opening ceremony on the morning of the 11th; times announced annually)

Tickets

Stadium opening and closing ceremonies are ticketed (prices change yearly, often booked via agencies); archery and horse racing grounds are mostly free

Address

The opening ceremony is at the National Sports Stadium south of the centre; horse races run on the Khui Doloon Khudag plain outside the city

Every 11 July a parade of horsemen in traditional dress circles the stadium track, and then come three days of the 'three manly games'. Wrestlers in open-chested jackets and tight briefs enter flapping their arms in the eagle dance; at the archery ground, judges sing out each hit on the small leather targets on the grass. The horse races are held on open steppe outside town, with jockeys as young as about ten. Outside the stadium, the air is thick with smoke from khuushuur (fried meat pastries).