Ulaanbaatar reveals itself through contrasting themes: museums trace the story from early empires and religious history to dinosaur fossils, while protected areas offer a different focus through their species counts and landscape features. Organizing your discoveries by interest lets you explore cultural history, natural history, and landscapes as distinct facets of the city.
Museums Between History and Natural History
At the Chinggis Khaan National Museum, the timeline of its more than 10,000 original exhibits stretches from Modun Shanyu to the beginning of the 20th century. The Hall of the Mongol Empire displays archaeological monuments from the Xiongnu Empire and the Bronze Age. In one museum, you can encounter different historical periods: a wide-ranging collection and tangible evidence from two early eras.
The Bogd Khaan Palace Museum is a museum complex in the Green Palace, which is associated with the last king of Mongolia, the VIII Bogd Javzandamba Khutagt. The complex includes seven temples, the Winter Palace, about 20 buildings, and 40 exhibition halls. The collection figures also give an idea of its scale: 8,646 objects are recorded in 4,212 inventory entries. Visitors interested in buildings, historic spaces, and collections will find several facets brought together in one place.
At the Choijin Lama Temple Complex, architectural history and religious objects are closely connected. It was built between 1904 and 1908 in honor of the governor Choijin Luvsankhaidav, with about 300 Mongolian artisans from all provinces contributing to its design and construction. The Choijin Lama Temple Museum displays religious objects associated with Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, Mongolia’s state oracle in the early 20th century. The Gandantegchinlen Monastery is also described as a unique historical and cultural monument in Ulaanbaatar.
The National Museum of Natural Science of Mongolia offers a different perspective on the country. Its subjects include Mongolia’s geography, geology, flora, and fauna, as well as significant paleontological discoveries. Exhibits include skeletons and fossils of giant Cretaceous dinosaurs. The museum also displays lifelike specimens of rare and endangered Mongolian wild animals and bird species. Its natural history coverage therefore extends from the history of the Earth and fossils to animal species of today.
Protected Landscapes and Biodiversity
The Bogd Khan Uul Strictly Protected Area covers 41,427.89 hectares. Its wildlife and plant life are recorded as comprising 54 mammal species, 194 bird species, and 588 plant species. These figures offer a concrete way to understand the area’s diversity: they show that its natural riches are not limited to one group of animals, but include mammals, birds, and plants alike.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park brings together mountains, rock formations, rivers, and streams. Its establishment and inclusion in Mongolia’s protected-area network followed a parliamentary resolution in 1993 and a government resolution in 1994. Hiking trails were set up in Ögöömöriin Am as part of a collaboration with the Mongol-Olle Society. Check the current condition of the trails before setting out. The areas have different main attractions: Bogd Khan Uul is notable for its size and species counts, while Gorkhi-Terelj is known for its landscapes and established hiking trails.
Mongolia’s Cultural Context
Naadam is part of Mongolia’s broader cultural context. This national festival is celebrated across the country every year from July 11 to 13. It centers on three traditional games: horse racing, wrestling, and archery. The two-stringed fiddle morin khuur also plays a prominent role in Mongolian nomadic culture. These nationwide cultural traditions complement the history found in Ulaanbaatar’s museums and temple complexes, without being equated with any single place in the city.
Discover more destinations: Nalaikh, Darkhan-Uul Province, Töv, Khövsgöl, Ömnögovi, Övörkhangai, Zavkhan Province.
Return to the main travel overview: Mongolia.
