Mongolia Guide

Ajmak darchański (mon. Дархан-Уул аймаг) – one of 21 ajmaków in Mongolia, located in the northern part of the country. The capital ajmaku is Darchan, located 230 km north of the capital Ulan Bator.

The Aimag in Mongolia is called divided by regions where there are 20. These aimags are in Sum-called sub-units, which are in turn major cities. The smallest administrative unit of the bag, which is usually no more permanent dwellings there.

The capital and the surrounding region of Central Province. Here settle for about half of the sedentary population. Ulaanbaatar in May 2007 to 1 million people celebrated. Mongolia is the geographical extension so large that includes time for 3.

Mongolia, since prehistoric times, has been inhabited by nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu, were brought together to form a confederation by Modu Shanyu in 209 BC. Soon they emerged as the greatest threat to the Qin Dynasty, forcing the latter to construct the Great Wall of China, itself being guarded by up to almost 300,000 soldiers during marshal Meng Tian’s tenure, as a means of defense against the destructive Xiongnu raids.

After the decline of the Xiongnu, the Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols, came to power before being defeated by the Göktürks, who then dominated Mongolia for centuries. During the seventh and eighth centuries, they were succeeded by Uyghurs and then by the Khitans and Jurchens. By the tenth century, the country was divided into numerous tribes linked through transient alliances and involved in the old patterns of internal strife.

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911. The new country’s territory was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia. To no avail the 49 hoshuns of Inner Mongolia as well as the Mongolians of the Alashan and Qinghai regions expressed their willingness to join the nascent state. In 1919, after the October Revolution in Russia, Chinese troops led by Xu Shuzheng occupied the capital but their dominance was short-lived. The notorious Russian adventurer “Bloody” Baron Ungern who had fought with the “Whites” against the Red Army in Siberia, led his troops into Mongolia, triumphing over Chinese in Niislel Khüree. He ruled briefly, under the blessing of religious leader Bogd Khan before he was captured and executed by the Red Army assisted by Mongolian units led by Damdin Sükhbaatar. These events led to abolition of the feudal system and ensured the country’s political alignment with Bolshevik Russia.

The travel season is typically from May to early October, though Ulaanbaatar can be visited any time of year if you can tolerate the bitter cold. Early July has the best weather for the northern part of the country and is also the time to celebrate Mongolia’s Naadam Festival. Unfortunately, this is the peak tourist season, when Ulaanbaatar’s inadequate accommodation and creaky transport is stretched to breaking point. The rainy season, from late July through August, cools things down and the turn the countryside to green, but will also turn jeep trails into muck. Rains in the north also bring biting flies and mosquitoes. June and September are both pleasant times to visit, and attract fewer visitors.

The best months to visit the Gobi Desert and not get toasted are September and October. Be aware that between mid-October and mid-May sudden snowstorms and extreme cold can ground flights, block roads and cause the country’s transport system to stall. Mongolians, especially nomads, consider March and April the worst months. After the long winter, livestock will already be thin, and a lack of rain means many will die, causing financial and psychological hardship. Staying with a nomad family at this time is not recommended if the spring is a harsh one.

Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Улаанбаатар) is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. The city is an independent municipality not part of any province and its population as of 2008 is just over 1 million.^[1]

Located in the north central part of the country, the city lies at an elevation of about 1310 m in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is a transport center, connected by highway to all the major towns in Mongolia and by rail to the Trans-Siberian Railway and Chinese railroad network.^[2]

The city was founded in 1639 as a Buddhist monastery center and, in the 20th century, grew into a major manufacturing center defined by its broad boulevards and squares and Socialist Classicist-style buildings.

Mongolia (pronounced /mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/) (Mongolian: Монгол улс (help·info), ) is a landlocked country in East-Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and China to the south. The capital and largest city is Ulan Bator. Mongolia’s political system is a parliamentary republic.

At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the most sparsely populated independent country in the world with a population of around 2.9 million people. It is also the world’s second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan. The country contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country’s 2.9 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state’s citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. About 38% of the population lives in Ulan Bator.