Country Information

Mongolia_01

Location: East Asia
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Population: 3 million
Currency: Togrog
Language: Mongolian
Main Religion: Buddhism

Hello: sain uu
Thank you: bayarlalaa

Dates in the country

End of June/start if July

Climate

Mongolia has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most precipitation falls. The country averages 257 sunny days a year with precipitation sparse in Mongolia.

Public Holidays


  • January 1st new Year’s Day
  • March 8th International Women’s Day
  • July 11th – 15th Naadam Festival
  • December 29th Independence Day


VISA


  • Visa required tourist visa 30 days application undertaken in Australia, Bangkok (Thailand) or Vientiane (Laos)
  • Visa Application for Mongolia
  • 1 photo
  • Real passport and 1 copy of the passport
  • Invitation letter (Purpose of travel) – only need for business travel
  • Visa fee is up to the nationalities / 3 working days
  • Apply for visa at the Embassy


Medical



Vaccines advised:

  • Tetanus
  • Hepatitis A
  • Typhoid
  • Rabies
  • Tick-borne encephalitis
  • Malaria: No


Rules of the Road


Driving in Mongolia all foreign drivers must have an International driving permit corresponding to the category of the vehicle driven (in addition to his original driver license) and vehicle registration certificate.

Drivers of vehicles participating in international traffic on the territory of Mongolia must have an International driving permit and car certificate complying with the International Convention on road traffic. Foreign vehicles must have distinguishing signs and registration numbers of the countries of their registration; they should also be recorded at the Traffic Police of Mongolia.

The main Mongolian road traffic rules:

  • Traffic moves in the right side of the road.
  • The minimum driving age is 18 years.
  • The permitted blood alcohol level is 0.02%.
  • Any driver and all passengers of the car must use safety belts while driving.
  • While driving, to use of a cell phone is forbidden excluding with the hand-free system.
  • It is not permitted to cross over the carriageway curbstones, drive over the sidewalks and verges.
  • It is illegal to frighten animal-drawn vehicles crossing roads.
  • It is not permitted to pass through or take a place among vehicles going in a column.
  • It is forbidden to open the doors of vehicles whilst they running.
  • It is illegal to put objects out of the window.
  • Under the prohibitory signal, drivers must stop before the marking “Stop-line”.
  • A sound signal may be used only to prevent traffic accidents or warn other drivers during overtaking on roads outside of built-up areas.
  • Drivers must give way to vehicles and pedestrians moving through a road when they enter into and exit from it.
  • When turning to the left or making a U-turn, drivers must give way to oncoming vehicles moving directly or turning to the right.
  • Drivers must give way to vehicles approaching from the right-hand side at intersection where the traffic is not reflected.
  • When driving around obstacles, drivers must give way to oncoming traffic.
  • U-turns are prohibited on pedestrian crossings, level-crossings, on and under bridges, in tunnels, in places with a visibility limited within 100 m to either direction.
  • On motorways, commercial vehicles with mass of more than 3.5 ton most move in the first or second lane on the right-hand side of the road.
  • The speed limit in residential zones is 20 km/h (12 mph), in built-up areas – 60 km/h (37 mph), outside built-up areas – 80 km/h (50 mph), on motorways – 100 km/h.
  • Overtaking is prohibited: on not-regulated intersections, pedestrian crossings, and level-crossings or within 100 meters up to them.
  • Standing is prohibited on intersections and within 20 meters from them, on pedestrian crossings and within 5 meters from them, on route vehicle stops and taxi stands and within 15 meters from them,on level-crossings and within 20 meters from them, on and under bridges, in tunnels,on the carriageway with a visibility limited within 100 meters to either direction.
  • Parking is prohibited in places where standing is not permitted and within 100 meters from level-crossings.
  • Drivers must give way to blind persons at any section of the road.
  • It is illegal to enter into a level-crossing when the gate is closed or started closing.
  • Reverse is forbidden on motorways.
  • Vehicles with the maximum technical speed not exceeding 40 km/h may not drive on motorways.

Some additional information:

  • Two wheel drive vehicles may be used for driving in cities between major cities; on other routes four wheel drive vehicles should be used.
  • Drivers may be checked on the request of a policeman for use of alcohol, narcotics and drugs. A driver has a right to request a checking person to show his official certificate.
  • Drivers engaged in a traffic accident have to stop immediately the vehicle, switch on the hazard warning signal, put a warning triangle on the road and not to shift the car and subjects related to the accident. (The warming triangle is placed at a distance of 15 meters from the vehicle in the built-up area and of not less 30 m from the vehicle outside the built-up area).
  • Drivers also must inform the police, record the names and addresses of persons involved and witnessed the accident, and wait the arrival of the police officers. If no damage was caused to human life and health, drivers may leave the place of an accident and register the accident to the nearest Traffic Police station.
  • The police phone number is 102.
  • Drive on right side of the road
  • Carnet is not required.


Places to Visit


  • Ulaanbaatar
  • Oasis Café and Guesthouse Ulaanbaatar
  • Naadam festival 11th -13th July
  • Gobi Desert
  • Khongor Dunes
  • Bayanzag
  • Eagle Valley
  • Dalanzadgad


Route

Mongolia remains a land of nomadic travel, there are some roads mainly build by the Chinese to assist in trade between China and Russia. These roads are detailed on Google Maps, however, a majority of roads, especially ones that cross the deserts are offroad tracks or just open expanses of desert. As there are no Google Map qualifying roads the map below is plotted to the nearest road when in reality we may have been hundreds of kilometres north or south of these.

Here is an image of our route: