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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Mongolia

23 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Mongolia

Updated February 24, 2023

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Mongol warriors often had three or four horses each to maintain the army's fast pace. Soldiers preferred riding mares for their nutrient-rich milk.

Did Khutulun and Other Warrior Women Actually Fight in the Mongol Army?

From wielding lethal bows to commanding troops, the female soldiers of the Central Asian steppe were formidable foes.
by Sarah Durn
Grand Empress Börte (left) and Genghis Khan, more accurately called Chinggis Khan, from a 16th-century book commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar the Great, who claimed descent from the khan.

The Women Who Ran Genghis Khan’s Empire

From fighting in the army to managing the kingdom, women were key players in every aspect of the Mongol Empire.
by Sarah Durn
A 1,500-year-old pile of argali sheep skulls and horn curls, perhaps intentionally stacked by ancient hunters, melts from a glacier margin in western Mongolia.

Mongolia's Melting Ice Reveals Fragile Prehistoric Artifacts

Researchers scramble to find and study everyday items preserved for millennia and now at risk.
by William Taylor
Bankhar dogs spend their lives with the herds they protect.

Can the Mighty Bankhar Dogs of Mongolia Save the Steppe?

These ancient guardians of the traditional nomadic way of life are making a comeback.
by Shoshi Parks
Aimoldir Dayanbek proudly displays her champion eagle at the 2020 Sagsai Eagle Hunting Festival.

How a Young Eagle Huntress Kicks Butt at a Kazakh Tradition

10-year old Aimoldir Dayanbek is out there beating grown men.
by Winnie Lee
Kenny stumbled upon dreamy, desolate scenes, like this playground in Peru.

How an Agoraphobic Traveler Wanders the Earth

When anxiety set boundaries on her life, this adventurer found solace and excitement in Google Street View.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
This intrepid individual was the first khulan to set foot on the eastern steppe since 1955.

After 65 Years, a Wild Ass Is Back in Eastern Mongolia

Khulan have been on the wrong side of the tracks for far too long.
by Isaac Schultz
The ruin sits on a spit of land in Lake Tere-Khol, in Tuva, Russia.

In Southern Russia, a Mysterious Island Ruin Is Finally Giving Up Its Secrets

Solar radiation and dead trees tell us when Por-Bajin was built—and why it was neither palace nor fortress.
by Isaac Schultz

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