Mongolia enthralls the visitors with its picturesque natural scenery, variegated landscapes, vast open steppes, pale ontological and historical heritages blended with nomadic lifestyle and culture of the natives

Mongolia and Nepal enjoy age-old cultural and historic ties and share a great deal of similarities apart from their geographic settings. We established diplomatic relations 55 years ago on 5th January, 1961. High level contacts have taken place ever since.

We Mongolians say: It is always better to see once through own eyes than to hear others’ accounts many times.

Mongolia is a sparsely populated, landlocked country with four distinct seasons. Altai-Khanghai mountain ranges with eternally snow-capped peaks and glaciers comprise two thirds of its land, which is roughly three times France or nearly as big as Alaska.

The mountainous areas include wet meadow pastures and seemingly endless steppe. It has thousands of lakes and rivers and elevated on about 4500 ft. above the sea level, so the sun shines bright some 300 days a year.

Though annual perspiration is merely 224 mm, rainfall in the months of July and August is enough to swell the rivers, all but one feed the Lake Baikal in Siberia. Winter continues from November to April with frequent snow blizzards followed by windy but amazingly refreshing Spring. All four seasons are ideal for adventure tourism.

Nearly one-tenth of Mongolia is forest that lies mainly in the northern region. It supports wolf, wild boar, elk, moose, deer, caribou, antelope and brown bear. Remote mountains support wild cats such as lynx and snow leopard while the steppes and forest margins support marmot, muskrat, fox, steppe fox and sable.

Hence, it is paradise for hunters furnished with license. Mongolia is home to wild ass, wild camel, wild sheep and also nocturnal yellow Gobi bear (mazaalai). Mongolia is indeed a perfect itinerary for eco-tourism.

Bird life is rich and includes golden eagle, bearded vulture and other birds of prey while the lakes are magnet for water birds including storks and even herring gull and relict gull even from India. The 2000 lakes support 50 species of fish unique to Mongolia. Hunters and fly-fishers are thirsty coming there for replenishing their trophies.

Throughout centuries Mongolians have engaged in pastoral animal husbandry, which is intrinsically interwoven with their nomadic life style.

Even today nearly 40 per cent of households look after nearly sixty million heads of sheep, goats, horses, camels and cows that are distinct attractions to urban hibernators from near and far.

Mongolia enthralls the visitors with its picturesque natural scenery, variegated landscapes, vast open steppes, pale ontological and historical heritages blended with nomadic lifestyle and culture of the natives. One can enjoy leisure tourism like horse riding, bird watching, hiking hunting and fishing.

In the recent years auto rally through Mongolia has become a fashion amongst Europeans. A modern horse racing and horse riding could be another attraction soon.

Mongolia has amazing itineraries with unmarked ambience and revelry. Historical vestiges of stone monuments, deer stones, rock drawings and forgotten tombs always stir the intellectually inspired traveler. One can get acquainted with nearly dozen well maintained museums including the new one of dinosaurs.

Shamanism had prevailed in Mongolia which left its mark on native culture and traditional rituals and gradually gave way to Buddhism while Kazakhs residing in western Mongolia traditionally adhere to Islam. The different religious faiths add their respective shades to present-day spiritual landscape in Mongolia.

Once in Mongolia you can enjoy prominent destinations. Ancient Mongolian capital, Chinggis Khan’s fabled city Kharkhorim was founded in 1220 in the Orkhon valley, at the crossroads of Silk Road. It was from there that the Mongol Empire had been governed, until Khublai Khan moved it to Beijing.

Khan Khentii is covered with forests, taiga and mountain forest steppe. As birthplace of Chinggis Khan it is described vividly in 13th century manuscript titled The Secret History of Mongols. This sacred land in the northeast of Ulaanbaatar has become pretty popular route for soul searchers.

Gun-Galuut is a spectacular combination of mountains, steppes, pretty lakes, rivers and wetlands with famous rare wildlife species known with numerous literary heavy weights and eminent scholars. Terelj is a wonderful valley in proximity of Ulaanbaatar. Khuvsgul known as Dark Blue Pearl is Mongolia’s largest and deepest lake in the northern part of the country dotted with deluxe tourist camps.

Ulaanbaatar is one of the vibrant urban centers, surrounded by mountains preserved as sanctuary for centuries. One finds monuments and architectures of both Soviet and modern time as well as either Oriental or Western styles.

Visiting Mongolia in summer you can enjoy its wide range of colorful events including National Day Naadam celebrated in traditional way on 11 to 13 July. Mongolian national wrestling, horse racing and archery and ankle bone shooting are main composition of the festival.

Naadam begins with an elaborated introductory ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, musicians and open-air gala concert in the evening in which there is no spectator. Everyone is performer.

The writer is the Ambassador of Mongolia to Nepal based in New Delhi