Event & Festivals Guide
You can enjoy shows with traces of Mongolian culture, and even experience internationally acclaimed opera and ballet acts, and live performances of pop-rock bands.
Ulaanbaatar strives to welcome its visitors throughout the year with special and unforgettable experiences that can both inspire and educate.
LUNAR NEW YEAR: Mongolian Lunar New Year commonly known as Tsagaan Sar (White Moon) is the biggest festival of the year, celebrated throughout the country since 1206. It is a moveable feast so is celebrated on the first through third days of the first lunar month. In the first day of the New Year, Mongolians have been watching the first sunrise of the year and tell their wishes to make come true. This is the most important family holiday of the year and is akin to Christmas, where families come together. If you ever visit Mongolia during the Mongolian New Year, known as the Lunar New Year, we highly recommend you visit a Mongolian family. The family will greet you with the best of wishes and will invite you to the jolly table filled with buuz (dumplings) and mutton stew accompanied by various appetizers and small dishes. They never forget to give you a gift after the meal.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL: The Eagle Festival, a traditional Kazakh festival, is organized not very far from the capital. During the festival, Kazakh men, all dressed up in their traditional clothes, introduce festival goers to their culture of eagle hunting and organize an interesting game of money bag grabbing. While getting acquainted with Kazakh culture, don’t forget to have your photo taken with an authentic hunting eagle sitting on your arm. The same month marks the traditional Kazakh festivalof Nauryz, the Sun Festival. It is recommended to visit a Kazakh family that lives in Ulaanbaatar’s suburb of Nalaikh and ger acquainted with their traditional dishes.
SKY RESORT SEASON OPENING: Sky Resort is a recreation center with the slogan “Bringing the world standards to Mongolia”. Many winter celebrations and events have taken place on the magnificent snow white fields of this resort and have been greatly appreciated by thousands of visitors from Mongolia and many other parts of the world. Sky Resort’s Season Opening is an annual winter sport competition for professionals and amateurs organizing in March. Competitions include mountain sled slalom, snowboarding, ski sprints, and biathlon.
WINTER FUN ULAANBAATAR: Skiing, Hiking among tree, Dog sledding- It is a relatively new comer to the city’s Winter travel programs, however dog sledding is now already one of the favorite ways of passing time for the city goers. Every weekend, sleds pulled by husky dogs offer rides along the frozen Tuul river all the way up to the Gorkhi Terelj National Park. Optional overnight trips can be arranged too, covering up to 50-100 km distance. As long as you are geared with quality down jackets, it is a pleasant way of traveling in close interaction with nature. Many past travelers attest how much they didn’t know about the city’s winter ecosystem before taking the sled ride. The ride is complimented by a true Mongolian barbeque cooked over an open fire. Ice Sports-Driving just about 50 km north of the city, you can test your skills over an ice wall built for winter sports lovers, where every winter, a national competition is held. There are also several ice rings in the city for those who love skating. The Hunnu Mall, located along the way to the airport, offers an all-season open and indoor skating ring. Every February, the city also organizes the annual Ice Festival which features many traditional Mongolian games including an ice ankle-bone shooting competition. If you are willing, the experts love to share and teach their skills to the visitors. Maybe you will add one more skill set to your talents? For more information about the events, visit the following web site:
"PLAY TIME" MUSIC FESTIVAL: Each summer Play Time music festival takes place in natural scenic Gachuurt village in Mongolian National Place resort, which is 30 km away from Ulaanbaatar city. This festival is one of the most anticipated live music events in Mongolia, attracting thousands of music lovers both domestic and international. The festival has several sets and stages to perform indie rock, instrumental, metal, electronic and house music. The main stage showcases the headliners while the New wave showcases upcoming new music groups. In addition to music and other performances, Replay art market is open for public.
"MONGOLIAN NATIONAL COSTUME" FESTIVAL: Many events held around the Naadam festival, which are noteworthy both in size and meaning, make the festival a big celebration with something for everyone to attend and enjoy together. The Mongolian National Costume festival and parade, during which Mongolians and tourists dressed up in ethnic costumes rejoice together, is a must-see celebration. It has been organized since 2007 to promote Mongolian tangible and intangible cultural heritages locally and internationally, especially the different roots of Mongolia, their national costumes, and cultures. It is held on the Sukhbaatar square on July 10 and more than ten thousand tourists and visitors attend this parade every year. Also, traditional artistic performances are shown to the public. It is a manifestation of colorful Mongolian traditional costumes. Festival aims at promoting Mognolian traditional culture, particularly, the nationals ethnic clothing, possessions, and tangible and intangible heritage pf folkarts, increasing youth participation and developing tourism products. It is held in 10th of July every year.
NAADAM FESTIVAL: (11th July - 16th July). If you're visiting in July, you have the Golden opportunity to celebrate Mongol Naadam, a traditional sports festival unique only to Mongolia. The annual; occasion celebrates the three historical remarkable traditions of the Mongolian people: horse riding, archery, and wrestling. e cannot fully enjoy or know Mongolia without experiencing the Naadam festival which is celebrated at the very least for centuries. The Naadam tradition is truly ancient in its origins, predating, perhaps by millennia, the rise of Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khaan) in the early Thirteenth Century. Naadam can be equated to the original Olympic Games of ancient Greece. It is organized every year at the National Sports stadium to celebrate national independence. The festival is also locally termed Three Manly Games. These games include traditional wrestling, horse racing and archery, although the last two allow the participation of women and children.
DANSHIG NAADAM: Danshig Naadam Khuree Tsam is part of the nation’s biggest religious and cultural festival. The Danshig Naadam festival is organizing on the first week of every August. It represents religious importance and Buddhism’s influence on the people and culture of Mongolia. In addition to the variety of Buddhist rituals, spectators can enjoy many competitions and spiritual debates among monks.