Mongolian festivals take place throughout the year and are mostly cultural festivities. Here are a few of our favorite Mongolian holidays and events that we can incorporate into your next Mongolia vacation.
Mongolian festivals can range from small village gatherings to massive national events. We like the local experiences and social connections of smaller events, so we can tailor your tour so that you may share the festivities with your family or community; there’s nothing like cheering on the eagle hunter or wrestler with whom you’ve just spent the last few days.
Naadam Festival
Dating from the Genghis Khan era, the Naadam Festival is a showcase for traditional sporting events and a summer celebration enjoyed throughout Mongolia from 11 Jul – 13 July. So, the most spectacular events for visitors take place at the National Stadium in Ulaanbaatar where nomads compete in wrestling, archery and horsemanship.
Eagle Festivals
It is one of the most famous attraction in Mongolia. In Mongolia, several Eagle festivals are held in western part, Bayan-Ulgii province. It is not just a celebration, but also a historic hunting custom and a distinctive cultural legacy of Mongolia’s Kazakh minority.
Winter Events
Mongolian winter has its own particular beauty and flavor, with exciting events to view and unique cultural activities to participate in. During the winter, Mongolia hosts a number of ice and snow festivals and events. The following are the most popular winter festivals in Mongolia’s various regions.
Ice Festival
In March for just a week the trails leading to Khuvsgul Lake becomes crowded with tens of tourists. Khuvsgul Lake is located in North Mongolia under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in -25 degrees Celsius in winter. Annual low temperatures below -35C are not uncommon. The pure waters freeze completely over in the winter time to create clear ice with up to meters of visibility of ground rocks. The festival will provide opportunities for Lake Khuvsgul visitors to enjoy winter sports and outdoor activities including downhill and cross-country skiing, ice-fishing contests etc.
Camel festival
obi Camels Festival is held from 06-08 March in every year in Umnugobi province and it is one of the Mongolian largest festival and apart from buying and selling of livestock it has become an important tourist attraction and its highlights have become competitions such as the “Camel polo”, “Beautiful couple contest” and “Camel rice” are the main draws for this event which attracts tens of tourists.
