The Festivals of Mongolia

Mongolian festivals take place throughout the year and are mostly celebrations of Mongolian Culture. Here are some of our favourite Mongolian festivals and celebrations.

     • Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian Lunar New Year)

Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar) is normally celebrated somewhere between the end of January and end of February. Families visit each other to pay their respects and eat mountains of dumplings. Join a family to experience their legendary hospitality and be a part of their community at this time of great festivity. 

     • Khovsgol Ice Festival

March is witness to the unique Ice Festival at Lake Khovsgol. This time of year offers the rare opportunity of experiencing one of the deepest winters on the planet with temperatures regularly dropping below -35°C. The wind can make even moderate temperatures seem much colder, so this festival is not for the faint hearted! 

     • Gobi Camel Festival

The Thousand Camel Festival, held in the Gobi Desert, is a celebration of the endangered Bactrian camel and the role it plays in the lives of the Gobi’s nomads. Camel racing and polo competitions, as well as performances of traditional Mongolian music and dance, are among the highlights of this annual event. 

     • Nauryz (Spring /New Life)

     Festival

Nauryz is a new year celebration for the Mongolian Kazakhs, many of whom live in the Bayan Ulgii province. Kazakhs call the month of March ‘Nauryz’ – this is the time of renewed life which comes with the spring.  The non-religious Nauryz celebrations take place on  21-22 March, the day of the spring equinox.

     • Naadam Festival

Naadam is celebrated every summer throughout Mongolia across every province, in most towns and villages. In traditional dress, the colourful spectators watch competitors take part in the three ‘manly’ sports of archery, wrestling and horse racing. Tradition states that only men will wrestle, men and women can participate in archery and children (some as young as 5) are jockeys for the races up to distances of 35km.

 

 

 

 

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