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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Mongolia

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

Updated April 30, 2024

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The fearsome cryptid is said to grow up to six-feet-long and spit deadly poison.

Inside the Decades Long Hunt for the Mongolian Death Worm

Some say the true death worm has already been found—slithering beneath the sands of the Gobi.
by Mark Hay

Was Part of the Great Wall of China Built in a Panic—or Just to Control Livestock?

The Mongolian section could have been related to Genghis Khan or to cows.
by Colleen Kelly
Burkhan Khaldun, Genghis Khan’s sacred mountain, in northeastern Mongolia, may hold his burial site.

Mongolia’s 'Forbidden Zone' Is Guarding an 800-Year-Old Secret

Is the vast Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area the final resting place of Genghis Khan?
by Frank Jacobs
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

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