Ulaanbaatar: Museums, History and Landscapes

Ulaanbaatar can be explored for its cultural and natural history: museums focus on archaeological evidence, historic buildings and Mongolia’s natural environment. Protected landscapes add another perspective, showcasing wildlife and plant life. Each place has a different focus—from early history and religious objects to geological and paleontological topics.

Museums and historical perspectives

The Chinggis Khaan National Museum has more than 10,000 original exhibits. Their historical span ranges from Modun Shanyu to the beginning of the 20th century. A hall dedicated to the Mongol Empire displays archaeological monuments from the Xiongnu Empire and the Bronze Age. A broad historical period and specific early eras are thus presented side by side: the collection spans the full period, while the hall focuses on two particular historical contexts.

The Bogd Khaan Palace Museum Complex in the Green Palace is associated with Mongolia’s last king, the 8th Bogd Javzandamba Khutagt. The complex includes seven temples, the Winter Palace, about 20 buildings and 40 exhibition halls. The size of the collection is also precisely stated: the museum holds 8,646 collection objects in 4,212 inventory entries. The figures for buildings and halls describe the complex, while the collection figures describe its holdings—two different perspectives on the same complex.

The Choijin Lama Temple Complex focuses on its history and religious objects. The complex was built between 1904 and 1908 in honour of the governor Choijin Luvsankhaidav. About 300 Mongolian artisans from all provinces of the country contributed to its design and construction. The Choijin Lama Temple Museum displays religious objects associated with Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, Mongolia’s state oracle in the early 20th century.

Another cultural landmark is Gandantegchinlen Monastery, a unique historical and cultural monument in Ulaanbaatar.

Natural history and protected landscapes

The National Museum of Natural Science of Mongolia presents the country’s geography and geology, its flora and fauna, and significant paleontological discoveries. Its exhibits include skeletons and fossils of giant dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period. The museum also displays lifelike specimens of rare and endangered Mongolian wild animals and bird species. It thus brings together both the history of the Earth and Mongolia’s wildlife.

The Bogd Khan Uul Strictly Protected Area covers 41,427.89 hectares. The area is home to 54 mammal species, 194 bird species and 588 plant species. Its area and species counts highlight different aspects of the protected area: its extent and the diversity of its wildlife and plant life.

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park features mountains, rock formations, rivers and streams. Its establishment and inclusion in Mongolia’s protected-area network followed a parliamentary resolution in 1993 and a government resolution in 1994. The landscape can therefore be appreciated for its natural diversity as well as its specific history as a protected area.

Hiking trails were established in Ögöömöriin Am, in Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, in collaboration with the Mongol-Olle Society. If you plan to include these trails in your itinerary, check their current condition in advance.

Discover more destinations: Nalaikh, Zavkhan Province, Ömnögovi, Khövsgöl, Övörkhangai, Töv, Darkhan-Uul Province.

See the main travel overview: Mongolia.