Ulaanbaatar in 3 days

Chinggis Khan Equestrian Statue (the Genghis Khan Statue Complex — Chinggis Khaan Khüreelen; 54 km east of Ulaanbaatar at Tsonjin Boldog on the Tuul River; the location chosen because legend says Chinggis Khan found a golden whip here — the site where he believed his empire began): the statue (the 40-metre stainless steel equestrian statue of Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) on a 10-metre plinth — total height 50 metres (164 feet); the world's largest equestrian statue; unveiled 2008 on the 847th anniversary of the founding of the Mongol state; designed by the sculptor D. Erdenebileg; the stainless steel figure weighs 250 tonnes (the horse alone weighs 150 tonnes); the statue faces east — towards the birthplace of Chinggis Khan (the Khentii Mountains near Dadal, approximately 700 km northeast of Ulaanbaatar)); the interior (the plinth contains a museum on the 2nd floor (the Mongolian horseman's equipment — the saddle, the bow, the quiver, the armour); the lift to the horse's mane level (the head of the horse is a viewing platform at 30 m altitude — the view over the Mongolian steppe and the Khentii Mountains from the horse's mane level is one of the most dramatic viewpoints in Mongolia)); the on-site ger camp (the complex includes a traditional Mongolian ger camp where visitors can try archery, experience a ger interior and drink airag).

Terelj National Park (Gorkhi-Terelj National Park — 70 km northeast of Ulaanbaatar; the most accessible national park in Mongolia and the most popular destination for Ulaanbaatar day trips and overnight stays): the landscape (the Terelj valley: the Tuul River flowing through the granite mountain landscape (the distinctive weathered granite rock formations of Terelj — the Melkhii Khad (Turtle Rock — the granite formation that closely resembles a turtle; the most photographed natural formation near Ulaanbaatar), the Ariyabal Meditation Temple (the Buddhist temple built in the Tibetan style on the steep hillside above the Terelj valley — 108 stairs to the entrance; the most atmospherically situated temple in the Ulaanbaatar area)); the ger experience (overnight stays in the Terelj ger camps — the circular felt-and-wood traditional Mongolian dwellings available for tourists from May to October): the ger construction (the khana (the lattice wall sections — typically 4-8 sections for a standard ger; each section folds like a scissor-gate for transport by camel or horse), the uni (the roof poles), the toono (the circular crown wheel at the apex — serves as both the skylight and the chimney hole for the central iron stove), the felt outer covering (three layers of felt insulation)); the horseback riding (the most popular activity in Terelj: a half-day guided ride through the Mongolian grassland on the distinctive small but hardy Mongolian horse).

Mongolian horseback riding in the Terelj valley or near Ulaanbaatar (the defining Mongolian experience — the Mongolian horse (the Mongol horse (Equus ferus caballus mongolicus) — the breed that conquered Eurasia: the small (120-140 cm at the shoulder), stocky, robust breed with the wide hooves adapted to the Mongolian steppe (the hoof structure allows the Mongolian horse to clear snow to find grass in winter — a survival adaptation unique among horse breeds); the Mongolian horse is extremely hardy (survives -40°C winters on the open steppe without shelter) and has exceptionally high stamina (the 1,000 km Mongol Derby — the world's longest horse race, re-tracing the Mongol empire messenger route — is raced on Mongolian horses)); the riding style (the Mongolian riding style differs from the Western European style: the Mongolian saddle (the emeel) is a wooden saddle with metal stirrups; the Mongolian rider communicates with the horse using the leg movements, the voice commands (the distinctive "chu chu" clicking sound to urge the horse forward) and the uurga (the long pole with a leather loop used for catching horses); the pony trek (the guided multi-hour trek through the Mongolian grassland, the birch forest and the river crossing)).

Traditional Mongolian dinner and cultural show (the Mongolian cuisine — the most meat-intensive cuisine in the world, reflecting the nomadic pastoral economy (no agriculture, no grains, no vegetables historically — only the meat and dairy products of the livestock herds)): the boodog (the traditional Mongolian dish of marmot (or goat) cooked from the inside by placing hot stones inside the gutted animal carcass and then blowtorching the outside — the most unusual cooking method in the world; the marmot boodog is a special occasion dish associated with summer hunting); the khorkhog (the everyday version of the hot-stone cooking: the mutton pieces with the onion, potato and hot stones placed inside a sealed milk can and cooked in the fat and juice of the meat — the Mongolian barbecue-pressure cooker hybrid); the buuz (the steamed dumplings — the Mongolian version of the Chinese baozi, filled with minced mutton, onion and garlic; the national celebration food of the Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar)); the airag (fermented mare's milk — the national drink); the cultural show (the traditional Mongolian music and performance: the morin khuur (the horse-head fiddle — the two-stringed spike fiddle with the carved horse head at the scroll; the national musical instrument of Mongolia; produces the characteristic "Mongolian sound" with the rich lower harmonics and the ability to imitate the sounds of the steppe); the throat singing (khoomei — the vocal technique where the singer simultaneously produces two or more pitches)).

Bogd Khan Palace Museum (Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan — the official palace of the 8th Bogd Gegeen Javzandamba Khutugtu (1869-1924) — the last ruler of Mongolia before the Communist takeover; the Bogd Khan was simultaneously the religious leader (the Mongolian equivalent of the Dalai Lama) and the head of state of Mongolia (1911-1924)): the palace complex (6 temples and the winter palace, built 1893-1903 in the Mongolian-Chinese-Russian architectural synthesis style (the wood construction with the Chinese upturned roof eaves and the Russian decorative painting)); the Bogd Khan himself (the 8th Javzandamba was blind, deeply superstitious and notorious for his extravagance; his winter palace contents document the most unusual royal household in Asian history: the stuffed animals (the Bogd Khan collected exotic animals — the elephant given by the Tsar, the lion given by the Emperor of China — and had them all stuffed after their deaths; the collection is displayed in the White Palace); the ger of the Bogd Khan (the 10-wall ger — the most elaborate ger ever made — completely lined with the pelts of 150 leopards and 25 bears, with the floor of Chinese silk; the ger weighed 4.5 tonnes and required 40 camels to transport)); the museum collection (the religious objects, the state regalia, the foreign gifts from Tsar Nicholas II, the Qing Emperor and the imperial courts of Europe).

Naadam Festival (Наадам — the most important Mongolian national festival; held July 11-13 (the anniversary of the 1921 Mongolian People's Revolution); the Three Manly Sports (gurvan erkhiin naadaam — "the three manly games") that form the core of the Naadam competition): the Mongolian wrestling (bökh — the traditional Mongolian wrestling (the most prestigious of the three Naadam sports); no weight categories — the competition is open weight; the match ends when any part of the body above the knee touches the ground; the loser must walk under the raised arm of the winner (the ultimate submission gesture in Mongolian tradition); the wrestler titles (the falkon (nachin), the elephant (zaан), the lion (arslan), the titan (avarga — the grand champion title)); the horse racing (the Naadam horse racing is not a jockey race but a long-distance endurance race (the distances range from 15 km (for 2-year-old horses) to 30 km (for 7+ year-old horses)); the jockeys are children aged 5-13 (the weight of the child gives the horse the advantage; the adult trainer selects the child for their lightness and horse-handling skill)); the archery (the Mongolian archery (the most technically complex of the three sports): the target (the sur — a row of woven-grass cylinders (25-30 cm high, 3 cm diameter) placed in a line at ground level; 33 cylinders for men, 20 for women); the distance: 75 m for men, 65 m for women)).

Mongolian steppe day trip and nomadic family visit (the experience of the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle — the 30% of Mongolians who still live the traditional herding life): the nomadic family visit (the protocol (the Mongolian hospitality tradition (zoogiin yostoi — the formal hospitality code): the guest enters the ger clockwise; the host offers snuff (the tabatai khuurtsag — the snuff bottle); the guest takes the snuff bottle with the right hand, smells it and returns it; the host offers the first drink (the suutei tsai — salted milk tea; the Mongolian tea (brick tea from China dissolved in water with milk and salt — the salty tea surprises European palates but is the most energy-efficient beverage for the cold steppe climate)); the ger interior (the ger is divided into gendered zones: the left side (east of the door) is the women's zone (the cooking area, the children's beds); the right side (west) is the men's zone (the saddles, the weapons, the guest seating area); the toono (the skylight/smoke hole in the roof centre) is the cosmological axis of the ger (the Mongolian world axis (the tengri — the sky god — is accessed through the toono)); the eagle hunters (the Kazakh eagle hunters of western Mongolia (the Bayan-Ölgii aimag) who train golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) to hunt foxes and rabbits; the eagle hunting tradition, October-February; Berkut eagle festivals in Bayan-Ölgii in October)).

Final Ulaanbaatar evening — the Mongolian traditional music and performance: the khoomei throat singing (overtone singing — the most extraordinary vocal tradition in the world: the Tuvan and Mongolian tradition of simultaneously producing the fundamental tone and one or more higher overtone harmonics with the human voice (creating the illusion of two or more people singing simultaneously from a single throat); the overtone series (the harmonic series (the mathematical integer multiples of the fundamental frequency — f, 2f, 3f, 4f... up to the 20th partial) is selectively amplified by the singer changing the shape of the oral and nasal resonating chambers (the tongue position, the lip shape, the soft palate position and the laryngeal tension); the styles (the khoomei (the throat-based fundamental), the sygyt (the high flute-like whistle overtone), the kargyraa (the very low sub-harmonic bass tone produced by the false vocal cords vibrating at half the frequency of the true vocal cords)); the Mongolian traditional concert (the Tumen Ekh Cultural Show — the most reliable traditional Mongolian performance in Ulaanbaatar: the morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) ensemble, the khoomei, the biyelgee (the upper-body dance of the nomadic peoples, performed seated in the ger where there is no room to stand), the yoochin (the hammered dulcimer) and the tsuur (the end-blown flute made from the leg bone of a vulture — the oldest Mongolian musical instrument)).