Mongolia, written by
the people who guide it.
Regions, seasons, festivals, practicalities, and the life of the steppe. 129 stories and counting.
JournalTsagaan Sar: What to Know About Mongolia's Lunar New Year in 2027
Tsagaan Sar (White Moon) falls on February 3, 2027. Three days of ritual, feasting, and family in gers across Mongolia. What…
JournalWinter in Mongolia: Why You Should Consider December Through February
Winter Mongolia (December-February) offers ice festivals, eagle hunters, frozen waterfalls, Tsaatan reindeer herders.…
ConservationProtecting the Snow Leopard: Mongolia's Ghost of the Mountains
Mongolia is home to around 1,000 snow leopards, over 10% of the global population. How we are helping keep them invisible.
ConservationWhy We Plant Trees: The Billion Trees Commitment
Mongolia has lost 30% of its forest in fifty years. Every Rara Avis guest plants twenty trees. Here is what that actually means.
Company NewsOff-Grid: The Four Properties We Built in the Middle of Nowhere
Big Sky Lodge. Otugi Hotel. Orkhon Valley Ger Camp. V28. Four properties, built by hand, owned by us. The story of how and why.
Travel InspirationLuxury in the Wild: How Mongolia Redefines High-End Travel
Michelin stars cannot be grown on the steppe. So what does luxury mean here? Hot water, a guide who grew up in the canyon, and a…
Culture and FestivalsThe Golden Eagle Festival of Bayan-Olgii
First weekend of October. Kazakh eagle hunters ride down from the Altai. This is not a performance, it is a working culture that…
Culture and FestivalsMongolian Airag: 3,000 Years of Fermented Mare's Milk
Airag is fermented mare's milk, lightly fizzy, faintly sour, and at the centre of Mongolian summer hospitality. We unpack the…
Culture and FestivalsMongolian Wedding Traditions: What Guests Should Know
Mongolian weddings unfold over three days with rituals older than the Mongol Empire. If a host family invites you, here is what…
Mongolia GuideBest Mongolia Destinations for First-Time Visitors
If this is your first Mongolia trip, the country is too big to do everything. Pick three places. Here are the five best…
Mongolia GuideGetting to Mongolia: Flights, Visas, and Arrival
Direct flights from Seoul, Tokyo, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Beijing. Visa-free for most Western passports. The practical guide to…
Travel InspirationThe Altai Mountains: Mongolia's Wild Western Frontier
The Altai Mountains stretch across Mongolia's far western corner, where Russia, China, and Kazakhstan meet. Here, Kazakh eagle…
Travel InspirationAmarbayasgalant Monastery: The Pearl of Mongolian Buddhism
You round a bend in the mountain road and the impossible appears: golden roofs, symmetrical courtyards, an eighteenth-century…
Culture and FestivalsBuddhism in Mongolia: Monasteries, Monks, and Meaning
Buddhism reaches into the deepest layer of Mongolian identity. It arrived in waves and has survived everything in its path,…
Travel InspirationCentral Mongolia: The Orkhon Valley and the Heartland of Empire
The Orkhon Valley is the key to understanding what Mongolia truly is. UNESCO World Heritage site, heartland of the Mongol…
Expedition StoriesThe Darhad Valley: Mongolia's Most Remote Wilderness
The Darhad Valley in northern Mongolia is home to the Tsaatan reindeer herders, one of the world's last genuinely nomadic…
Travel InspirationDarkhan and North Mongolia: Beyond the Capital
Darkhan, Mongolia's Soviet-era industrial city, sits at the junction of steppe and boreal forest. Gateway to Amarbayasgalant…
Culture and FestivalsThe Eagle Festival: A Guide to Bayan-Ölgii in October
On the first weekend of October, on a plain outside Ölgii, Kazakh hunters ride in with golden eagles on their arms. Two days of…