10 Reasons to Cycle Mongolia

1. Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world.

Find out what it feels like cycling through a country that someone once called it an “adventure cyclist’s paradise”.

2. Mongolia is bliss for riders.

Yes, you read that right. In Mongolia when you get tired of riding your bike, you can switch to a horse.  When you get tired of the horse, try a reindeer.

3. Cycle into the heart of the largest empire ever known.

Mongolia is the place from which Genghis Khan and his sons conquered almost all of the known world using horses and revolutionary logistics.

4. The Golden Eagle Festival

Where else will you be awakened by a young boy on a horse and an eagle on his arm practicing hunting for foxes when you are sleeping under the open sky

5. See the Takhi Horse – the only truly wild horse

We all love horses (well I do anyway) and some of us think we have even seen wild horses in Canada, US and South America. But those are not wild horses, they are feral horses. If you really want to see a wild horse, also known as Przevalski horse, in the wild there is only one place to see them – Mongolia.

6. Experience a World Heritage landscape

While most countries are racing to pave as much of their landscape as quickly as possible, Mongolia has hardly any paved roads. Most of your cycling will be off-road. You can explore this amazing landscape without worrying about being run over by an automobile.

7. Experience the ancient ideal of nobility, strength and chivalrous sportsmanship

We cyclists know all about being noble, strong and sportsmanlike. But only in Mongolia are these ancient ideals practiced on a regular basis. I am of course talking about open-air Mongolian wrestling competitions, believed to have been unchanged for hundreds of years.

8. Meet kindred spirits

By definition, if you get on a bike and stay on it, you have to move. Thus one can say that cyclists connect with their deep, instinctive ‘nomad’. Mongolia is still mostly a country of true nomads, yurts (or as cyclist would say, more comfortable tents) & Kumis (mare’s milk). Cyclists will inevitably bond with the locals.

9. The magic of Gobi Desert – the Mecca of the Fossil world

There is a legend that the Gobi Desert was created when a Mongolian chief, who also dabbled in Black Magic, was chased by the Chinese army. As he ran, he cast a spell on the land, leaving behind him a vast, arid desert.

10. Partake in Naadam – a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Naadam (games) is a centuries-old traditional festival that takes place every summer. The games are made up of three ‘manly’ activities – wrestling, horse racing and archery – activities that once kept Genghis Khan’s soldiers in shape.