Best time to visit Mongolia

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Best time to visit Mongolia

With no sea to temper its climate, Mongolia can experience four seasons in one day: pack lightweight layers, woolens and waterproofs

In Mongolia, there is a glorious yin to each season’s not so glorious yang. Picturesque summer (Jun-Aug) brings lush steppes in bright greens, but also mozzies and mud; spring (Mar-May) is migration season for herders, but brings unpredictable weather and deceptive wind chill, and autumn (Sep-Oct) brings a kaleidoscope of colour, but can be prone to heavy rain. You could be forgiven for thinking that winter is not the best time to go to Mongolia, when temperatures can plummet to -30°C, but for well prepared adventurers this can be a hugely rewarding time as herders stay close to camp and there is not another tourist in sight.

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When to visit Mongolia & when not to

Winter in Mongolia stretches from November, right the way through December, January and February. It's also very cold – the lowest temperature recorded was -57°C! That's not commonplace though; the average winter temperature sits at a positively balmy -40°C. However, off peak travel in Mongolia brings its own rewards. June, July and August are extremely hot in the Gobi desert: very dry air, red-hot sand, not much cover and temperatures that can hit 40°C - not a comfortable combo – head elsewhere. April is exciting, but probably a bit edgy for most; dust storms are frequent, especially in the Gobi where winds can whip up to 140km/hr – very cool if you can handle it. March, April and May means nomadic herders on the move, which is an exceptional sight to behold as men lead their families - and their yaks - from A to B. September and October can be very wet, but if you don't mind the rain, the landscape is your reward as it's bursting with colour; the photographs you can get between patches of rain will be some of Mongolia’s absolute best.

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Ulaanbaatar Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

-28

-16

FEB

-26

-12

MAR

-17

-3

APR

-7

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

-7

NOV

-18

-5

DEC

-25

-14

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John Williamson from our supplier, Zavkhan Trekking shares his advice on the best time to visit Mongolia:

“For me, the best time to visit Mongolia is during July and August, the peak summer months when the weather is pleasant and warm, around 25 degrees and the landscape is green and lush. The nature is beautiful then too and slightly earlier in June the wildflowers are fantastic – spring can sometimes be a bit too dry for the plant life, but if the spring weather wasn’t quite so erratic, Mongolia could be a standalone wildflower tour destination - they are that phenomenal.”

“The seasons are clear-cut, but Mongolia has a long winter of around six months followed by a short spring, summer and autumn. Autumn is a great time to visit with cooler stable weather and beautiful autumnal colours like dusty orange and bronze covering the landscape. I wouldn’t recommend visiting Mongolia in winter; it’s bitingly cold and temperatures often drop to -30 degrees during the day.”

Festivals & events in Mongolia

Thousand Camel Festival
The Bactrian camel is a sizeable, even-toed animal that is celebrated in all its two-humped glory for the essential role it plays in the lives of the Gobi’s nomads at the Thousand Camel Festival. This one day autumnal event sees herdsmen parade on horseback, camel races and polo playoffs, and it's brilliant photo opportunity to see Mongolian families wrapped up in their traditional holiday dress.