The political map of Mongolia shows the international boundaries, provincial boundaries with names, and national capital.
Mongolia is a non-coastal country between Russia and China, measuring 1,566,500SqKm and is 3 times larger than France. The country occupies around 2400 km (West to East) and around 1260 km (North to South). Mongolia is a huge mountainous upland inclining from west to east and around 80% of areas exceed 1000m altitude. The north and west parts of Mongolia are covered by the ‘Altai Mountains’, and the height declines gradually towards the grasslands and depressions in the East and South. Mongolia’s average altitude is 1580m and the country has 3 key mountain ranges: a) the Altai Mountains; b) the Khangai Mountains; and c) the Khentii Mountains. The Huiten Peak within the Altai Mountains is the higher-most mountain (4374 m) and the Lake Huhk is the lower-most (560m). The capital city of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar, lying at 1,350m.
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Demography of Mongolia
The total population of Mongolia, as per the UN data is 3,289,499 as of Sept 2020 which is equal to 0.04% of the overall population of the world. Mongolia’s density of population is 2/SqKm on the overall landmass of 1,553,560SqKm and around 67.2% of the total Mongolian people are urban. Life expectancy at births is 70.53 years for both females and males; the infant mortality rate is 14.8 deaths/1000 lives and the death rate at birth under age 5 is 18.4 deaths/1000 births.
Culture of Mongolia
Mongolia is well known for its nomadic traditions and the nomadic lifestyle is still popular today within the rural parts of Mongolia. Nomads mainly focus on raising and upbringing the 5 chief stock types- sheep, camel, goat, horse, and cattle (yaks and others), traveling from one place to another and settling temporarily in the most suitable grasslands. The official language of Mongolia is Mongolian, belonging to the family of Ural-Altaic dialect that encompasses Turkish, Kazakh, Finnish, and Korean. Mongolians have been practicing Buddhism since the sixteenth century, the time when the Altan Khan, the Mongolian king was transformed by ‘Tibetan’ lamas. Even today, the majority of Mongolians practice Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Lamaism. Mongolian practice traditional music and play various instruments and human voices on occasions.
Best places to visit in Mongolia
Karakorum
The city is situated deep within the rolling green hills and rocky edges of the Orkhon Valley. The legendary antique city the Karakorum has now become the substance of legend and myth. You may enjoy seeing the symbolic figures such as ‘Genghis Khan’ and the stimulating Buddhist monasteries adjacent to the stunning ‘Yuan Dynasty’ temple memorials.
Gorkhi -Terelj National Park
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is one of the most attractive parks with various tourist camps developed specifically for the tourists within the ‘tourists’ zone’. The park is linked with Ulaanbaatar by a cemented road. Attractions of the national park include ‘Khagiin Khar Lake’, Hot Water Springs of Yestii, Tuul River, and of course the wildlife including the brown bears and nearly 250 bird species of birds. You would also find a Buddhist monastery within the park, open to tourists.
Lake Khovsgol
Situated in the Northwest part of Mongolia, close to the border of Russia and at the base of the Sayan Mountains, Lake Khuvsgul is the biggest lake of freshwater within Mongolia. The lake is bordered by various mountain ranges, making the Lake an amazing site to visit. The entire spot is now covered by a national park, established to preserve the lake waters.
The climate in Mongolia is dry and you won’t feel humidity at all. The best time to visit Mongolia in the summertime, during June through August as the climate in the country is dry and not humid at all; while winters are tremendously cold.
