When to visit Mongolia: a month-by-month guide

Mongolia has a short, brilliant summer and a long, serious winter, and almost every question about timing comes down to which of those you are willing to meet.

May and early June

The steppe turns green, the foals are born, and there is nobody else there. Nights still drop below freezing and a few high passes stay closed, but this is the quietest, cheapest and greenest the country gets.

Late June to August

The main season. Days are 25–30°C, the grass is at its best, and every ger camp is open. July brings Naadam and, with it, full flights and full camps — book that fortnight three to four months ahead. August is warm and slightly wetter; the rivers are up and the Gobi is at its most comfortable.

September

Our own favourite month. The larch in the north turns gold, the light is long and low all day, the mosquitoes have gone, and the camps are half empty. Nights are cold by the end of it.

October to February

Cold, and worth it for the right traveller. The eagle hunters fly from October, the ice festival on Khuvsgul is in early March, and the Gobi under snow is one of the strangest landscapes anywhere. -30°C is normal in January; we only run winter trips with proper equipment and short driving days.

The two months we steer people away from

Late March and April. The snow is going, the grass has not arrived, the wind is at its worst and the country is the colour of dust. Everything is open and cheap, and it is still the wrong time to see it for the first time.

Not sure? Tell us the weeks you can travel and we will tell you honestly what they look like.