Naadam Festival Mini Adventure — Self-Launched

Land at Chinggis Khaan International Airport and take the public bus or a shared taxi into the city centre (~£1.50-6). Check into a guesthouse or hostel in the Sukhbaatar Square area — book well ahead, as July Naadam week sells out and prices spike. Spend the afternoon walking Sukhbaatar Square and the National Museum of Mongolia (~£4) to get the context on the 'three manly sports'. Pop into a supermarket for snacks and water for the stadium days. In the evening, grab a bowl of khuushuur (fried mutton pastry, ~£2) and a beer, and check your Naadam ticket printouts. Buy Naadam tickets online in advance via the official ticketing page or a local agency — a 3-day stadium pass typically runs £25-45 depending on seating; many events are also free to watch on the open ground. Before arrival, sort your Mongolian e-visa online (~£40, or visa-free for many nationalities) and confirm your accommodation has a registration slip — guesthouses handle the mandatory police registration for you.

🚌Airport bus or shared taxi (~£1.50-6); walking in the centre

🛏Guesthouse/hostel dorm or private room, Sukhbaatar Square area (~£24/night)

• →Sukhbaatar Square walk
• →National Museum of Mongolia (£4)
• →Naadam ticket collection
• →Evening food stalls around the square

Get to the National Sports Stadium early — gates open a couple of hours before the ceremony and the atmosphere outside is half the fun. Watch the opening ceremony with its horse-hair fiddle orchestras, costumed athletes and the ceremonial raising of the nine white banners. Then settle in for the first rounds of Mongolian wrestling (bokh), archery and the ankle-bone shooting (shagai) competitions; buy a cheap stadium snack lunch from the vendors outside (~£3). Mid-afternoon, walk to Cafe No Limits (the social enterprise G Adventures visits, run by young people with Down Syndrome and their mothers) for coffee and cake (~£4) — no booking needed, just turn up and support them directly. In the evening, head back to Sukhbaatar Square for free cultural performances and the fireworks display — one of the best free nights of the year in UB. Take a taxi back to your guesthouse if it's late (~£1.50).

🚌Walking; short taxi hops (~£2 total)

🛏Guesthouse/hostel, Ulaanbaatar (~£24)

• →Naadam opening ceremony at National Sports Stadium
• →Wrestling, archery and shagai events
• →Cafe No Limits visit (~£4)
• →Evening cultural performances and fireworks at Sukhbaatar Square

The Naadam horse races are held on the open steppe outside the city (Khui Doloon Khudag), and the finish of the long-distance race is the most dramatic moment of the festival — kids aged 7-13 riding 15-30km across open grassland. Share a taxi with other travellers from the city (~£8-10 return, split between 3-4 people) or take the festival shuttle buses running from the stadium. Bring a hat, sun cream and water — there is almost no shade. Head back to the stadium early afternoon for the wrestling finals and the elimination rounds, then stay for the closing ceremony and the winner announcements with the traditional eagle dance. Back in the city, eat at a local guanz (canteen) — buuz dumplings and tsuvian noodles cost £4-6. If you have energy left, the State Department Store area has bars and a decent craft-beer scene.

🚌Shared taxi to the horse race steppe (~£5pp) and back to the stadium

🛏Guesthouse/hostel, Ulaanbaatar (~£24)

• →Long-distance Naadam horse race finish
• →Wrestling finals
• →Closing ceremony and winner announcements

Start early with a shared minivan or private driver-guide from the city (~£45-60 for the car, split between 2-4 people; many UB hostels arrange this, or hire through a local tour operator the day before). First stop is the 40m stainless-steel Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue at Tsonjin Boldog (~£8 entry) — climb to the horse's head for panoramic views over the steppe. Continue into Gorkhi Terelj National Park (~£5 park fee), walk to Turtle Rock and climb the short trail to Aryabal Meditation Temple for views over the valley and a lesson in Mongolian Buddhism. Have lunch at a ger camp (a traditional khorkhog or buuz set lunch runs £8-12 — most camps take walk-ins if you call ahead). Drive back to Ulaanbaatar, arriving late afternoon; the trip ends at your guesthouse. If you're continuing overland, this is the moment to sort your bus ticket to Kharkhorin or your flight to the Gobi.

🚌Shared minivan/4WD with driver for the day (~£15-25pp, split); return to Ulaanbaatar

🛏Not included — last night bookable in your guesthouse (~£24) if you stay on

• →Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue (£8)
• →Gorkhi Terelj National Park (£5)
• →Turtle Rock
• →Aryabal Meditation Temple
• →Ger camp lunch (£10)