{"id":80730,"date":"2026-08-30T13:06:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T05:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80730"},"modified":"2026-08-30T13:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T05:06:43","slug":"is-ulaanbaatar-worth-visiting-what-to-do-in-mongolias-capital-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80730","title":{"rendered":"Is Ulaanbaatar worth visiting? What to do in Mongolia\u2019s capital \u2013 and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">A sprawling metropolis that is home to almost half of Mongolia\u2019s population, Ulaanbaatar is not the most tourist-friendly city in the world. Mongolia\u2019s capital is international travellers\u2019 first point of entry into the country before they move on to the deserts, grasslands, steppes and mountains that make the nation such a popular destination among nature lovers.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Most visitors to Mongolia are happy to spend a couple of days in town or skip the place altogether, but Ulaanbaatar still offers pockets of charm, especially in the summer months, when mild temperatures allow for leisurely walks in a place that is not necessarily pedestrian-friendly and lacks an easy-to-navigate transportation system.<\/p>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">Where to stay<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-d3pq8q e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"An executive suite at Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar. Photo: Handout\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/08\/28\/21b0f0b7-5049-418f-8353-6fffc71ada21_deb6a844.jpg\" title=\"An executive suite at Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar. Photo: Handout\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">An executive suite at Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">For a city of such scale, Ulaanbaatar has surprisingly few high-end hotels. The most established and the only true luxury property is Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar, located in the heart of town and connected to Shangri-La Centre, a modern mall home to a few luxury boutiques, a great gym with an Olympic-size pool that hotel guests can access freely and plenty of eateries. Spanning 21 floors of a modern skyscraper, the hotel is popular with business travellers and tourists seeking convenience and all the trappings of a five-star property. Its well-appointed 290 guest rooms, familiar to those who have stayed at <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">other Shangri-La properties in Asia<\/span>, offer expansive views of the city\u2019s concrete jungle and the surrounding mountains.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Eateries include Hutong Restaurant and Naadam Bar &amp; Restaurant, which come alive at night, when seemingly every expat and tourist in town shows up to enjoy a variety of dishes and drinks in a fun, happening atmosphere.<\/p>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">What to eat<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-mv7ovk e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Khuushuur are deep-fried dough pastries filled with beef. Photo: Handout\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/08\/28\/172cfb55-5ff1-45da-b575-5859c4faf1a4_274db78d.jpg\" title=\"Khuushuur are deep-fried dough pastries filled with beef. Photo: Handout\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">Khuushuur are deep-fried dough pastries filled with beef. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Heavy on the meat, Mongolian cuisine relies on the country\u2019s traditional herding culture. Mutton, lamb, beef and goat are popular on menus, as are hearty starches like savoury pastries and dumplings.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For a great introduction to the local food, the Mongolian selection at Naadam Bar &amp; Restaurant offers favourites such as beef or lamb tsuivan \u2013 chewy noodles with cucumber, carrot, onion and garlic \u2013 and mama\u2019s khuushuur, deep-fried dough pastries filled with beef. More adventurous types can also order pan-fried beef liver with onion and mutton tail.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-1molpf5 e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tsuivan, noodles with beef or lamb, is another popular dish. Photo: Handout\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/08\/28\/f72831a4-f3b9-481d-9333-a7f7a009671a_b3447482.jpg\" title=\"Tsuivan, noodles with beef or lamb, is another popular dish. Photo: Handout\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">Tsuivan, noodles with beef or lamb, is another popular dish. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The nearby Choijin Temple Restaurant is a great option for Mediterranean dishes with a Mongolian twist. For something more exclusive, those with the right connections can book a table at Highland Park, a private members\u2019 club located at the foot of Bogd Mountain and housed in a sleek chalet with beautiful views of the city.<\/p>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">What to do<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/magazines\/style\/lifestyle\/travel-hotels\/article\/3365610\/ulaanbaatar-worth-visiting-what-do-mongolias-capital-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A sprawling metropolis that is home to almost half of Mongolia\u2019s population, Ulaanbaatar is not the most tourist-friendly city in the world. Mongolia\u2019s capital is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4840],"tags":[3120,13182,29166,1521,78],"class_list":["post-80730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-globetrotting","tag-capital","tag-mongolias","tag-ulaanbaatar","tag-visiting","tag-worth","wpcat-4840-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}