Recently spent a month in Mongolia and it was incredible! We couldn’t find too much info about it before we went so thought this trip report might be useful and we have made a (https://youtu.be/S2Ky0AmyrN8?si=APaFn6mIKBWsHB-t) you can check out if your interested too.
We read something somewhere before we left that central Mongolia is an amazing adventure starter place, because it’s sparsely populated but the population is very evenly spread out so you feel very alone but you are never really farther then 5-10km away from help should you need it. Which we found to be very true! The locals were very friendly and we have no doubt they would help in any way possible should you need it.
The landscape is just so huge, and so empty, we were constantly blown away by it. We couldn’t help but look around each day and have a little jaw drop moment at the scenery we saw.
This was sort of a detour from our round the world cycle route as we flew up from s.e.asia but it was so worth it, we absolutely loved the time in Mongolia and defintiely want to head back as soon as we can.
Route:
[Here is a Google maps out our route with all the resuplys marked](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=13LvVZ0TEdYd8xTzWC-kFFdvPIcuXTWE&usp=sharing)
[Here is a komoot route for gpx. ](https://www.komoot.com/tour/1365611158?ref=aso)
We chose this route due to the ease of getting to Erdenet via the train, it also can be linked up with the Bikepacking.com route near tsetserleg.
Tarmac at the start of the route from erdenet until you turn off around Tuluu mountain pass (there are a few options to take dirt routes instead for some sections but due to a medical issue we stayed on tarmac). It’s a main road so can a little busy at times, very quiet at others. We found it wasn’t a bad introduction to the insane scenery around.
After Kharkhorin you are on a main tarmac road until the end of the route at the mini Gobi, we just added this part due to having some time left and wanting to check out the mini gobi but you could stop the route at Kharkhorin or take a different route after there.
Transport:
Overnight train to erdenet. Easy to book at the station, we opted for a private 2 person cabin. We were told as long as we got there 2 hours before the train putting bikes on would be no problem but when we arrived we were told the cargo is full and we can’t go with the bikes. After some back and fourth we paid a “special fee” for the bikes to go inside another carriage. Haven’t heard of anyone else with the same issue (it did seem to be a genuine problem, there were other Mongolian there having the same issue) but potentially worth going the day before and booking the bikes as luggage just incase. The wasn’t any real food onboard just snacks so worth taking something with you. The scenery was really interesting while it was light on the train.
We booked a driver with our hostel in Ulanbator to pick us up from the mini Gobi area at the end of our trip, we heard you can get the local bus easily if you only have one bike but sometime 2 bikes can be an issue. Due to school holidays the buses all looked very full when they passed so we thought this option was easier.
Navigation:
We used a combination of pictures we took of road maps, offline Google maps(satellite view) and komoot offline to route this, but it also just involves alot of on the spot navigation as the track positions are constantly changing.
The town names on different maps, signs and that people use are all different. Can be good to carry a map or take a picture of a road map of the area and this has potential to be the most accurate name wise.
Food, water & shade.
Required food carry: 5-7 days of food at a time.
Food available at resupply points: instant noodles, pasta, canned beef, canned veg, muesli. Very little availability or fresh fruit and veg, bread etc.
We stocked up on instant mash potato in Ulaan batar. Which became a lifesaver as something different.
We mostly had good availability of water for filtering, we carried 12 liters between 2 of us. The streams are often quite dirty with alot of mud and sand in the water so a larger size filter would be ideal. (we had the sawyer mini and it quickly became a very slow process) At two points we stopped to ask for water from the blue barrels at people’s yurts. We always only asked for the bare minimum but they always insisted on filling every bottle we had.
Worth noting that we couldn’t find much shade at all on the first half of the trip and defintiely found we needed to put up our own tarp/tent outer to get out of the sun at points.
Resupplys/Towns: (I’ve used the Google maps names of towns so they match up with the map link in the earlier section)
Bulgan – hotels & hostel (with running water) small supermarket and some restaurants.
Tuluu mountain pass – there is a small shop and lots of stands at the pass selling horshur, dired cheese and fresh clotted cream and jam.
Uubulan – 2 small super markets, a ‘hotel’ (just a room with electricity, long drop toilets in the field out back). We put our bicycles in the locked back yard. There is a communal shower in the town but it wasn’t open on the day we were there. We mainly got the room just to charge our electrical stuff. (we did have some minor issues with drunk locals at night in this town so make sure your bikes are secure and you’re inside late at night).
Zaankhushuu – didn’t see much in this town but there is defintiely a small shop.
Tsetserleg – large town lots of hotels with running water: Fairfields guesthouse is legendary and the owner can be a big help with route planning. The jargalan hotel is a cheaper option nearby with private bath and hot water. Bunch of supermarkets available.
Batultzi – small supermarkets, a hotel and restaurants.
Kharkhorin – supermarkets, multiple hotels (some might have running water ours didn’t) and restaurants.
Hope this info can be useful for someone happy to answer any questions 🙂
by Tonight-Dear