What's on in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator), Mongolia through the year

Busy — Tsagaan Sar, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Tsagaan Sar

  25 Jan – 5 Mar · usuallyLunar New YearClosuresBook early

  The lunar new year is three days of visiting elders, buuz by the hundred and dairy-white food. Families disappear into each other's homes, shops and offices shut, and the roads out of the city fill the day before. Source ↗

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Deep winter and dzud (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Tsagaan Sar, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Tsagaan Sar (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually)), Winter smog (1 Nov – 31 Mar), Deep winter and dzud (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Tsagaan Sar, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Spring dust storms

  15 Mar – 31 May · usuallyDust season

  Gobi dust rides the spring wind up over the city several times a season, turning the sky orange and grounding domestic flights. It is a different problem from the winter coal smoke and it hits harder outdoors. Source ↗

Still on: Tsagaan Sar (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually)), Winter smog (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Spring dust storms (15 Mar – 31 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring dust storms (15 Mar – 31 May (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Steppe season

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyDry seasonBook early

  The countryside ger camps, the domestic flights to the west and most of the dirt roads out of the capital only work in these months. Outside them the touring season is effectively shut, whatever the city itself is doing.

• Nature

  Steppe in flower

  10 Jun – 20 Jul · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The grassland turns green and flowers within weeks of the first summer rain, edelweiss and iris across the valleys around Terelj. It is the short window the countryside actually looks the way the posters do.

Busy — Naadam, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Summer rains and soft roads

  1 Jul – 25 Aug · usuallyMonsoonRisk

  Most of the year's rain falls in these weeks as heavy afternoon showers, and the dirt tracks out to the ger camps turn to mud and river crossings rise. Drivers plan detours rather than schedules.

• Festival

  Naadam

  11–13 JulMajor festivalCrowdedClosuresBook early

  Wrestling, archery and horse racing over three days, opening with a flag ceremony and a stadium parade on the eleventh. The city runs on holiday hours and beds have been booked since spring. Source ↗

Still on: Steppe season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Steppe in flower (10 Jun – 20 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Steppe season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Summer rains and soft roads (1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Clear autumn weeks

  1 Sep – 15 Oct · usuallyDry season

  The short stretch after the summer rains and before the heating plants fire up: dry, clear, the steppe gone gold, and the air still clean. Camps start closing through September, so book ahead rather than turn up.

• Nature

  Larch turning in Terelj

  10 Sep – 5 Oct · usuallyAutumn colour

  The Siberian larch on the hills east of the city goes gold for a fortnight before it drops, and the first hard frost usually ends it. The camps stay open a few weeks past it.

Still on: Steppe season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Clear autumn weeks (1 Sep – 15 Oct (usually)), Larch turning in Terelj (10 Sep – 5 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Winter smog

  1 Nov – 31 MarSmoke season

  Raw coal burned in the ger districts for heating, held down over the valley by an inversion, makes this one of the worst urban airs anywhere between November and March. It is the single strongest argument against a winter trip. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Deep winter and dzud

  1 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyExtreme coldClosures

  The coldest capital on earth in the coldest weeks of its year, and the season when a dzud can strand herders and close the intercity roads. City sightseeing works; anything beyond the ring road needs a plan B. Source ↗

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 31 Mar)