Experience Local Mongolia: One Day Tours with a Difference
What can you really experience in just one day in Mongolia? More than you might think. Step away from the guidebooks and the usual sightseeing stops, and you’ll find a capital city alive with stories—of master craftsmen, determined community leaders, creative artisans, and women using tradition to shape new futures. Our one-day tours are designed to take you closer to this Mongolia: intimate, authentic experiences that connect you with the people and pulse of Ulaanbaatar.
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More Than Just the Highlights
One day? It might not sound like much, but a single day in Mongolia can open doors to people, places, and experiences that go far beyond the guidebook. Forget the standard checklist of museums and shopping stops—our one-day tours are private, flexible, and designed to bring you closer to everyday life.
While much of Mongolia is known internationally for its nomadic herders, eagle hunters, or reindeer communities, the truth is that over half the population now lives in Ulaanbaatar. This contradictory, and ever-changing capital is where tradition and modernity meet, and it offers rich opportunities to understand what “local Mongolia” really means.
Step Into a Bow Maker’s World
From the outside, Tomorkhuu Batmonkh’s apartment looks like many others in the Bayangol district—a tired piece of Soviet-era architecture in need of care. But step inside, and you enter a very different world.
Batmonkh is one of Mongolia’s most respected bow and arrow makers, and his three-room apartment doubles as his workshop. Every surface is alive with his craft: sinew stretched across wooden frames, arrows with neatly tied feathers stacked in bundles, tools and implements tucked into every corner. It is remarkable how much passion and history fits into such a modest home.
As he talks, you begin to understand that his work is more than craftsmanship. It is the continuation of a tradition that once shaped empires, and his love for the art is infectious. Meeting Batmonkh is not about a staged demonstration—it’s about stepping directly into the daily life of someone who is keeping Mongolian heritage alive.
Life in the Ger Districts
Beyond the city centre, Ulaanbaatar spreads into vast ger districts—neighbourhoods of felt homes, small houses, and improvised businesses. On our Urban Lives experience, you’ll meet the people shaping these communities: a seamstress working with traditional designs, an artist preserving cultural motifs, local innovators striving to make their district a better place to live.
It’s a side of Mongolia rarely included in standard tours. Here, you’ll gain insight into the challenges of urban life, but also the resilience, ambition, and creativity of those building their futures on the city’s edge.
Supporting Women’s Futures
Or, join NGOs working hard to improve the lives of women from Ulaanbaatar’s ger districts—often from disadvantaged backgrounds and raising households as single parents. These organisations provide training and employment through traditional Mongolian crafts such as felting and quilting, helping women build independence and security. On this experience, you’ll meet the women leading these NGOs as well as those employed by them, knowing that your visit directly supports their vital work.
Learn more here.
A Taste of Mongolia – Home Cooking With Our Team
Food is one of the most intimate ways to understand a culture, and our informal cookery class is an invitation into everyday Mongolian kitchens. Hosted in our small office-home, you’ll cook side by side with one of our all-female team of trip assistants—women who prepare these same dishes daily for their families.
As you chop, stir, and share stories, you’ll discover the flavors of Mongolia’s food heritage and the pride behind simple, nourishing recipes. For our trip assistants, tourism is more than work—it’s a way to uplift their lives and support their families. For you, it’s a chance to learn, connect, and taste Mongolia from the inside out.
Discover Local Mongolia With Us
One day is enough to glimpse Mongolia’s living culture in ways you won’t find in a guidebook. Whether it’s stepping into the world of a master bow maker, visiting the ger districts to learn from local innovators, supporting women’s NGOs, or cooking alongside our team, these experiences are about connection, community, and curiosity.
If you’d like to meet Batmonkh or explore one of our other one-day tours, just let us know—we’d love to introduce you to local Mongolia.
Jess @ Eternal Landscapes
