Editorials
Ulaanbaatar Hasn't Decided Whether It's a Ger District or a Glass Skyline, and That's the Point
Mongolia's capital has moved sites and renamed itself repeatedly since its founding as a mobile Buddhist monastery in 1639, and today its Soviet-planned centre sits between glass towers and the ger districts that still house much of the city.
Sep 26, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Ulaanbaatar, whose name translates as “Red Hero,” began in 1639 as Örgöö, a mobile Buddhist monastic settlement that moved sites more than twenty times before settling permanently on its current spot along the Tuul River in 1778. What stands today is a Soviet-planned centre of broad avenues, ringed by hillside ger districts, the felt-tent neighbourhoods that still house a large share of the city's more than one million residents, with a newer skyline of glass office towers rising between the two.
Sükhbaatar Square, still the city's centre
The central square, renamed for Genghis Khan for a period before reverting to its original name honouring revolutionary leader Damdin Sükhbaatar, is fronted by the Government Palace, itself dominated by a large seated statue of Chinggis Khaan. It remains the obvious starting point for a first walk through the city, backed by the National Museum of Mongolia and the opera house nearby.
Gandantegchinlen, a monastery that survived
Gandantegchinlen Monastery, one of Mongolia's most significant Buddhist sites, survived the Soviet-era purges that destroyed most of the country's monasteries, and today houses a monumental gilded statue of Avalokiteshvara, rebuilt after the original was melted down in the 1930s. Its grounds, still an active monastic community, sit only a short walk from the ger districts on the city's western edge.
The ger districts, and why they matter
The neighbourhoods of felt tents and small fenced plots that climb the hills around the city centre house a large proportion of Ulaanbaatar's population, many of them families who moved in from rural herding life. Without full access to the city's heating grid, coal- and wood-burning stoves in these districts are a major contributor to the severe winter air pollution that regularly ranks Ulaanbaatar among the world's most polluted capitals, a fact that shapes any visit planned for the colder months.
Terelj, an hour outside the capital
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, roughly ninety minutes' drive from the city, is the usual escape into the steppe and granite outcrops most visitors associate with Mongolia, passing en route the towering stainless-steel Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue at Tsonjin Boldog.
Traveller tips
- Chinggis Khaan International Airport, southwest of the city, is Mongolia's main gateway, with a limited set of direct international connections.
- Winter brings extreme cold and the worst of the air pollution; late spring through early autumn is the more comfortable window to visit.
- A day trip to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is easily arranged from the city and needs no special permit.
- Cash remains useful outside larger hotels and restaurants, though card acceptance has been expanding in the city centre.
Where this is
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia