Great Chinggis Empire

There is no limit on foreign currency, traveler's cheques, etc brought into the MPR. There are number of exchanging bureaus and bank branches at most hotels, and any other public places. Mostly USDollar is accepted in Mongolia. Some hotels and tourist shops accept credit cards (American express, mainly visa card, master card, and diners club).

Travellers cheques
American express traveller's cheques are most widely accepted although Thomas Cook is accepted by the trade and development bank. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in US Dollars. Traveller's cheques can be difficult to exchange outside the capital of Mongolia.

Electric current
The standard voltage is 220 volts/50 Hz. Sockets require a two-pin type plug or an adapter.

Post and telecommunications
There is a central post office (Mongolian post) in Ulaanbaatar where you can buy stamps, envelopes and postcards. In addition, DHL and FedEmx and other private post and delivery companies work in Mongolia. The Mongolian post is reasonably reliably although it may take a little bit longer time to reach its destination. Telecommunications outside Ulaanbaatar are limited in general towns and cities where Mongolian telecommunication, MobiCom (Mobile), SkyTel(mobile) and other satellite telecommunications work . Making international calls and faxes is widely available in Mongolia. Internet networks connect you with the wold in every part of Mongolia except some remote areas. Country code: 976 and area code for Ulaanbaatar 11.

Telephones - mobile cellular uses GSM and CDMA systems
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) (Micom, Magicnet, MCSCom, Boldsoft, GNet and RailCom and others)
Press - the Mongolian daily newspapers include "Daily News", "Today" and "Government News" and so on. The English language newspapers are published in Mongolia, including "The Mongol Messenger" and the "UB post", both of which are published weekly and other occasionally published magazines and newspapers.

Health and fitness
Feeling the pleasure of wild nature, in one side, traveling across Mongolia can be a little bit exhausting. It is very adventurous to ride in snakelike and rough roads. Keep in mind that reaching your desired destinations usually take some hours of driving. Encountering extreme climate and location of much high level above the world average, the travelers coming to Mongolia are highly advised to prepare physical adjustment preceding their trips. Before coming to Mongolia, especially if you are planning to enjoy any trekking or back-country travel, you should be in good physical health. We suggest you exercise regularly for a period of time before the departure dates of your trip. Also, please make sure you are acquainted with your itinerary before making a booking so that you are aware of the type of travel and physical exertion that you will be involved in. "Great Chinggis Empire" always provides you all details before your arrival to Mongolia. Needed medicines and doctors are available around Mongolia in case of emergency, but it is always better to bring your adjusted medicines. Traditionally, Mongolians prefer sanitary in all the time. Please take a look at the "Medical section".

Tourism season
From May to middle of October, peak season: July-August. Summer, spring and autumn are perfect seasons to behold the beauty of Mongolia in warm temperature. If you like very cold and dancing snowflakes, white winter in Mongolia is great.P>

Accomodation
The number and range of hotels in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia are enormously increasing from the hotels (2-4 stars) to the budget hostel. Guest houses are obtainable nowadays.

Infrastructure
The infrastructure of the country is only just developing. The roads are in a very poor condition and are only paved in the areas immediately surrounding the major towns. All other roads are dirt roads and are sometimes non-existent. There are a number of vehicles, including Russian jeep 4x4 UAZ and till Modern Japanese jeeps. Rugged and roughly shaped counryside roads and wet muddy tracks in Mongolia really test the capability and quality of vehicles. Russian jeeps are suitable for the roads and easy to fix by Mongolian drivers indeed. The comfortable vehicles are also accessible for your inquiry.

The internal flight carrier in Mongolia is MIAT Airlines. Currently, they are trying to fine tune their operation to meet western demands, however, the level of service is by no means at western standards. The airport facilities are also very basic, although the international and domestic lounges have both recently been renovated in Ulaanbaatar. The local airports are small and sometimes very crowded. To make a booking on a MIAT internal flight you should always do so 10 days prior to the departure of the flight. To take a return flight from a countryside destination to the city you should always confirm you seat and ticket as soon as possible from the local airport. Just because you have bought a ticket in Ulaanbaatar does not guarantee that the staff at the local airport will give you a seat on the plane. Travellers should note that the personal baggage allowance on internal flights in Mongolia is 25kg. Every kg of luggage over 10kg attracts an excess baggage charge. The cost per kg of excess baggage is us$2 for all areas except the far west of the country.

Mongolia is one of the most incredible places on the earth to shoot beauty of the unique. The landscapes, wildlife, culture and people of this country marvelously create a wealth of opportunities for taking unrepeatable clips. Films and camera batteries for all types are available in the stores in a few major cities. However, you are advised to bring some supplies with you just in case. Photo processing can be done very obtainable around Mongolia but the quality is often lacking.

Taking photos is not allowed inside monasteries and museums. Exceptions are made on rare occasions and only with the permission of the Lames, it may charge some extra payment. Mutually respected communication is extremely appreciated among tourist and local people indeed.

Restaurants and food
The local cuisine in Mongolia consists of plenty of mutton and milk products. You should definitely try to the local favorites, bortz(dried meat) and har shol (soup). Fried dumplings, steamed dumplings and other meals are delicious. The national drinks are usually salty, milky tea, milks, home-made vodka of milk, and horse-milk beer. The milk products, dairies are several of their shapes and tastes. For those who want to eat out, the number of restaurants is improving and spreading in here. Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Italian, English, French, Russian, Latin American cuisines are placed in major cities. Most of the older restaurants serve typical Russian style food but the variety is widening and many other influences are appearing in menus.

Shopping
Main shopping stores which sell all kinds of things, for example traditional clothes, souvenirs, are The State Department Store, the Sky, the Bishrelt, the Nominsuper markets. There are enough shopping centers and malls in Mongolian cities and towns. The 3 main hotels, the Bayangol, the Ulaanbaatar and Chinggis Khaan all sell a range of foodstuffs, gifts and souvenirs.

State Department Store - has a good selection of food, books, maps and magazines and things like pots and pans. It sells normal clothes and has the best collections of traditional clothes. In here, you can find one of the best collections of souvenirs in the country.
Central market - an undercover area has a decent selection of clothes, such as bags, sunglasses, leather boots. It is the place where you can get traditional Mongolian clothes like a del, jacket, hat and so on.
Khudaldanii gudamj - street market, which lined with clothing and books and some useful shops.
Shopping center of cashmere factory "Gobi" - cashmere products are an important export item.
ANTIQUE - big possibility to buy snuff bottles, mongolian style chess sets, and carpets and rugs from muslim - influenced western Mongolia, tapes and compact discs of traditional music.
GROCERY supermarket - has a good choise of mongolian traditional food, asian and european food.

Public Holidays
New Year's Day - 1st January
Tsagaan Tsar - Lunar New Year (2006.01.30)
Mothers and Children's Day - 1st June
Naadam - 11th to 13th July
Independence Day - 26th November