Naadam Festival in July: Mongolia's Greatest Show on the Steppe
There are maybe five festivals in the world where an entire country genuinely stops. Naadam is one of them.
Every July 11-13, Mongolia celebrates its biggest cultural event — the "Three Manly Games" of horse racing, wrestling, and archery. The opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Ulaanbaatar fills 20,000 seats. The horse races happen on the open steppe outside the city, with children as young as 5 riding 15-30km at full gallop. The wrestling has no weight classes, no time limit, and continues until one man touches the ground with anything other than his feet or hands.
I timed my Mongolia trip specifically for Naadam, and it was the best scheduling decision of my traveling life.
What Naadam Actually Is
Naadam (literally "games") has been celebrated for centuries — some historians trace it to the era of Genghis Khan's military training exercises. It's now Mongolia's national holiday, combining athletic competition with cultural pride, traditional costumes, and an excuse for the entire country to drink airag (fermented mare's milk) and eat khuushuur (fried meat pastries).
The opening ceremony at the National Stadium is spectacular: traditional costumes, throat singing, horse-head fiddle performances, and military parades. Tickets range from 50,000-150,000 MNT (~$15-45) and should be booked months in advance.
The Horse Racing
This is the event that floored me. The races happen on open steppe outside Ulaanbaatar — there's no track, no grandstand. Thousands of Mongolians drive out to the grasslands, set up alongside the route, and watch children ride horses at full gallop across distances of 15-30km.
The jockeys are children aged 5-12. That's not a typo. The reasoning is traditional: smaller riders mean less weight on the horse, and Mongolian children learn to ride before they learn to walk. The winning horse (not jockey) receives the glory. The songs composed for winning horses are a distinct musical tradition.
Getting there requires a car — book through your hotel or tour operator. The atmosphere is electric: dust clouds, cheering crowds, horses thundering past, and the smell of khuushuur frying on portable stoves.
The Wrestling
Mongolian wrestling (bokh) is the centerpiece event, held in the National Stadium. There are no weight classes. A 70kg man can face a 130kg man. There is no time limit. Matches end when any body part other than feet or hands touches the ground.
The rituals are as compelling as the matches: wrestlers perform the eagle dance (devekh) before and after each bout, arms spread wide, circling their corner. The traditional costume — tiny vest, small briefs, and boots — is deliberately revealing. Legend says it became this way after a woman once disguised herself and won, so the outfit was designed to prove competitors are male.
The tournament uses single elimination. 512 or 1,024 wrestlers start. By day three, the finals are between the last two standing. The crowd roars.
The Archery
Traditional Mongolian archery uses composite bows and leather-wrapped arrows, shooting at leather cylinders on the ground from 75m (men) or 60m (women). Judges stand near the targets and signal hits with a distinctive arm-raising chant (uukhai).
Archery is the quietest of the three events but the most mesmerizing to watch up close. The concentration and the traditional songs between rounds create a meditative atmosphere that contrasts sharply with the wrestling chaos.
Beyond the Games
Naadam is also when Ulaanbaatar fills with nomadic families from the countryside. Sukhbaatar Square becomes an open-air festival: food stalls, traditional crafts, throat singing performances, and airag (fermented mare's milk) offered from every direction.
Try airag at least once. It's sour, slightly fizzy, mildly alcoholic, and tastes like yogurt that's been left in a warm tent for a week — because that's basically what it is. Mongolians drink it by the liter during Naadam. Visitors tend to manage about a cup before quietly switching to beer.
Khuushuur (fried meat pastries, 2,000-3,000 MNT) are the festival food. Every family has a recipe. Street vendors sell them from portable deep fryers. They're greasy, meaty, and perfect.
Practical Details
When: July 11-13 (some events start July 10). Book your trip around these exact dates.
Accommodation: Hotels in UB fill up and prices double. Book 3-6 months ahead. Budget guesthouses still available at 50,000-80,000 MNT/night.
Tickets: Opening ceremony: 50,000-150,000 MNT. Book through your hotel or online. Wrestling and archery at the stadium: separate tickets. Horse racing is free (you just need transport to the steppe).
Weather: July is UB's warmest month — 15-30°C, sunny, dry. Pack sunscreen, a hat, and a light jacket for evenings.
Getting there: Fly to Chinggis Khaan International (UBN), 52km southwest. Airport bus to city: 15,000 MNT, 1-1.5 hours.
Naadam is the event that makes Mongolia make sense. The vastness of the steppe, the nomadic heritage, the relationship between humans and horses — it all converges in three days of competition, celebration, and airag. Time your trip for July. You won't regret it.
What to Pack for Naadam
July in UB means warm days and cool evenings:
Sunscreen and a hat (the steppe sun is intense)
A light jacket for evening temperatures (15°C after dark)
Comfortable shoes for standing on uneven ground at horse races
A reusable water bottle (stay hydrated at the outdoor events)
Cash in small bills (festival food stalls don't have change for large notes)
A scarf or bandana for dust at the horse racing grounds
Beyond the Stadium
Smaller Naadam festivals happen in rural towns across Mongolia throughout July. If you can arrange transport (through a tour operator), attending a countryside Naadam in a small town — where the wrestlers know each other by name and the horse racing spectators are all related to the jockeys — is more intimate and arguably more moving than the main UB event. The Kharkhorin Naadam near the ancient capital of Karakorum is one of the best alternatives.
The closing ceremony on July 13 is smaller than the opening but has a particular emotional weight — the final wrestling champion is crowned, the winning horses receive their songs, and the entire stadium joins in the national anthem. By the end of the three days, even as a foreigner, you feel like you've participated in something that connects modern Mongolia to its deepest traditions. Naadam isn't just a festival. It's a national heartbeat.
