Mongolia seems to be one of the last remaining truly wild places in the world.
Vast grasslands fade into barren mountains, deserts go on and on without a person in sight, and the rarest of animals wander freely on untouched ground. This massive country is an essential place for people wanting to experience another and more raw form of wildlife.
Searching for the Elusive Snow Leopard
One of Mongolia’s most enigmatic denizens is the elusive snow leopard. Hiding high among the rocky crags and valleys in the Altai Mountains, these apex predators of the big cat family are not only shrouded in secrecy but are also very rarely sighted. As a result, snow leopards have developed an almost mythic reputation, attracting an intrepid fellowship of wildlife enthusiasts who participate in a Mongolia snow leopard tour to track this elusive creature alongside local guides before exploring some of the region’s most remote areas.
The Return of the Wild Horse
Another iconic returnee is the Przewalski’s horse, the only true wild horse on Earth. The world’s last wild horse became extinct in the wild, except for those in captivity. Now, this studded and stocky horse is making a resplendent wild horse comeback in Mongolia’s national parks, particularly at the Hustai National Park. When you watch a herd of them gallop through the steppe, you’ll feel as if you were in prehistoric times.
Mongolia’s Incredible Birdlife
Birders will likewise be in for a surprise, as Mongolia offers golden eagles and vultures, saker and amur falcons, demoiselle and white-naped cranes, steppe eagles and upland buzzards, and a wealth of migratory species that also pass through or call this country home. In the West, Kazakh eagle hunters continue the tradition of hunting with trained golden eagles, offering guests an exclusive opportunity to witness one of the last remaining modern incarnations of this practice while also observing these majestic birds up close. Across the country, dozens of wetlands and lakes host many more thousands of species as they migrate to and through Mongolia, and yet few are aware that this land is a little-visited birder’s paradise.
Wildlife in the Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert is the pièce de résistance of Mongolia’s wildlife. The hostile environment can seem impossible for sustaining life, yet this region of the world plays host to wild camels, goitered gazelles, siberian ibex and desert foxes. The stark contrast of barren dunes with idyllic oases makes every creature you see a marvel.
Why Nature Lovers Keep Returning
What makes Mongolia an even more powerful experience than seeing an animal in the wild somewhere else is the sense of emptiness, desolation, and untouched natural landscape that commonly surrounds the animals you encounter. There are very few fences, few people, and wide expanses of open territory across which animals roam as they naturally do.
Here is a powerful example of one of the last places on earth where there’s really something to experience for those who are more interested in seeing the natural world as it appears rather than searching for a ‘safe’ and carefully crafted “experience”. Around the world, these types of experiences have grown nearly extinct, Mongolia is a perfect remedy for that.