Hello!
I am a college junior and am looking into studying abroad in Mongolia next your. I can choose to either go in the fall or spring semesters. I was thinking the spring semester which would put my in Mongolia from February to April- as i understand this is mainly their winter months.... Will there still be plenty to do and lots of activity in the country, or because of the cold temperature does the pace slow down considerably? To clarify, I am not looking for a past paced city experience, i want to live and observe the nomadic lifestyle and horse culture- I am a very active outdoors person and I hope to continue that when I am abroad.
Please let me know any opinions, ideas, criticisms, ext!....
Thanks!
When to travel to Mongolia?
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Oh my goodness...you will definately want to go in the fall as spring is the worst season in Mongolia because of the cold and windstorms. The only really good thing about spring is Tsaagan Sar ("White Month", the lunar new year celebration). The fall stays nice for a long time. Sure it will get chilly, but throw on a jacket and you are good to go. Will you study in UB? They have a great city/night life and you will easily be able to take day/weekend trips to near by places to experience somewhat the countyside lifestyle.
I'm not sure I am brave enough to go in the colder months. We were in Mongolia in May/June, and it was lovely. But you also may want to factor in exactly where you will be in the country. We went to the northern Lake Hovsgol region - and even in June it was chilly in the mornings (mid-30 f) and the lake still had a little ice on it. Traveling down to the Gobi, the temperatures were warmer.
I would recommend the Fall semester. I'm thinking you would be able to get out and about much more at the beginning of your term, and by the end, it would start getting really cold and you could experience that as well.
Here's a blog you may want to check out, I enjoyed reading it after my trip. It has been renamed, Exciled in Ukraine. But if you go back into his history - I believe he spent two years in Mongolia. You might find his view on winters interesting.
http://davidlawrence.posterous.com/
Oh - and if you are a skiier and close to the capital, you won't have to go far!
http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/mongolias-first-ski-resort-opens/
www.weather2travel.com Climate guides
Fall of your 2 but summer better