Ulaanbaatar Sights

Full Ulaanbaatar Travel Guide »    Ulaanbaatar Interactive Map »    Print This Article »

Gandan Khiid Monastery

Note that most tourist sites have a separate camera/video fee (typically T5000-10000) in addition to the entrance fee.

• Gandan Monastery (Gandantegchinlen Khiid). The main monastery in the city has services around 10AM every morning. It is one of the few monasteries in the country that escaped the communist purges during the 1930s. Entrance T3500.
• Choijin Lama Monastery, Ulaanbaatar, Chingeltrei district, Left of Central Library, museum.pixel.mn/english/index.php?id=8,0,0,1,0,0. 10.00am-17.00pm. Choijing Lama Temple Museum is a unique showcase of religious art and the history of Buddism in Mongolia. This museum is a gem of the historical and cultural and cultural heritage of the previous century. The significance of Choijing Lama temple ensures that we must seek to maintain it in its original form. This classic work of our masters of the 17,18 and 19 centuries has many masterpieces to show to our visitors from abroad. Mongolian architects erected the temple between 1904 and 1908 in honor of the influential Lama Lubsanhaidav who was declared main protector of religion nad state Oracle of Mongolia. In some senses choijing acted as a shaman: where he differed was in his representation of the states as opposed to individuals. He was the 8th Bogdo Khan`s brother and he was born in 1871 in Tibet. He invited special teachers from Tibet to train Choijing lama to become a state Choijing, who then made a vow to protect the religion of his teachers. The monastery was active until 1938. According to the degree of the Peoples Khural, November 1941, the monastery was included in the list of historical and cultural monuments and was taken charge by the Committee of sciences in 1942. It was then turned into a museum. The museum is an ensemble of Buddhist architecture and consists of 5 temples and 5 arched gates. The works of the national clever masters of painting and sculpture are of great interest. In the main temple there is the sculpture of Choijing Lama and the embalmed mummy of his teacher. It also contains the great coral mask of Begtse, created under the direction of protectors using over 6000 pieces of coral. Yadam temple and Amgalan temple contain rare artifacts made by the famous Mongolian artist and sculptor, Zanabazar. In total our museum has over 5000 items out of which 12 are unique nad 200 are particularly valuable. Between 1995 and 2000 our museum has toured many countries including the USA, France. Japan, South Korea and Holland. We have displayed over 100 items. We separated from bogd Khan museum in January 2000 and we have been working independently from this time to develop the Choijing Lama temple. adult – 2500T.
• Natural History Museum, Ulaanbaatar. In the Behind of the Government house. 10AM-5.30PM, last admission 4.30PM. When the first national museum was established in Mongolia in 1924, the base of natural historical museum was found by consisting the principal sections of the exhibitions with the choicest exhibitions of Mongolian Nature. When the national central museum was located in present location in 1956, it has been enriching its exhibitions and expanded as a big natural department, which has various kinds of geographical, flora, fauna and paleontological exhibits. The government Resolution, which to classify the museums in different fields like as the developed countries, was passed and the national central museum was abolished in 1991. Since 1992, a new museum was established in the place of national central museum with the purpose of being the leader natural central museum for the further development, getting foreigners enjoyed in international level, showing the geological history such as locations of planets and earth establishment and formations and show the biology characteristics of earth central zone and named as Museum of Natural History. Natural history involves historical process of 4.7 milliard years of that is very long term from the origin of the world until the origin of plant, animal and human. Thus our museum shows the briefness of these events by exhibitions and contributes knowledge to peoples mind. The museum consists of: - Mongolian geography, ancient volcanoes, stones from the volcanoes - Earth origin, planet studying meteorites - Geological history, useful resources, minerals - Ancient and contemporary botany - Land fauna /mammals, birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, amphibious/ - Very ancient plant and animals /paleontology/ - Human origin Museum colleagues always enrich their treasures, exhibitions, renovate the exhibition halls and improve the museum settlement so that the museum became a big museum, which has the capable to attract foreign and domestic visitors. The museum is one of the big museum of Mongolia that has the 40 halls with 2700 square meters, 12000 exhibits and more than over 50 thousand visitors visit to the museum each year and exhibition marshrut lasts about 1.5-2.0 hours. The museum is studying and advertising museum, which introduces natural history, its appearance movements and developments to the audiences by theoretical and objects researching. Admission T2500.
• National History Museum, Ulaanbaatar. In the right of the Government house. 10AM-5:30PM, last admission 4:30PM. The Mongolian National Museum was first established in 1924 with the aim of introducing the history, culture, and natural environment of Mongolia to its visitors. From 1940 to 1941, the museum was known as the Museum of Local Research and then from 1956 to 1991 as the State Central Museum. The State Central Museum moved into its own building in 1956, with galleries relating to history, the natural environment, paleontology, and Mongolian art. In 1964, new exhibits of ethnography enriched the History Gallery. In May 1991, the State Committee of Culture and Art decided to improve the museums throughout the country. It established the National Museum of Mongolia History by merging the historical collections from the State Central Museum with the Museum of the Revolution which had been founded in 1971. The National Museum of Mongolian History is now located in the facility built for the Museum of the Revolution. The Memorial Museum of the Victims of Political Repression (also in Ulaanbaatar) is a branch museum of the National Museum of Mongolian History. The National Museum of Mongolian History is a cultural, scientific, and educational organization that presents Mongolian history and culture from the dawn of humanity to the present day. Admission T2500.
• Sükhbaatar Square. The big open space in the center of the city with an equestrian statue of the 1921 hero Sükhbaatar, and seated statue of Chinggis Kahn.
• Bogd Kahn Museum, Khan-Uul district, Chinggis avenue Bogdo khan palace museum Ulaanbaatar. This palace known as The green palace was built between 1893-1903 during 10 years by Mongolian masters and dedicated to the YIII Bogdo gegeen, the head of lamaist religion & last khan of Mongolia.In 1911 there was formed The Bogdo khan state and the YIII Bogdo gegeen assumed political authority over Mongolia as the Bogdo khan or "Holy King" and continued to govern as a constitutional monarch from the time of the Mongolian People's Revolution in 1921 until his dearth of illness in 1924. After Bogdo khan dearth in 1924 it was turned into museum Bogdo khan palace was founded as the first National historical museum of Mongolia. In 1954 was founded The state central museum and the Bogdo khan palace museum became the branch museum. Since 2000 the museum is activiting as Bogdo khan palace museum.Now the Bogd khan palace museum consists of seven Summer Prayer temples and the winter palace. The collections of the museum include unique and valuable objects related to Mongolia's political, religious, and artistic history from the 17 to early 20-th centuries: bronze castings, silk paintings, mineral paintings, and paper icons made by well-known artists and artisans of the period, among others the first Bogdo Javzundamba Zanabazar and his school; as well as objects owned and used by the YIII Bogdo Javzundamba and his wife queen Dondogdulam, including royal clothing and equipment, gifts from domestic and foreign guests or representatives, and items purchased by the king for his own diversion. The collection of the museum is consists of a great number of original objects and works of art from the Bogdo khan palace and is divided into 12 parts: sculpture, scrolls paintings/thangka/, applique, wood carving, religious objects, clothes, furniture, decorative arts, collection of stuffed animal, special collection, support collection and architecture.. Also all exhibits is divided into: high level category, valuable category and original category. Nowadays we have 68 exhibits of high level category and 23 exhibits of valuable category. The number of these categories will be increasing. Exhibits of high level category includes gilded bronze sculptures made by the famous master Zanabazar and school of Zanabazar, thangka paintings from the XIX-XX centuries, the painting shown the capital city of Mongolia 1912 made by Jugder, original paintings made by founder of Mongolian modern painting B.Sharav and expensive clothes of khan and queen. Admission T2500.
• Zaisan Memorial. A huge communist-era monument located on a hill near the city. It represents the Russian and Mongolian heroes who fought together during WWI and WWII. Nowadays it is a popular viewpoint where you can see over the whole city. There's also a huge buddhist statue at the bottom.

• International intellectual museum, Ulaanbaatar, Bayanzurkh district,in front of East Center, Mongolia.. From Monday-Saturday 10.00 am-18.00pm. The museum’s collection includes many Mongolian puzzle toys and world famous, rare and precious exhibits. The museum is a manufacturer of Mongolian puzzle toys, logic games, hand crafted products and souvenirs and it exports most of its products abroad. The museum has exhibited over 80 international exhibitions and fairs in 50 countries. Adult-2000 tug, Children-500tug.

Akshobhya by Zanabazar

• The Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, Ulaanbaatar, Chingeltrei district, Barilgachdin Square (Two blocks west of the Government House). 10-6. The collection includes items from the Stone Age to 20th C. Particularly interesting is the collection of Buddhist art beginning in the 17th Century. $3.

• museum.pixel.mn/english/index.php?id=8,0,0,1,0,0