Bikepacking Northern Mongolia: From Ulaanbaatar towards Russia

I crossed the China-Mongolia border at the town of Zamiin-Uud, from where I then took a night train across the Gobi Desert towards Ulaanbaatar, the capital. Having been here before, I quickly stocked up on supplies and left the city the following day. Ulaanbaatar can be quite chaotic, but just a few kilometres outside of the city it’s a totally different story, with the Mongolian steppe stretching as far as the eye can reach.

On my previous bike tour in Mongolia I checked out the Altai Mountains in the West and the Khanghai Mountains in the centre of the country, but on this one I was cycling north, hoping to discover the Mongolian Taiga.

My route followed the Trans-Mongolian railway line, which eventually crosses into Russia and runs all the way to Moscow, connecting the Chinese, Mongolian and Russian capital cities by rail.

Mongolia, being the least densely populated country in the world, has got to be one of the best places for a bikepacking trip, thanks to its countless empty tracks, welcoming locals, the freedom to camp wherever you want, and its vast yet stunning landscapes, all of which I enyoed for a couple days. But there can be some challenges, such as the fierce headwinds I faced every day, or acquiring information about certain places or road conditions. I expierenced this first hand, when I planned to enter a large forested area northwest of the city of Zuunkharaa, but was turned back by a park ranger, apparently due to the existing bear population which had just come out of hibernation. Not wanting to take any risks, I turned back, and had to reevaluate my options.

I only had a little over two weeks to spend in Mongolia, as I would need to fly back to Germany for an anniversary and a wedding. So I scrapped the remainder of my bike route, and because of the nearby railway line I canceled my flight, and came up with a new plan: Traveling back to Germany overland, with the famous Trans-Siberian train.