Mongolia Road Map

Heading of into the Mongolian steppe? You’ll need a Mongolia road map or three . . .

Why?

Take a look at this main road . . .

A lesser road . . .

Before maps and GPS, directions went pretty much like this . . .

“See those two mountains, well just aim between them and then follow the river until it bends west . . . you can’t miss it!”

Now imagine someone saying that in Mongolian!

You NEED a Mongolia road map.

Tip one:

Buy a map with place names marked in both the Latin (English) and Cyrillic (Russian) alphabets.

Mongolians use the Cyrillic alphabet. You will need the Latin alphabet for yourself. Asking for directions without a bilingual map will end in disaster!

Saying the name of your destination won’t work--nobody will understand you. Heck, when I first came here I couldn’t buy a coke until I realized Mongolians pronounced ‘cola’ as ‘collar’. Only a small difference but they couldn’t understand . . .

You get the point.

Tip two:

Buy the most up-to-date map you can find.

Why?

The roads move . . .

Yes, you read that right--week by week, day by day, car by car--the roads move.

Look at this photo and you’ll understand why . . .

(C) Andrey Kharchenko. FlickR

Ninety-nine percent of roads are just dirt tracks. When it rains, the cars drive around the puddles creating a new route. When an animal stands in the road, the cars drive around it. For endless reasons, the roads move.

You will look in vain for landmarks and road signs. To prevent yourself getting lost buy the most up-to-date map you can find.

Having at least two maps will give you the chance to compare routes.

Can you recommend a Mongolia road map?

I can do more than that--I can recommend four:

For early stage planning try this online map.

It’s by far the most detailed online map--even so it misses a city or two!

For more serious planning and real-life use the following come top of my list:

1) The Mongolia Road Atlas. With a scale of 1:1,000,000 the latest edition came out in 2005. Published by Gazryn Zurag Co. Ltd it comes top because the spiral binding makes it the most usable. This map also includes detailed maps of Ulaan Baatar and Khuvsgul. Other important features include contour lines and a latitude/longitude grid.

2) The Mongolia Geographic Map. You need this one because it comes with trilingual place names--marked in English, Russian and Mongolian. Very useful when stopping to ask for directions or read a road sign. It also includes shaded relief, hypsometric shading, and spot heights to show elevation.

3) Finally: the “Reise Know How” Mongolia Travel Map. This waterproof map comes in handy when it rains. It includes a useful list of tourist sites you wouldn’t want to miss including: caves, monasteries, and oases. Also marked is the distance between places of interest. You might find the extensive index invaluable.

Where can I buy these Mongolia road maps?

Don’t wait until you arrive in Mongolia. The supply here can be erratic.

Instead click here for the best online source.

Please don’t rely on the ‘dedicated’ Map Shop recommended in the Bradt Guide. There selection is small and poor. I was disappointed, and I only live round the corner!

The best source in Ulaan Baatar is the two-story bookshop just around the corner from the Ulaan Baatar Hotel on Baga Toyruu Street.

How do you find it?

Buy a map of Ulaanbaatar ;)

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