Mongolia’s Naadam Festival

Mongolia is still one of the world’s wild frontiers – a land of expansive plains and endless blue skies. Every year in July, thousands and thousands of locals come together to commemorate the 1921 Revolution, with what are known as the ‘three games of men’ and a bit of raucous celebration. A wonderfully friendly and welcoming people, the Mongolians would love for you to join them!

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Naadam translates literally as ‘games’ – it is thought that the festival has existed in some form or another for centuries, perhaps as a military training exercise or wedding celebrations. The festival today is held during July (11-13 July in 2016) to mark the anniversary of Mongolia’s independence from China in 1921. In 2010, Naadam was inscribed onto the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and it’s easy to see why – the festival is the perfect showcase for the countries nomadic culture and heritage, a display of the skills and prowess needed to survive in such an inhospitable environment. The biggest festival in the country takes place in capital city Ulaanbaatar’s National Sports Stadium. Every year Genghis Khan’s nine horse tails are processed from the city’s central square into the stadium to kick the whole thing off.

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The Naadam Festival begins with pure pageantry at the opening ceremony. An elaborate parade features local dancers, soldiers and monks marching along to military tunes blasted out but musicians galore, all in vivid traditional dress and well in the spirit! But the carnival atmosphere really gets going when the games themselves begin. The ‘three games of men’ are Mongolian wrestling, horse riding and archery – women now compete in the horse riding and archery events. The wrestling can involve 512 or 1024 competitors and is fierce, whilst the archery features teams of 10 who must hit 33 ‘surs’, a wooden or woven cylinder target. The horse racing though is the big event. Racing is in the cross-country style and between 15 and 30 kilometres long, depending on the age of the horses competing. It is a magnificent sight, seeing up to 1,000 horses stampeding across the plains! Fascinatingly, as the race is meant to test the horse rather than the rider, the jockeys are children aged between 5 and 13 years old who have been training hard for months to compete. Outside the sporting arena there is still plenty to keep you entertained, with huge amounts of food and music to sit back and enjoy and fantastic people watching opportunities.

If you are looking for a truly authentic Mongolian experience, we don’t think you can beat this. Have a peruse of our Mongolia ‘best bits’ itinerary which includes the three days of the Naadam Festival, or give us a call to build your very own itinerary around the festivities.

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