About Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar — "the Red Hero" — is Mongolia's only real city, home to nearly half the country's population. Founded as a moving Buddhist monastery town in 1639, it settled here in 1778 and has been re-invented by every century since.
The Gandan monastery still functions as a center of Mongolian Buddhism, with the 26 m Migjid Janraisig statue at its heart. Sükhbaatar Square anchors the old Soviet city; the Choijin Lama Temple Museum preserves the pre-revolution court religion; and the Bogd Khaan Winter Palace shows how Mongolia's last king lived.
Most tours start and end here. Spend a day or two — it sets the context for everywhere else.
