Mongolia or Kazakhstan?
The practical differences, drawn from our own write-ups rather than from a brochure. We are not going to tell you which is better - they are different trips. What follows is what actually changes between them.
Places written up here 89 67
UNESCO listings among them 10 12
Cost level Budget Budget
Busiest month in our write-ups July September
Currency Tugrik (MNT) Tenge (KZT)
Plugs and voltage C, E - 230 V C, F - 220 V
Everyday languages Mongolian Kazakh, Russian
Driving side right hand side right hand side
Region Eastern Asia Central Asia
Capital Ulan Bator Nur-Sultan
Mongolia
Nomadic hospitality is a code, not a gesture; guests are taken seriously in even the remotest ger.
What we have written up
- Achit Lake lake
- Aglag Buteel Monastery monastery
- Altai Tavan Bogd National Park national park
- Amarbayasgalant Monastery monastery
- Baga Gazriin Chuluu rock formation
- Baldan Bereeven Monastery monastery
Worth knowing before you go
- Ulaanbaatar takes cards, but the countryside runs on cash - carry tugrik in small notes
- Vodka comes with ritual - hosts dip a ring finger and flick drops skyward as a blessing before drinking
- Distances are enormous and many roads unpaved - a 300 km hop can fill a whole day
Kazakhstan
Steppe hospitality is serious business; guests are honoured, elders are deferred to, and the tea never stops.
What we have written up
- Aisha-Bibi Mausoleum mausoleum
- Akmeshit Cave cave
- Aksu-Zhabagly national park
- Aktau city
- Akyrtas archaeological site
- Almaty city
Worth knowing before you go
- Kaspi QR payments run daily life in cities, but bazaars still prefer cash
- Haggling is expected at bazaars like Almaty's Green Bazaar, never in shops
- Beshbarmak, the national dish, is eaten with the hands - the name means five fingers
Counts describe this site, not the countries: "places written up here" means how many pages we have finished, and it keeps growing. Currency, plugs and languages are practical facts and change rarely; check anything visa-related with the relevant official source before you book.