Mongolia has always stirred up visions of the untamed: Genghis Khan and his hordes, and wild horses galloping across the Steppes. Even today, outside of Ulaan Baatar you may get the feeling you’ve stepped into another centry rather than another county. The ‘Land of Blue Sky’ is a pace where Siberian forests, rolling Steppes, the vast Gobi Desert, glacier-wrapped mountain and crystal-pure lakes meet. Lt is also one of the last unspoiled travel destinations in Asia.

May to October, to avoid the cold

Exploring the museums and monasteries of Ulaan Baatar, which offer a fascinating glimpse into the culture of pre-Soviet Mongolia Riding a horse along the Steppes Camping out under the stars in the Gobi Desert Visiting a ger-the large white felt tents symbolic of Mongolia’s nomadic heritage Fishing in the beautiful lake Khovsgol Nuur, with water so pure you can drink it

Read The Secret History of the Mongols, recording the life and deeds of Genghis Khan

Listen to Spirit of the Steppes: Throat Singing from Tuva -Mongolia, featuring khoomi, the unique vocal artform with no analogue in the West

Watch The Story of the Weeping Camel, about a camel who abandons her calf-the surprise hit of film festivals in 2004

Eat mutton: mutton with noodles, mutton with rice, or mutton disguised as something else

Drink airag, fermented mare’s milk, or suutei tsai, salty tea

Za A catch-all term said at the conclusion of a statement)

Ghengis Khan; savage; gers; horses; archery; barbecues and hotpots; scantily clad wrestlers; endless plains

No-one was more surprised than the Mongolians when the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving them without an international patron, and spectacularly broke

Mongolians sing to their animals: there are lullabies to coax sheep to suckle their lambs, croons to control a goat, to milk a cow or imitate a camel’s cry-there are far more Mongolian songs about the love of a good horse than the love of a good woman.