Top 14 Thing to Do in Inner Mongolia | Inner Mongolia What to Do 2023

• Best Time to Visit: from June to September

• Recommended Places to Visit: Huitengxile Grassland, Hulunbuir Grassland, Xilimuren Grassland, Xilingol Grassland...

No matter which destination you choose to go to in Inner Mongolia, you must extend to the mesmerizing grassland. There are many beautiful pastures in Inner Mongolia. If you have limited time and visit Inner Mongolia for the first time, the most recommended ones are Huitengxile Grassland and Xilamuren Grassland near Hohhot. It only takes 3~5 days to visit a picturesque grassland and explore cultural and historical highlights in and around Hohhot together. For those who have more days and prefer natural scenery, they can take a flight to Hulunbuir Grassland directly. Hulunbuir covers a vast land and has many highlights other than grasslands such as Ergun Wetland, Great Khingan Mountains and so it takes at least 5 days to travel around.

Check more about Top 10 Inner Mongolia Grassland >>

Recommended Inner Mongolia Grassland Tours:
☛ 3 Days Best Hohhot Grassland Tour with Huitengxile Landscape
☛ 5 Days Best Hulunbuir Tour

• Places to Experience: Top Grasslands in Inner Mongolia, Racecourses in Heishantou...

Riding a horse and galloping on the grassland will make you feel soothing excitement and relaxation, can let you forget all your worries and troubles and get you rid of the hustle and bustle of urban life. It is almost a must-do for tourists who visit grasslands for the first time. Each grassland offers horse riding activities. Usually the cost for horseback riding excludes in the grassland tour package, you could choose to ride a horse or not.

There are mainly two types of horseback riding in Inner Mongolia grassland. One is that the herdsmen lead your horse and take you to walk/run laps on the grassland. This is the most common way for tourists who have never ridden a horse to try horse riding for the first time. Generally, it takes about 30~40 minutes. For safety consideration, this kind of riding experience is the most common way of riding horses in grassland scenic areas. The second way of horse riding is for those who have learned and can handle horses well. They can rent a horse by the hour from some grassland herders' homes and enjoy the pleasure of riding freely on the grassland (but there is no safety guarantee, so it is not recommended). If you want to learn how to ride a horse formally, it is best to find some regular racecourses. There are many racecourses in Heishantou (黑山头) of Hulunbuir, most of which are regular and trained. In this case, those who would like to learn and have a more authentic experience are recommended to go there.

Recommended Inner Mongolia Tours with Horse Riding Experience:
☛ 6 Days Hulunbuir & Greater Khingan Highlights Tour
☛ 4 Days In-depth Hohhot Xilamuren Tour with Grassland Activities

• Places to Experience: Huitengxile Grassland, Hulunbuir Grassland, Xilimuren Grassland...

The Mongolian Yurt, called “a vaulted tent” or “felt tent” in ancient times, is a domed pealed tent. When a guest enters a yurt, the housewife will present him or her with a bowl of milk tea and with both hands and presents various kinds of dairy products on the table. If you want to fully experience the local customs of Inner Mongolia, you’d better spend a night in the yurts. Usually, there are three kinds of yurts at most of the tourist grasslands in Inner Mongolia: normal traditional yurts, deluxe yurts and war chariot yurts. Travelers could just choose the type according to your budget and likes. (Notice: The living condition of yurts on grasslands in Inner Mongolia is limited. The facilities of yurts can not be compared with the five-star hotels in the urban area. Even the most luxurious yurts may be just with the level of economic hotels in big cities. If you have a high requirement for accommodation, please consider carefully and tell us your needs beforehand.) Check all things you need to know about Mongolian Yurts >>

Recommended Inner Mongolia Tours with Yurts Overnight Experience:
☛ 2 Days Huitengxile Grassland Tour from Beijing by Bullet Train
☛ 4 Days Xilamuren Grassland & Kubuqi Desert Tour from Hohhot

• Places to Experience: Badain Jaran Desert, Kubuqi Desert, Tengger Desert...

Deep in the interior of China, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, apart from its grasslands as its biggest highlight, is also worth seeing with its vast deserts. Inner Mongolia has the third, fourth and seventh largest desert in China, which are Badain Jaran Desert, Tengger Desert and Kubuqi Desert respectively. There are different ways to explore the desert, such as Jeep safari, riding camels or trekking. Compared with Badian Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert, which are more primitive and extensive, Kubuqi Desert is better developed, suitable for family vacation and children to have fun. There are also many relatively mature hiking trails in Kubuqi Desert for hikers of all levels (Beginner, Internediate, Advanced).

Besides marvel at the indescribable natural scenery of the desert, like resonant sand, dune peaks, desert oasis, colorful lakes, sunrise and sunset. There are also many authentic desert activities for you to try, like sand sliding, thrilling off-road driving, desert camping and camel riding, etc.

Check more about Top 4 Deserts in Inner Mongolia >>

Recommended Inner Mongolia Desert Tours:
☛ 6 Days Inner Mongolia Best Desert & Grassland Tour (Kubuqi Desert)
☛ 7 Days Qinghai Lake Zhangye Danxia Badain Jaran Desert Wonders Tour

Riding a camel with the camel team, climbing the dune peaks and listening to the melody played by camel bells will give you quite a different travel experience. As far as you can see, there is the endless golden sea, rolling and surging. At some point, you will feel that the people around you have disappeared, leaving only the vigorous desert quietly telling the historical vicissitude. 

Compared with riding a horse, camel riding is much simpler. The experience of camel riding in most scenic spots is that the staff pulls the camel you ride to go around in the desert, from the bottom to the top of dunes and return back. Camels are chained together one by one, usually 6~12 camels a chain, walking in a line in the desert. The whole experience is short, generally ranging from 10 to 30 minutes. Some camel riding experiences in desert scenic spots are packaged together with other desert activities and sold as a set of tickets. Some are charged separately (usually over CNY 100 per person per ride). During peak tourist season, camel rides in popular scenic spots may have to queue up. Please be prepared in advance.

(Riding Tips: In order not to frighten the camels, do not yell in front of them, do not use your cell phone to take pictures of them with a flash, and remember to tie up your colorful shawls during the ride.)

Recommended Desert Tours in Inner Mongolia with Camel Riding:
☛ 5 Days Classic Inner Mongolia Tour
☛ 6 Days Inner Mongolia Bests Discovery Tour

When it comes to the must-do things in the desert, desert off-road driving must come to the top of the list. Off-road in the desert is not only a great way to savor the stunning desert scenery, but also contains some elements of adventure. Imagine the feeling of weightlessness along with the excitement and pressure release you get when you are riding down a sand peak that falls tens of meters. How could you not fall for it? After crossing a few sand dunes, you will find that all your troubles are forgotten, you are surrounded by unprecedented ease and happiness.

Off-road desert experiences can range from hours to days, and can be done in different ways. Jeep safari is a necessary means of transportation from site to site in large desert areas. Or if you want to go deep to the hinterland of deserts, it’s also the most recommended way. Of course, if you're looking for a more open and exciting short time experience, you can try desert motorcycling and desert surfing.

Recommended Jeep Safari Tours in Inner Mongolia:
☛ 4 Days Xilamuren Grassland & Kubuqi Desert Tour from Hohhot
☛ 3 Days Badain Jaran Desert Real Essence Tour with Jeep Safari

• Places to Experience: Yemingsha Scenic Area in Kubuqi Desert...

If you're an outdoorsman, you're no stranger to camping. You may have camped in the mountains, in the prairie, in the forests and by the river, but have you tried camping in the desert?

Enter the heart of the desert at dusk, sit on the dunes and watch the red setting sun sink bit by bit into the endless yellow sand. When night falls, put up a tent, build a campfire and sit around it with your friends and family, enjoy the bonfire party with barbecue, singing and dancing. After the party, if you still have the strength, be sure to climb to the top of the high sand dunes to enjoy the vast, unpolluted starry sky.

Recommended Desert Camping Tour in Inner Mongolia:
☛ 2 Days Best Kubuqi Desert Tour to Yemingsha

In recent years, outdoor sports are becoming more and more popular. With a vast and sparsely populated land and meandering scenery, Inner Mongolia can be said to be a paradise for outdoor sports, especially hiking. The most unique and popular experience is hiking across golden deserts and dunes, and listening to the whistling of resonant sand. Kubuqi Desert, Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert are all good places to do desert hiking. Besides, visitors can also do hiking in emerald grasslands and alpine meadows, though idyllic mountains and hills and pass dense wetlands.

The best time to do desert hiking is autumn. For safety considerations, trekkers are strongly recommended to hire a local guide for desert trekking. Hiking through the desert has certain requirements for physical conditions. Try to exercise in advance and choose suitable desert crossing ways (walking; walking+driving; walking+camel riding+driving; driving) according to your own conditions.

Recommended Desert Hiking Tour in Inner Mongolia:
☛ 8 Days Badain Jaran Desert Panorama Trekking Tour

There are some important festivals for Mongolians, like Naadam Festival, Aobao Festival, Inner Mongolia Hungry Ghost Festival, and Inner Mongolia Mare Milk Festival. The grandest festival is the Naadam Festival. Naadam is a traditional Mongolian activity. "Naadam" in Mongolian means “entertainment”, “game”, or “fun”. In early times, Naadam was dedicated to the God of heaven and ancestors to plead for blessing. Meanwhile, Mongols enjoyed themselves. "Three manly skills", horse racing, wrestling and archery are performed in the fair. Today, “Naadam” has become the terminology of a sports activity, entertainment and commerce event in Inner Mongolia. Other competitive events have been included in the fair while the players are not limited to men. Check the ultimate guide of Naadam Festival in Inner Mongolia 2023 >>

Recommended Naadam Festival, Inner Mongolia Tours:
☛ 4 Days Inner Mongolia Naadam Festival Tour (Hulunbuir)

There are overall 41 UNESCO global geoparks in China. Among which, 3 of them are in Inner Mongolia, Hexigten Global Geopark (Arshihaty Stone Forest, Dalinor Lake...), Arxan Global Geopark (Arshan National Forest Park...) and Alshan Global Geopark (Badain Jaran Desert, Ejina Banner, Tengger Desert...). Besides the amazing landscapes of forests, lakes, stone forests, canyons and gobis you may see in those global geoparks. There are also magical volcanic landforms (Ulan Hada Volcanic Geopark in Ulanqab, Mesa Volcanoes Group in Xilingol...) and picturesque wetlands (Genhe Wetland and Ergun Wetland in Hulunbuir...). Check more about Inner Mongolia Landscapes >>

Recommended Inner Mongolia Landscape Exploration Tours:
☛ 9 Days Hulunbuir & Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark Highlights Tour
☛ 7 Days Qinghai Lake Zhangye Danxia Badain Jaran Desert Wonders Tour

As the third largest province in China by area and with the widest cross-longitude range, Inner Mongolia has an extremely rich and diverse natural landscape, including grasslands, deserts, forests, wetlands, sand lands, alpine meadows, volcanic landform and lakes, etc. Besides, Inner Mongolia also has the “most beautiful golden autumn in China” in Ejina Banner (Ejina Populus Euphratica Forest). Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is also inhabited by ethnic minorities, so for those who love humanistic photography, Inner Mongolia also has a lot of subjects related to humanities, ethnic minorities and religions.

• Best Places for Grassland Photography (June to August): Hulunbuir Grassland, Huitengxile Grassland, Xilingol Grassland, Ulan Butong Grassalnd (Summer and Autumn)...
• Best Places for Desert Photography (Autumn & Winter): Badain Jaran, Kubuqi Desert, Tengger Desert...
• Best Places for Autumn Photography: Ejina Populus Euphratica Forest, Ergun Wetland, Greater Khingan Mountains, Ulan Butong Grassalnd...
• Best Places (Time) for Humanistic Photography: Grassland in Inner Mongolia (Especially During Naadam Festival), Shiwei Russian Town, Aoluguya Reindeer Village, Hohhot City, Wudangzhao, Meidaizhao...
• Other Landscapes Photography: Hexigten Global Geopark, Arshan National Forest Park, Laoniu Bay...

Recommended Inner Mongolia Photography Tours:
☛ 6 Days Hulunbuir & Great Khingan Highlights Tour
☛ 4 Days Ejina Populus Euphratica Forest Photography Tour
☛ 4 Days Ulan Butong Grassland Unparalleled Landscape Tour from Beijing

• Type: Inner Mongolia Museum, Hulunbuir National Museum, Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, Zhaojun Tomb, Site of Xanadu, Ruins of the Zhao Dynasty Great Wall, Ruins of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall ...

The quickest way to get a general understanding of the history and culture of an area is to spend several hours in the local museum. So for those who start their Inner Mongolia journey from Hohhot, many of them would visit the Inner Mongolia Museum, the largest museum in the autonomous region, before setting foot on the grasslands and deserts. Those interested in ancient Chinese He-qin Culture (making peace with rulers of minority nationalities in the border areas by marriage) may also spend half a day at Zhaojun Tomb.

In ancient China, Inner Mongolia was mainly inhabited by nomadic people. In order to have a deeper understanding of the history of Inner Mongolia and the development of nomadic culture, you are recommended to visit some great historical relics in this region like the Genghis Khan Mausoleum Scenic Area, Site of Xanadu - “The Summer Capital of the Yuan Dynasty”, Great Wall Ruins of the Zhao Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, which used as fortresses to defend Huns in ancient times.

Recommended Inner Mongolia Cultural and Historical Tours:
☛ 4 Days Inner Mongolia Grassland & Genghis Khan Culture Tour
☛ 4 Days In-depth Hohhot Xilamuren Tour with Zhaojun Tomb Visit

Before the reign of Genghis Khan, Shamanism was prosperous and played a leading role in people's spiritual life in Inner Mongolia. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam were introduced into Inner Mongolia one after another, and Shamanism gradually disappeared from sight. As the Yuan Emperor advocated Buddhism, there were many temples built during that time in Inner Mongolia, and the four largest ones were Dazhao Temple in Hohhot, Wudangzhao Monastery in Baotou, Beizi Temple in Xilingol and Bailing Temple.

Dazhao Temple is the most famous temple in Inner Mongolia during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a great place to learn and understand the politics, society, economy and culture of Inner Mongolia. Wudangzhao is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia. Ranking next to the Potala Palace in Tibet and the Tar Monastery in Qinghai, it is one of the three famous Tibetan Buddhist temples in China.

Recommended Inner Mongolia Tours with Zhaomiao Visit:
☛ 5 Days Classic Inner Mongolia Tour (Dazhao)
☛ 6 Days Inner Mongolia Bests Discovery Tour (Wudangzhao)
☛ 6 Days Inner Mongolia Best Desert & Grassland Tour (Wudangzhao)

• Places to Experience: Hohhot, Baotou, Ordos, Hulunbuir, Grasslands in Inner Mongolia...

When you are in Inner Mongolia, no matter whether you have meals in local restaurants or have dinner in Mongolian yurts, you could taste Mongolian snacks or cuisines. The specialties include roast whole sheep, Kumiss, Ghee, Hulun Lake fish feast, Mongolian boiled lamb, Mongolian milk tea.

Roasted Whole Lamb (烤全羊)

It is traditional cuisine to entertain honored guests or to celebrate the grand pageant in Mongolia. The sheep is selected abortively, about 20 kg for each one. The whole shape is dressed, stuffed with seasonings such as shallot, ginger, salt, etc., then baked. The cuisine keeps the complete shape of the sheep, kneeled down in a square trencher, and is prized for the fresh color, crispy skin, and tender, aromatic meat.

Check all the Top 10 Food & Snacks in Inner Mongolia >>

Besides the Lhoba minority, there are 55 ethnic groups living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, including the Mongolian, Han, Manchu, Hui and Ewenki, etc. Among the ethnic minorities, Mongolians account for the majority.

Mongolian (蒙古族) are warm-hearted people as they treat others warmly and politely. They greet everyone they meet and present Hada, which represents holy and auspice, and hanging it onto the guest’s neck means that they consider their guests very distinguished. Guests should bend forward as a way to express their gratitude. When getting into a Mongolian’s home, guests will be treated very well by being given wine. Also, a lot of snacks and cuisines are offered. The best way to experience Mongolian customs is to attend a Zhama Banquet (诈马宴) when you visit grasslands.

If you are planning to visit Hulunbuir, there is another interesting minority worth visiting - the Olunchun Minority (鄂伦春). The Oroqen is a primitive hunting nationality that makes a living as a hunter in primeval forest, mainly living in the forests of the Great Khingan Mountains. You may meet the Oroqens at Aoluguya Reindeer Village, admire their unique Cuoluozi houses and then meet groups of adorable reindeers, feed them, touch them and take photos with them up close.

Recommended Inner Mongolia Minority Tours:
☛ 4 Days In-depth Hohhot Xilamuren Tour with Grassland Activities
☛ 6 Days Hulunbuir & Great Khingan Highlights Tour