Volunteer Programs in Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar is the capital city and the biggest city in Mongolia. It is also the most surprising, with apartment buildings, designer stores, and even a Sky Bar. Ulaanbaatar is also the most popular place to volunteer in Mongolia, with many volunteers choosing to live and work here every year. As the capital city, there is much to see and your volunteer organisation may arrange weekly events for volunteers to get together. The National Theatre shows tradition Mongolian dancing and throat singing, plus there is the ballet and the famous Mongolian wrestling.

Ulaanbaatar is known as the coldest capital, as temperatures get as low as minus 40 degrees in the winter and up to 40 degrees in the summer. As a volunteer in Ulaanbaatar, you will find some locals are definitely willing to learn English and will want to practice with you. There’s a real choice of cuisine in Ulaanbaatar too, from Mongolian (which is traditionally mutton), to Korean, American, Russian, and Korean. Sukhbaatar Square is the main meeting place for volunteers and the hive of activity in the city, especially on weekends where you will find families gathered everywhere.

Most of volunteer programs in Mongolia are based in the capital, but you may also find yourself to the west of the city in the countryside, where most people don’t speak English. This is a great place to volunteer in Mongolia if you want to practice your Mongolian whilst learning about their way of life from making traditional colourful costumes and arts and crafts to milking yaks.