Mongolian Naadam Festival

The biggest event of the year in Mongolia for foreigners a locals alike is the great Naadam Festival, held annually in July, is a thrilling three-day sporting event that has been happening for centuries. In Chinggis Khaan’s time it happened at different times of the year, particularly in summer. Since 1922, when Sukhbaatar ordered a naadam to mark the first anniversary of the revolution on July 11 it has been held annually – from July 11 to 13. The festival highlights Mongolia’s three manly sports’- horse racing, wrestling and archery.

Naadam is the most widely watched festival among Mongols and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. It has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that followed the celebration of various occasions, including weddings or spiritual gatherings. It later served as a way to train soldiers for battle and was also connected to Mongols' nomadic lifestyle. Mongolians practice their unwritten holiday rules that include a long song to start the holiday, then a Biyelgee dance. Traditional cuisine, or Khuushuur, is served around the Sports Stadium along with a special drink made of fermented horse milk (airag). The three games of wrestling, horse racing, and archery are recorded in the 13th-century book The Secret History of the Mongols. During the Qing dynasty's rule, Naadam became a festival officially held by sums.