Mongolia Pictures from the Russian Border to the Gobi Desert

Written By: The Planet D

A highlight of the Mongol Rally was reaching the ultimate destination – Mongolia.

The journey was sensational, but once we reached our final country, it blew us away. These are our favorite Mongolia Pictures from the Russian Border to the Gobi Desert. 

Mongolia Pictures

Golden-eagle-mongolia-1
The Golden Eagle of Mongolia

Chingis Khan

mongolia pictures chingis khat memorial
Chingis Khan is the National Hero of Mongolia

Horses

mongolia horses and yurts
You’ll see a lot of horses and yurts

However, on the Mongol Rally, We split up jobs more than usual. When Dave was driving, I snapped some shots and when I was driving, he took care of the video.

Gher Camp

Mongolia-ger-Camp

It ended up being a lot of fun changing roles for 5 weeks. One can’t be married to a fantastic professional photographer like Dave and not learn a trick or two. While I won’t be ditching my day job as a travel writer any time soon, I did enjoy getting behind the lens every once in a while to snap a few moments in the Mongol Rally.

mongolia in pictures
Beautiful landscape of Mongolia

Mongolia – Photos From The Road

mongolia pictures landscape
Camels in the Distance

Camels

mongol-rally-camels-car-mongolia
Driving Through Camels in the Desert
Russian mongolian border pictures
That is the border baby

Our Rally Car

mongol rally our car

Read: Tips for Driving from England to Mongolia

Characters

mongol rally participant

Rickety Bridges

mongolia bridge and dave
Dave scopes out our track over the bridge

Check out Car Mishaps of the mongol Rally

Tender Moments

meeting the locals in mongolia

Oversized Trucks

Crazy Roads

mongolia pictures several tracks
Which road should we choose?

Have a laugh at: Mongol Rally, Punctures are Part of the Game

A Lotta Ladas

mogolia in pictures ladas
A lot of Russian Cars

Read: 16 Interesting and Surprising Facts About Russia

Smashed Up Cars

mongolia photos smashed up cars
Many collisions happen on the roads

Our Transportation

mongolia in pictures our car needs some help
Our Car needs some help

Making new Friends

mongolia photos locals
Locals always lent a helping hand

Oovoos

mongolia pictures oovos
Oovos on the Side of the Road for Good Luck

Enjoy: Outdoor Living on the Mongol Rally

Charity

mongolia in photos charity
Our Charity – The Christina Noble Foundation in Mongolia

Visiting the Christina Noble Foundation in Mongolia. Thank you for all your contributions!

Gas Stations

pictures mongolia gas station
Interesting Gas Stops

Read: How to Fill Up a Car on the Mongol Rally

Visitors at our Camp

photos mongolia children

River Crossings

mongol rally river crossings
The Adventure Really Began in Mongolia

Read Next: Best Road Trips in the World

Travel Planning Resources

Looking to book your next trip? Why not use these resources that are tried and tested by yours truly.

Book Your Flights: Start planning your trip by finding the best flight deals on Skyscanner. We have used them for years and have found that they have the best flight deals.

Book your Hotel: Find the best prices on hotels with these two providers. If you are located in Europe use Booking.com and if you are anywhere else use TripAdvisor.

Find Apartment Rentals: You will find the cheapest prices on apartment rentals with VRBO

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. Here is what we recommend:

  • Safety Wing - Occasional Travelers.
  • Medjet - Global air medical transport and travel security.

Book Your Activities: Looking for walking tours, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more? Then we recommend Get Your Guide.

Need more help planning your trip? Make sure to check out our Resources Page where we highlight all the great companies that we trust when we are traveling.

About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine, the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

Leave a Comment

29 thoughts on “Mongolia Pictures from the Russian Border to the Gobi Desert”

    • Thank you Melissa. It was an amazing place to photograph. I couldn’t go wrong with a subject matter like Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It’s beautiful!

      Reply
  1. The rugged beauty of Mongolia reminds me of my time in South America. It’s a high priority for me to visit Mongolia on my next tour around Asia. Thanks for sharing this diverse photo essay.

    Reply
    • Hi Janna, yes we camped most nights in Kazakhstan and Mongolia. It was cold, but we had down jackets and sleeping bags. If you decide to do it, make sure to bring a hat and some long johns as well. We stayed pretty comfortable in our tents I must say even when the temperature plummeted.

      Reply
  2. I love your photos! I’m a sucker for landscape photography, and your pictures are awesome. I especially love the character picture though – the wild blonde hair, ski mask, bandana and double scarves against the desert backdrop is fab!

    Reply
  3. Great photos and captions, Deb. I love the first image of the lone car, surrounded by camels and blue sky. What an adventure! What were the temperatures like?

    Reply
    • Hi Janna, the temperatures were extreme. In the desert they were very hot, especially in Kazakhstan but at other times it was cold in the desert. Nights were mostly cold all the time, but days fluctuated in temperatures.

      Reply
  4. These are such great shots, Deb!! I particularly love the first one – the hazy (dusty?) lighting is awesome. Also the “Tender Moments” shot is so, well, tender. =)

    Reply
  5. Great shots Deb!! The horse cart one cracks me up as Dave and the guy look so serious…but all I can remember from that experience is smiles and laughter!

    Reply
    • Hi Cam, yep the rally is over. It felt like it barely began. It was in Mongolia that we were really getting into it. I could have driven for another month!

      Reply
    • Thanks Stephanie, I really liked the tender moments too. Steve was a great guy from the Sign Up Team. We ended up running into them quite a bit and enjoyed their company through Mongolia.

      Reply
  6. Deb,

    You’ve clearly managed to soak up some great knowledge from years of travel with Dave! I feel like I experienced Mongolia in 30 seconds (before going back and looking at the photos over and over trying to figure out which I liked best). My favorites are ‘Tender Moments,’ ‘Camels’ and ‘Gas Stations.’ This is a beautiful photostory! Congratulations Deb!

    Reply
    • Thanks Anis. I am still always picking Dave’s brain though. For some reason the technical aspects of photography don’t stick with me. I think it is because I can get very lazy since Dave is the photographer in the family. But I have decided to work a little harder on it over the winter. We’re slowing down for a couple of months to catch up on 2 years of falling behind on work, so hopefully Dave can take me out to work on my photography too!

      Reply
  7. Love this photo essay, Deb. Great job! It really puts the reader there with you…and that means a vicarious adventure, which is always a pleasure. Looks like a blast! PS: The oovoos are trippy… What are they?

    Reply
    • The Oovoos are stone monuments paying gratitude to the spirits protecting the surrounding area. They are all along the roads in Mongolia and people stop to circle them 3 times to bring luck.

      Reply
  8. Those are some great shots, Deb! I especially love the first one, characters, and the crazy missile thingy. Wow- some roads out there, eh?! yikes. Quite an adventure! I just read that Sherry returned to NYC- I just cannot imagine going to NYC after this!

    Reply
    • Thanks Lash, and so true. New York is definitely a change from Mongolia. Here it is wide open spaces and 1 horse towns. It is only in Ulaanbaatar that there is any sort of population in Mongolia.

      Reply
    • Thanks Gillian, Wait until you see Dave’s editing of video it is going to be amazing. Maybe we’ll keep up the role reversals for a while:-)

      Reply