Calendar / Naadam Festival
ReasonToGo · activity-first travel discovery. Honest timing. No bookings, no commissions, no one pays to rank. How we choose →
Witness / Attend in Ulaanbaatar
Naadam Festival
Jul 11–13, 2027ConfirmedNational Naadam 2027
Scheduled and sanctioned by Government of Mongolia.
Dates & details verified against: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗
Why go
Naadam is Mongolia's national festival, and for three days each July the whole country turns to the three games its herders have always prized: wrestling, horse racing and archery. The main National Naadam fills Ulaanbaatar's National Sports Stadium with the opening ceremony and the wrestling tournament, while the horse races run cross-country outside the city, children riding half-wild horses over distances that would daunt an adult jockey. Archers in traditional dress shoot at woven-leather targets, and the streets fill with airag, khuushuur and crowds in the deel. UNESCO inscribed Naadam on its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010. The stadium spectacle is the headline, but the countryside naadams held in provincial centres the same week are smaller, closer and often more moving.
When it runs
Held every year on 11-13 July as a national holiday, with the main National Naadam in Ulaanbaatar's National Sports Stadium and smaller naadams across the provinces the same week. Upcoming: 11-13 July 2027.
- Jul 11–13, 2027ConfirmedNational Naadam 2027
- Jul 11–13, 2028ExpectedNational Naadam 2028
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.
What to expect
Naadam is a national holiday held every year on 11-13 July, opening in Ulaanbaatar on the 11th. The stadium events sell out, so seats and accommodation must be booked months ahead; July is warm and dry but afternoons can bring sudden steppe rain. Combine the capital's opening ceremony with a countryside naadam to see the horse racing in its natural setting.
Getting there & around
Ulaanbaatar has an international airport and is the hub for all domestic connections. Naadam falls on fixed dates, so flights and beds are scarce and expensive across 10-13 July; book months out. A guided trip handles stadium tickets, the drive to the horse-racing ground outside the city, and the pairing with a countryside naadam.
Where it happens
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Want to go? The full Ulaanbaatar guide: conditions, logistics, providers →