Driving through the empty steppes of Mongolia

The Mongol Rally

Drive between the UK and Mongolia in a clapped-out old car.

This overland adventure is organised by The Adventurists every summer, pandemics (and wars) permitting. There’s no set route or backup. So you’re on your own for the 10,000-mile journey between the UK and the finish line in Ulan-Ude, just north of the Mongolian border.

There might be a finish line, but this isn’t a race. The Mongol Rally is all about the journey. The longer and more circuitous your route, the better.

Rules of Mongol Rally

Rules are limited: the car must be small and utterly unsuited to a 10,000-mile overland adventure on terrible roads, with an engine size of no more than 1.2 litres.

You’re entirely on your own (that’s counted as the second rule), so don’t expect any backup if you get stuck along the way; you’ve got to deal with that shit yourself.

The only other rule is that you must raise £500 per team in sponsorship for The Adventurists’ official charity, Cool Earth, and an extra £500 for a charity of your choice. Cool Earth supports indigenous people to protect their rainforest homes and prevent deforestation.

Parked in front of Ashgabat's Arch of Neutrality in Turkmenistan, a surreal city we passed through on the Mongol Rally

Route of Mongol Rally

There is no route! Just two dots on the map, one in the UK and one in, or near, Mongolia. You get to decide everything in between. Go north through Siberia or south through the deserts of Central Asia; the choice is entirely yours.

Our 2017 Route for the Mongol Rally

We chose a route passing through as many countries as possible. After crossing Western Europe relatively quickly, we slowed down as we travelled through seven Balkan countries before passing over the Bosphorus into Asia in Istanbul.

Instead of continuing overland through Iran (too many weird visa rules), we caught one of the Caspian Sea ferries from Baku, in Azerbaijan, to Turkmenbashi, in Turkmenistan. Then, after meandering around the Stans, including the old Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan and the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, we crossed into Russia.

Ak-Baital Pass, Tajikistan. This was the highest point of our Mongol Rally at 4,655 metres above sea level

From there, we quickly nipped across the border into Mongolia via the picturesque Altai Republic. It took us about a week to cross from Mongolia’s eastern border to the capital, Ulaanbaatar. After that, it was a long day’s drive to the finish line in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

Camping on the border with Afghanistan with other Mongol Rally teams

Logistics of the Mongol Rally

Logistically there are three main things to consider before setting out on the Mongol Rally:

1. 1. 1. Visas. This is the big one and takes some planning. Every country has different requirements, different timeframes and different application processes. Start this at least six months before you set out. You don’t want to be one of those teams stuck in no man’s land between two countries for days.
    2. Insurance. Try to get car insurance that comes with a Green Card international certificate of insurance. If you don’t have this Green Card, you must pay for insurance on entry to many countries en route.
    3. What to do with your car at the end. You can no longer dump your piece-of-shit vehicle at the finish line and forget about it. So you’ll need to get it back to the EU. The Adventurists require a deposit before you start the rally, which can be used to ship the car back at the end. Or do what we did; drive home and get your deposit refunded on your return.

Besides the main three, you’ll also need an International Driving Permit, easily obtained from Post Offices in the UK, personal travel insurance, and the vehicle registration document in your name (this is checked at every border, so you won’t get far without it).

On our way to Mongolia we passed through Russia

OUR trip

MONGOL RALLY BLOG POSTS

BLOG POSTS ARE SEQUENTIAL

Days 1 - 3

The Mongol Rally: Setting Off

Our car for the Mongol Rally - Renault Clio - Square

The first leg of the Mongol Rally took us from Chris’ home near Manchester, in the UK, to tiny Liechtenstein.

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Days 4 - 9

The Mongol Rally: The Balkan Detour

A six day Balkan detour we took on the Mongol Rally, to explore some of the historic sights and natural wonders.

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Days 10 - 15

The Mongol Rally: Welcome to Turkey

Tuz Golu on the drive to Cappadocia - Square

Our first experience of Turkey was not a pleasant one. Three hours queueing in 35°C heat. Baking in a gigantic mass of cars.

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Days 16 - 20

The Mongol Rally: Crossing the Caspian Sea

On board the ferry for 31 hours and running short of food after a 14-hour wait for our turn in port, I suppose this is progress of sorts.

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Days 21 - 23

The Mongol Rally in Turkmenistan, a police state

Sharing the road with the locals during the Mongol Rally through Turkmenistan SQUARE | Travel Obscure

Turkmenistan is one of the world’s most closed countries. Five million people in a vast desert, ruled by a despot and running on oil wealath.

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Days 24 - 28

The Mongol Rally: Silk Road Wanderings

Mongol Rally Timurs burial place the Gur E Amir in Samarkand SQUARE | Travel Obscure

A Silk Road fort and trading post, the capital of the Shaybanid state of Khorezm, and the biggest slave market in Central Asia well into the 19th century.

Days 29 - 34

The Mongol Rally: The Pamir Highway

Mongol Rally Pamir Highway One of many precarious bridges on the Pamir Highway - SQUARE

The Pamir Highway is a high altitude road linking Khorog, on the Tajik side of the Afghan border, with Osh in Kyrgyzstan

Days 35 - 36

The Mongol Rally: Kyrgyzstan, a horse meat scandal?

Mongol Rally Horses have right of way in Kyrgyzstan - SQUARE

Gone was the high-altitude lunar landscape of the Pamirs, instead replaced by a rolling pastureland (called jailoo) fringed by snow-capped peaks and covered with yurts and horses.

Days 37 - 41

The Mongol Rally: Crossing the Endless Steppe

Mongol Rally The view of Almaty from Kok Tobe - SQUARE

The Eurasian steppe stretches from Eastern Europe to Manchuria on the Pacific coast. It covers many countries in this region and has historically been home to a host of nomadic peoples and their herds.

Days 42 - 44

The Mongol Rally: Within sight of Mongolia

Mongol Rally One of Barnaul’s old trams - SQUARE

After a few hours of driving through the same flat landscape, the land gradually rose up into the Chuya range. This part of the road is reputedly one of the world’s great drives.

Days 45 - 49

The Mongol Rally: Making Like Nomads in Mongolia

Mongol Rally With our wonderful Mongolian nomad hosts - SQUARE

Mongolia is vast, and while it has some stretches of immaculate new tarmac, much of the country has no real roads to speak of.

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Day 50

The Mongol Rally: Crossing the Mongol Rally finish line

We finally reached Ulan Ude and the Mongol Rally finish line a little before midnight, with the finish line fireworks visible as we approached the city.

Days 51 - 56

The Mongol Rally: The Long Drive Home Part 1 (Russia is massive)

Mongol Rally - A once-grand church in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Russia - SQUARE

We left the finish line almost as soon as we arrived, turned on our heels and set off east. East into the Siberian forest.

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