Sain baina uu! Welcome to the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky”—Mongolia, a vast, landlocked nation in East Asia situated between Russia and China. There are around 3 million people living here, and the capital is Ulaanbaatar, where modern skyscrapers stand alongside traditional felt tents. The official language is Mongolian, written in the Cyrillic script, though the beautiful vertical traditional script is also making a comeback.

Mongolia covers about 1,564,116 square kilometers (603,909 square miles). To imagine its size, the country is roughly the same size as the state of Alaska in the U.S., or about half the size of India. It is one of the highest countries in the world, consisting of rolling steppes, the high Altai Mountains, and the famous Gobi Desert in the south.

The most popular sports are the “Three Games of Men”: Wrestling, Archery, and Horse Racing. Their national animal is the Przewalski’s Horse (Takhi), the only truly wild horse species left in the world.

The flag consists of three vertical stripes of red, blue, and red with the yellow “Soyombo” symbol on the left stripe, where the red represents progress and prosperity, the blue symbolizes the eternal sky, and the Soyombo is a geometric arrangement representing fire, sun, moon, and earth.

The food is designed for a nomadic lifestyle and the extreme cold. You must try Buuz, which are hearty steamed dumplings filled with minced mutton or beef. Another staple is Khorkhog, a Mongolian barbecue where meat and vegetables are cooked inside a jug using red-hot stones. You might also be offered Airag, a traditional drink made from fermented mare’s milk, which is a significant part of Mongolian hospitality.

Mongolia is home to the Gobi Desert, where the first dinosaur eggs in the world were discovered at the “Flaming Cliffs.” The country is the most sparsely populated sovereign nation on Earth, and about a third of the population still lives a Nomadic Lifestyle, moving their circular tents, called Gers, several times a year to find fresh pasture for their livestock. You can visit the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, featuring a massive 40-meter tall stainless steel statue of the legendary conqueror on horseback. In the west, the Eagle Hunters keep ancient traditions alive by training golden eagles to hunt on the vast open plains.

From the silent, singing sand dunes of Khongoryn Els to the crystal-clear waters of Lake Khövsgöl, Mongolia is a land of rugged beauty and immense horizons. Bayarlalaa! That means “Thank you!”