National Naadam – The Three Manly Games

National Naadam (Eriin Gurvan Naadam) is an intensive 3-day traditional sporting and cultural festival held annually in mid-July across the central stadiums and open steppes of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The celebration honors the country’s centuries-old nomadic warrior heritage and formally marks Mongolian National Day. Competitions are centered around the “Three Games of Men”: traditional wrestling, long-distance horse racing across the plains, and mounted archery, supplemented by knucklebone shooting. Historical continuity is traced back to the imperial era of Genghis Khan, when great assemblies were marshaled to test the battle-readiness and stamina of nomadic forces. Ceremonies are formally opened at the National Central Stadium through an elaborate state parade featuring the revered Nine White Banners of the Mongol Empire.

Google Maps location of the main event activities can be found here.

Beyond the athletic spectacle and competitive intensity of the arena, National Naadam aims to instill deep pride in ancestral nomadic resilience and pastoral traditions. That enduring steppe identity is celebrated through highlights such as:

• Grand Opening Ceremony: A ceremonial pageant featuring military marching bands, state dancers, and the sacred Nine White Banners escorted into the stadium.
• Traditional Wrestling (Bökh): An elimination tournament featuring hundreds of unranked wrestlers competing in open-air matches without weight classes or time limits.
• Steppe Horse Racing: High-endurance cross-country races held across open grasslands at Khui Doloon Khudag, ridden primarily by experienced child jockeys.
• Traditional Archery Tournament: Precision contests where male and female archers shoot handcrafted composite bows at woven leather cylinder targets.
• Anklebone Shooting (Shagai): A traditional dexterity contest where players flick sheep anklebones across small wooden target tracks.
• Deeltei Mongol Costume Pageantry: A public display of colorful traditional tunics, hats, and sashes worn by participants and attendees from across Mongolia’s diverse ethnic groups.

Attendance at the outdoor archery fields and the Khui Doloon Khudag horse racing valley is free of charge, but entering the National Central Stadium for the grand opening ceremony and wrestling finals requires specific ticket purchases (~$25–$50 USD face value, though tour packages range significantly higher). Due to extreme demand and rapid sellouts, travelers without stadium seats frequently utilize public viewing plazas equipped with broadcast screens immediately outside the venue grounds. Journeys to the horse racing steppes necessitate early morning departures west of Ulaanbaatar to circumvent intense regional traffic bottlenecks.
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