Plate 03 · 47.9°N 107.0°E
Narantuul Market
Нарантуул
The city's real warehouse. Saddles, jeans, and meat.
Also called the Black Market. This is where UB shops, not where it performs. Aisles of riding tack, felt, phone cases, knock-off North Face, and a meat hall you will smell before you see. Go for the working Mongolia, not for a souvenir. Watch your bag. Leave the passport in the hotel safe.
- When and how long
- Saturday 9–11. Dead by mid-afternoon. Closed some public holidays. · 90 minutes
- Cost
- Free to enter. A decent second-hand del coat ₹2,500–₹6,500 if you bargain in tugrik. Fake cashmere is not a bargain.
- Area
- Bayanzurkh, east of the centre. Pair with nothing else — it is a half-morning of its own.
- Crowd and who
- Dense, local, jostling. Not a photo walk. Travellers who like markets. Not for anyone uneasy in crowds.
How to arrive
UBCab ₹200–₹400 (₮8,000–15,000) each way. Bus exists but signage is Cyrillic-only; not worth the first-day faff.
Tip
Buy a cheap enamel mug, a wool sock pair, and dried aaruul if you will be in a ger later. Do not buy 'antique' Buddhist objects.
Eat nearby
Khuushuur stall at the edge of the market — ₹25–₹55 each (₮1,000–2,000). Eat standing.
Skip or demote
Skip the tourist cashmere inner stalls. Real knitwear is labelled and costs real money in town shops.