Comfortable resort in Terelj National Park offering both hotel rooms and traditional gers. Good facilities including restaurant, horseback riding, and guided hiking. Family-friendly with activities for children.
Terelj Star Resort occupies a riverside location inside Gorkhi-Terelj National Park in Töv Province, approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Ulaanbaatar. The drive from the capital follows a paved highway to the park gate before transitioning to a gravel track alongside the Terelj River, with the resort positioned to take advantage of valley views across the surrounding granite ridges and open grassland. The Turtle Rock formation is visible from the property on clear days.
The resort offers both hotel-format rooms in a main lodge building and traditional Mongolian gers — felt-lined round dwellings set on wooden platforms across the grounds. The ger option gives visitors a genuine nomadic living experience with central wood-burning stoves, colourful painted furniture, and hand-stitched interior decorations, while retaining camp facilities including a shared shower block. Hotel rooms in the main building provide private en-suite bathrooms and more conventional furnishings. The combination makes the resort particularly suitable for mixed groups where some travellers want ger authenticity and others prefer standard rooms.
The restaurant serves Mongolian staple dishes — khorhog (stone-cooked mutton), tsuivan noodles, and dairy products including airag (fermented mare's milk) when in season — alongside simpler international options. Portions are generous and suited to appetites built up by a day of outdoor activity. The activities programme is a central draw: horseback riding with experienced herder-guides, guided hiking to valley viewpoints and the Aryabal Temple, children's archery introductions, and evening cultural shows featuring traditional Mongolian music and contortion performances. A playground and open lawn make the property genuinely family-oriented. Private parking on-site accommodates self-driving visitors, which is the most common mode of arrival.
Amenities
- restaurant
- horseback riding
- hiking guides
- cultural shows
- free parking
- playground
Location
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Töv Province
47.9600, 107.4300 View on map
Highlights
- Traditional Mongolian ger accommodations alongside hotel rooms — suits mixed groups with different preferences
- Horseback riding guided by local herders through the Terelj valley and surrounding grassland
- Evening cultural shows featuring traditional Mongolian music, throat singing, and contortion
- Family-friendly design with playground, children's archery, and supervised outdoor activities
- Restaurant serving authentic Mongolian home-style cooking with locally sourced meat and dairy
Tips for visiting
- The ger experience is best in late spring and summer (May–August) when wood stoves are needed only for the evening chill — in deep winter the stoves require all-night tending and temperatures inside can still drop significantly.
- Book ger accommodations at least a month ahead for July, when Naadam Festival coincides with peak Terelj tourist season and the resort operates at full capacity.
- The evening cultural show typically runs for one to two hours after dinner; seating is limited, so check the schedule on arrival and reserve spots with the activities desk.
- Self-driving guests should bring printed directions or offline maps for the final 5 km inside the park, where signage is limited and GPS signals can be weak.
- The archery activity is suitable from around age seven upward; enquire at the activities desk about minimum age on the day, as it varies by group.
When to visit
May to September for full activities programme; July for Naadam Festival proximity.
Accessibility
Some level ground between facilities; gravel paths and uneven terrain make wheelchair access challenging in ger areas. Hotel rooms more accessible.