HOW TO NAVIGATE IN THE STEPPE - 3 ESSENTIAL TOOLS TO DOWNLOAD: GOOGLE TRANSLATE, KOMOOT AND GOOGLE MAPS OFFLINE
Only few years ago, traveling in Mongolia was like a real expedition. Petrol was very difficult to find, food almost non existent, maps written in cyrillic and of very bad quality. Today, thanks to the new technology, things have become much easier. There are three essential tools to download before hitting the road: Google Translate, Komoot, and Google Maps Offline. Komoot is great for directions, while Google Maps is good for showing hotels, gas stations, and grocery stores. Google Translate Offline will allow you to communicate easily with locals. These three apps will be a lifesaver during your trip.
From far, the best way to navigate in the steppe is to use the GPS on your smartphone. You can download free GPS applications that can be used without being connected to internet. Your phone can be charged on a cigarette lighter socket on the motorbike and there you go: cheap, efficient and easy…
Be careful, the same village can have several different names which adds to the confusion. The best application is Mapsme which can be downloaded for free and whose names roughly match those of the map of Mongolia. Google maps is only recommended to find hotels. The names of the villages are often different
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Petrol stations can be found in any small villages (maximum distance between 2 stations won't exceed 100 kilometers. The motorbike autonomy is more than 300 kilometers) as well as food shops.
HOW TO FIND YOUR WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE ?
DOWNLOAD THE FREE APPLICATION - KOMOOT - ON YOUR SMARTPHONE SO YOU CAN USE THE GPS WITHOUT INTERNET CONNECTION. WORKS PERFECTLY IN THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE.
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GOOGLE EARTH is the tool for anyone wishing to travel safely in Mongolia. It is free to download and let you create routes with great precision. By paying attention, you can see the tracks that crisscross the steppe and insert your own path. It may also indicate villages, confluences of rivers, lakes and estimated distances. We propose some routes as well as important landmarks that you can download to your GPS.
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