Customs officials want to keep out drugs and expensive imports that might be sold to Mongolians; and want to keep in old paintings, statues, fossils, works of art and mineral samples. Baggage searches of foreigners exiting Mongolia by air are sometimes rigorous, but train to China or Russia , when most passengers are asleep.

If you are legally exporting any antiques, you must have a receipt and customs certificate from the place you bought them .Most reliable shops in Ulaanbaatar can provide this. If you don't get one of these you'll need to get one from the Department of culture /Tel: 320024/ at the Ministry of Enlightenment in Ulaanbaatar .

You'll need to fill in a form giving your passport number, where the antique was purchased and two photos of the antique itself.

If you have anything which even looks old ,it a good idea to get a document to indicate that it is not an antique. That goes for Buddha images and statues as well.

During your trip you will probably be offered furs of rare animals, antique items like snuffboxes , bits and pieces from the Erdene Zuu monastery ,and even fossilized dinosaur bones and eggs . Locals will only sell these things as long as foreigners buy them , so please do not buy anything rare , old or precious to Mongolia 's history . The fine for illegally exporting fossils is from US $100 $ to US $150 , or five years in jail.

When you enter Mongolia , you must fill out an English language Customs Declaration form to declare any prohibited items, all precious stones and all "dutiable goods ". You are also asked to list all "money instruments"- i.e. currencies -which you bring into the country. There is no need to be too accurate; this form is not checked on your way out. You should, nevertheless, keep all receipts when you change money at banks, though changing money with licensed moneychangers is regal.

The Customs Declaration is checked by the customs official and then returned to you. When you leave Mongolia , you will be asked to hand in the form - so keep it safe during your trip. You can bring one litre of spirits, two litres of wine, three litres of beer and 200 cigarettes into Mongolia duty -free.