Hunting an animal with the help of golden eagles is an age-old tradition of Kazakh folks for centuries who reside in the heart of the Altai Mountains, Mongolia. The Golden Eagle Festival is an annual traditional celebration held in Bayan-Olgii aimag, Mongolia. During the eagle festival, Kazakh eagle hunters honor their heritage and compete in lure-based and timed eagle handling events with specially trained golden eagles, showcasing the skills of both the birds and their trainers.
Most of the eagle hunters participate in the festival with their well-trained golden eagles. Not only eagle hunting games, but also competitions are held such as “Kokbar,” coin grabbing from the ground on horseback, and “Kyz Kuar”/explained below/.
Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to experience hunting with a golden eagle, immerse yourself in the amazing culture, and observe the daily lifestyle of a Kazakh nomadic eagle hunter family.
The adventure kicks off with an early domestic flight to Ulgii town. You’ll be greeted by a tour guide and driver and embark on a journey to meet a local nomadic eagle hunter family residing in western Mongolia for about 1-2 hours, where most eagle hunter families live. As the locals are hospitable, you’ll be warmly greeted and immersed in the culture. Nomadic families have various daily tasks, such as milking cows and yaks, making dairy products, and more. You’ll also try your hand at some of them. Additionally, you’ll have ample opportunities to take photos with the golden eagles and eagle hunters. You’ll stay at a Ger camp beside the family. Overnight.(B/L/D)
Our morning short drive takes us to Hunter’s Hill, where the festival is held. The festival begins at 10:30 AM with the opening ceremony and introductions. Following that, the parade of all participants, adorned in their traditional coats.Next, the festival continues with the eagle call, which is a test challenging how well the hunters’ eagles are trained to recognize their voices.The “Tenge Ilu” – A horseman has to pick up coins from the ground while on horseback at a gallop.The competitions ends and we will return to the camp. Overnight.(B/L/D)
We will arrive at Hunter’s Hill at 10 AM, and the festival starts with a fox skin hunting event in which eagle hunters use fox skin dragging behind the horse and their eagles come to capture the skin. Golden eagles are tasked with catching a fox skin dragged behind their trainer’s horse.Furthermore, a traditional Kazakh competition called “Kyz Kuar” (pronounced as “qyz quwar”) takes place, involving the courting of youths in the Kazakh manner. The rule is quite simple: a young man on horseback stands at the starting line, and a young woman starts a certain distance behind him. They must race towards the finishing line, and when the woman passes the man, he has to catch and kiss her while both are still at full gallop. If he fails, he gets whipped by the woman until they reach the finishing line.One of the interesting parts of the festival is “Kokpar,” also known as Buzkashi, which means goat grabbing in Persian. Today, this fierce game involves horseback players fighting for possession of goat skin and was played by Turkic populations between the 10th and 15th centuries.Afterward, we will compete in the Eagle Festival and traditional games and award the winners. Arrive in Ulgii town and spend the night at hotel.(B/L/D)
u’ll have an early breakfast at the tourist camp. Then, will get transferred to the airport by drivers and tour guides. We’ll bid farewell, hoping to be a part of your unforgettable vacation and bring some vibrant moments to your life.(B)
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