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.
We’ll be there to greet you at the airport when you arrive. Chinggis Khan International Airport is about 50 kilometers from downtown, and the drive to the city usually takes around an hour. The evening rush hour can be quite busy, so if you’re arriving in the evening, expect the drive to the hotel to take about three hours.
For those arriving in the morning or early hours, we suggest exploring some local attractions. We’ll organize a city tour for you, including visits to the Chinggis Khan Museum, which boasts a fascinating collection of historical artifacts, and the Gandan Monastery, Mongolia’s top Buddhist destination. Afterward, you’ll be transferred to your hotel.(D)
The same drivers will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the airport in the morning. The adventure kicks off with an early domestic flight to Olgii town, Western Mongolia, scheduled to leave Ulaanbaatar at 07:25 am and arrive in Olgii at 08:40 am. You’ll be greeted by a tour guide and driver at the airport, and the journey continues to meet a local nomadic eagle hunter family residing in the village of Sagsai for about 1 hour, where most of the eagle hunter families are living. As the locals are very 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. There is a ger camp with facilities like proper toilets and showers beside the family’s dwelling where we’ll stay overnight.(B/L/D)
Start your day with horseback riding alongside eagle hunters as they hunt with golden eagles. Typically, 2-3 eagle hunters will lead the way to the mountain hills, and you’ll join them on horseback while the driver remains nearby. Together, you’ll track the footprints of wildlife, such as foxes or rabbits, alongside the eagle hunters. Usually, eagle hunters hunt like foxes or rabbits with their golden eagles, but this is a rare occurrence for tourists due to the challenging terrain. Eagle hunters often ride to very high gorges where it’s unsafe for tourists to ride horses. Instead, you’ll explore safer areas of the mountains with the eagle hunters. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to observe how they train their golden eagles in the wild and even participate in training under their safe instructions. Throughout the day, the driver and cook will be nearby, providing refreshments like coffee and tea. Later in the evening, you’ll return to the family’s home where you’ll enjoy a mini concert featuring traditional local instruments. Dinner will be the traditional dish “Bes-Barmak,” and you’ll have the chance to engage in conversation about their way of life and perhaps even join in singing some songs.(B/L/D)
Our short morning drive takes us to Hunter’s Hill, where the festival is held. We’ll set up camp for our lunch, warm up, and grab some hot coffee just 100 meters away from the festival grounds.
The festival begins every year at 10 AM with the opening ceremony and introductions. Following that, the parade of all participants, adorned in their traditional coats, commences at 10:30 AM.
At 11 AM, the festival continues with the fox skin hunting event. Golden eagles are tasked with catching a fox skin dragged behind their trainer’s horse.
At 3 PM, 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.
At 4 PM, a horseman has to pick up coins from the ground while on horseback at a gallop.
The festival concludes at 5 PM, and we will drive back to town to attend an Ethno-Kazakh and Mongol Concert featuring traditional music and dance at the theater. We will spend the night at the Ger camp. (B/L/D)
We will arrive at Hunter’s Hill at 10 AM, and the festival starts with the eagle call, which is a test challenging how well the hunters’ eagles are trained to recognize their voices. Following that, camel races and Uriankhai archery competitions take place.
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 a goat skin and was played by Turkic populations between the 10th and 15th centuries.
The competitions end at 5 PM, and prizes will be awarded until 5:30 PM. (B/L/D)
You’ll head towards the Umnugol mountains for about 2 hours by drive, where you’ll meet the Uriankhai ethnic group, who have lived here for centuries. Their culture, language, and religion differ somewhat from the Khalkh Mongols. You’ll get a taste of their lifestyle and even try your hand at milking yaks and making dairy products from yak milk. Additionally, you’ll participate in a small Uriankhai archery competition with the locals. After bidding farewell to the family, you’ll drive for about 2 hours and arrive in Khovd town where you’ll spend the night in a hotel.(B/L/D)
After breakfast, you’ll be transferred to the airport in Khovd, and you’ll take off to Ulaanbaatar. Our driver and tour guide will be waiting for you at Chinggis Khan airport for you and you’ll transferred to the hotel. You’ll have time for stolling the city.(B)
Our driver will pick you up from your accommodation and take you to Chinggis Khan International Airport. We’ll bid you farewell, hoping that we were able to be a part of your unforgettable vacation and add some color to your life.(B)
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