2015-11-19             Adventure Rider

Join us for the Annual Golden Eagle Festival in late September
Eagle hunting, one of the most dramatic and primal relationships between man and beast, is alive and well in the remote mountains of Western Mongolia. It originated in Central Asia more than two centuries ago among the Kazakh tribes. Since then, Kazakh men have hunted from horseback with trained golden eagles - one of the planet's largest and most powerful of raptors. Across mountains and steppes, a large variety of animals, including rabbits, marmots, foxes, and even wolves are hunted for their fur, an integral part of the traditional Kazakh clothing.

A once in a lifetime experience...meet the remarkable eagle hunters and their birds, to learn about their techniques of capturing and training an eagle
During our eight day trip we will join the hunters on an actual hunt and see eagles fly in pursuit of their prey. As the hunters are on horseback, so will you during the actual hunting portion of the trip. You should, therefore, be prepared to spend some time, possibly a few hours, on horseback. You do not have to be an expert rider as mongol ponies are strong, but small, which make them relatively easy to mount. Also, we will mostly walk, and sometimes trot, which are the only natural paces in this mountainous terrain, we virtually never canter.

In addition to the excitement of the Eagle Hunt itself, you will also experience being in the Altai Mountains, one of the most spectacularly beautiful parts of Mongolia and Central Asia.

For a once in a lifetime experience, join us for the annual Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ulgii in late September. The festival also includes other unique events such as competitions between the eagles, horseback racing, archery and great Kazakh traditional games such as Kokbar and Khiz Huar.

This unique trip also offers you the opportunity to meet the Kazakh people in person as you may choose to live with one of the Kazakh families for one or more days, Nomad Home Stay Tour and get first hand knowledge of their unique culture and traditions.