5 Days Eagle Festival Winter March

5 Days Eagle Festival Winter March

It’s an annual event which has been successfully organized since 1999. The general or the biggest Festival takes place in Western Mongolia, Bayan-Ulgii province on the first weekend of October each year. But in the recent years in order to make it available for most of the travelers, local communities and tour agencies started to organize other probably smaller scale Eagle Festival annually in Ulaanbaatar and obviously Ulgii city which is the home falconers. We would like to provide you opportunities to be the part of this rare cultural event.

Itinerary

Day 1: Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex

Stop At: Genghis Khan Statue Complex, Tsonjin Boldog, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Chinggis Khaan Complex- via Festival – Terelj National Park 130km Each year some numbers of falconers travel from for West of Mongolia to cherish their unique culture and tradition of training and hunting with eagles. The Festival is consists of several kinds of contests majorly to evaluate the training skills of falconers and finesse of eagles to hunt. Oftentimes prey of those eagles are steppe foxes, rabbits and other small cats and wolves. Skill contests are held all day long together with other traditional games such as coin picking up or kokpar (literally meaning goat pulling).

Over the course of the game, horse mounted young Kazakh men will attempt to place a goat or sheep carcass.

Whoever catches the goat first shall bring it behind the predefined line whilst other competitors will try their best to snatch it from him. During the festival, some local crafts women will also present their art works such as bags, pillow cases, wall hangings, traditional fox fur hats and so on.

Opening speeches given by organizers and honored guests. Morning parade of Eagle hunters with their traditional hunting outfits and gears. Following the parade, first game of the Eagle call or Shakiru will be started. Masters will place their eagles above on the hill and will call them either their arms or within predefined circle for better score by standing down the hill. Afternoon break.

Lunch picnic Flying Eagles for Shirga. Shirga is one of the training methods before taking the bird for the actual hunting. Master will drag an animal fur attached to a rope on horseback, whilst the hide is being drawn; when the bird sees form above the hill, it as its prey and will dive onto it. Later winner falconers will be awarded prizes of honor. Late afternoon continue driving Terelj National Park.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight optional: Tourist ger camp / ger guesthouse

Day 2: Festival day

Stop At: Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Chinggis Khaan Complex- via Festival – Terelj National Park 130km Each year some numbers of falconers travel from for West of Mongolia to cherish their unique culture and tradition of training and hunting with eagles. The Festival is consists of several kinds of contests majorly to evaluate the training skills of falconers and finesse of eagles to hunt. Oftentimes prey of those eagles are steppe foxes, rabbits and other small cats and wolves. Skill contests are held all day long together with other traditional games such as coin picking up or kokpar (literally meaning goat pulling).

Over the course of the game, horse mounted young Kazakh men will attempt to place a goat or sheep carcass.

Whoever catches the goat first shall bring it behind the predefined line whilst other competitors will try their best to snatch it from him. During the festival, some local crafts women will also present their art works such as bags, pillow cases, wall hangings, traditional fox fur hats and so on.

Opening speeches given by organizers and honored guests. Morning parade of Eagle hunters with their traditional hunting outfits and gears. Following the parade, first game of the Eagle call or Shakiru will be started. Masters will place their eagles above on the hill and will call them either their arms or within predefined circle for better score by standing down the hill. Afternoon break.

Lunch picnic Flying Eagles for Shirga. Shirga is one of the training methods before taking the bird for the actual hunting. Master will drag an animal fur attached to a rope on horseback, whilst the hide is being drawn; when the bird sees form above the hill, it as its prey and will dive onto it. Later winner falconers will be awarded prizes of honor. Late afternoon continue driving Terelj National Park.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight optional: Tourist ger camp / ger guesthouse

Day 3: Terelj National Park

Stop At: Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Continue with the journey to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, a place of granite formations created by natural erosions, slopes covered with pine and larch, fields shattered with colorful wild flowers, pristine rivers and lake. Lunch with a local family Short stop at one of the highlights of the park, Turtle shaped rock and hiking to the Aryapalo Meditation Center.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight optional: Tourist ger camp / ger guesthouse

Day 4: Khugnu Khaan Nature Reserve

Stop At: Nature Tours llc - Khugnu Khan Tourist Camp, Gurvanbulag, Mongolia
Terelj National Park – Khugnu Khaan Nature Reserve 350km We will carry onto Khugnu Khaan Nature Reserve today which is a combination of all kinds of natural settings such as mountains, forest, steppe, desert, small lake and mineral water spring all in same location forming unique scenery and representation different natural zones. The area is perfect for hiking, climbing and horse riding. Experience Mongolian hospitality with locals. Camel riding on the dunes.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in the nomadic family’s ger

Day 5: Ulaanbaatar

Stop At: Bogd Khaan Palace Museum of Mongolia, Bogd Javzandamba Street 15 Khan-Uul District, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Khugnu Khaan –via Khustai National Park – Ulaanbaatar 310km On the way to Ulaanbaatar, we will stopover at Khustai National Park which is known as being a home of Przewalski wild horses. Named as “Takhi” in Mongolian, these are the last and only breed of wild horses in the world. Since its re-introduction, today in the Park, there are some 300 wild horses. The equality of the various ecosystems within the park assures abundant wildlife. 46 mammals, 172 birds, 2 amphibians, 3 reptiles, 16 fish, and over 289 insect species have been recorded. Arrive in town and transfer to your accommodation.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
No accommodation included on this day.