First weekend of October. Kazakh eagle hunters ride down from the Altai. This is not a performance — it is a working culture that lets you watch.
Nyamsuren E.
In the far western province of Bayan-Olgii, where Mongolia meets Kazakhstan and Russia and China, the Kazakh minority has practised eagle hunting for centuries. The eagles — female golden eagles, taken as chicks, kept for seven years, released back to the wild — hunt fox, hare, and wolf for their masters. The technique is 4,000 years old.
First weekend of October, in the hills outside Olgii city. Organised by the Kazakh community itself; this is not a government spectacle. Around 70 eagle hunters compete in four events: calling the eagle from a cliff, hunting a lure dragged on horseback, horse-back games with sheepskin, and traditional costume judging.
Hunters in fox-fur hats and embroidered coats. Eagles hooded on the forearm. The eagles weigh 6-8 kilograms each. The forearms are wrapped with leather. When the eagle takes flight, the hunter staggers backward from the launch.
Olgii has limited accommodation. We pre-block rooms at our partner ger camp 20 minutes from the festival ground. Hot water. Warm beds. Mornings are cold — -5°C at sunrise.
Fly UB to Olgii. Three hours. Spectacular Altai scenery on the descent. We arrange the domestic flight with your trip.
Eagle hunting is regulated by Mongolian law. Our partner family releases each female back to the wild at age seven (approximately half her life span). This is not conservation tourism in the Western NGO sense. This is a living tradition that happens to let you watch.