Description
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.
What's included
- Transportation to and from Festival site
- English speaking guide at all times.
- Lunch
- Attendance admission
- Sightseeing as per itinerary
- 1.5 liter of drinking water supply per day per person
What's not included
- Accommodation in a hotel or hostel in Ulaanbaatar
- Hotel extras, such as telephone calls, bar bills and laundry services
- Travel insurance, medical insurance
- Visa application fees
- Alcoholic beverages
- Personal expenses such as IDD call, internet, laundry, items of a personal nature
- Gratuity to local guides and drivers
- Airfare or train ticket
- Airport taxes, excess baggage charges (over 44pound / 20kilo)
- Changes of arrival/departure flights
- Additional services
- Any charges of major force beyond our control (e.g. imposition, quarantine restrictions, etc…)
Packing list
This is a suggested packing list, which you should feel free to adjust to suit your needs. Please refer to our travel guide for more detailed information.
- backpack or soft bag
- head lamp/flashlight
- spare batteries/bulb
- personal medications
- winter coat
- winter boots
- fleece jacket or wool jumper
- cotton t-shirts
- long sleeve shirts
- winter long johns
- winter socks
- underwear
- sun glasses
- resealing (Ziploc) plastic bags
- binoculars/camera
- watch/ alarm clock
- money belt/ pouch
- insurance confirmation copy
- emergency contact number
- scarf
- Gloves
- winter mittens
- winter woolly hat
Important notice
Since the trip will be in the mountainous, a high altitude region of Mongolia, and the weather can be very unpredictable and you might even experience snow, we suggest you bring the following:
- Warm coat
- Gloves
- Scarf
- Woolen hat
- Long underwear / long johns
- Woolen jumper
- Woolen socks
- Sleeping bag (for -10 to -15C)
Please bring the above in addition to your usual gear and items for such a trip. Only Russian jeeps /minivans are available in this region
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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.