Golden eagle festival 2024 – western Mongolia

Day 1. to Ulgii
Fly to Ulgii town in western Mongolia for the golden eagle festival. Upon arrival at Ulgii airport, we will greet and escort you to your hotel where you can relax and rest. Afterward, we will have lunch at a local restaurant and then visit the town museum to learn about the culture, flora and fauna, and famous people of the region. Before returning to the hotel, we will take a leisurely walk up to a hilltop lookout point where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the town.
#Accommodation: Hotel
#Meals: B+L+D

Day 2. Golden eagle festival day 1
After breakfast, you will drive to Falconry Hill, where the festival will take place. It’s just a 15-minute drive away. The festival is not only popular among travelers but also attracts locals from Ulgii town. You’ll have the opportunity to mingle with the locals and witness this unique festival of eagle hunters who look like ancient time warriors. The festival kicks off with a grand parade, where eagle hunters gathered from nearby villages and mountains proudly display their impressive golden eagles.The main event of the festival is a thrilling contest amongst the eagle hunters to test the abilities of their specially trained eagles. The contest consists of two rounds, eliminating those who performed poorly. In addition, there will be various traditional games on display, such as archery, coin pick while galloping, and camel races. You’ll have the chance to enjoy all of these activities throughout the day at Falconry Hill. Dinner at a restaurant.
#Accommodation: Hotel
#Meals: B+L+D
#Driving time: 15min.

Day 3. Golden eagle festival day 2
Drive to Falconry Hill for the second day of the festival to see the winners of the contest. If you have a plan to buy a souvenir, this is the place where you will find the colourfully embroidered Kazakh handcrafts. The second day is a bit more interesting than the first because today golden eagles try to catch a fox’s skin dragged by a hunter and the eagle which catches the skin in the shortest time gets the highest score. A traditional game (tug of war over a goat carcass while on horseback) will be displayed today. The dinner will be served at a restaurant in town. Overnight.
#Accommodation: Hotel
#Meals: B+L+D

Day 4. Eagle Falconer’s place
Today we will drive into the mountains to meet a true eagle hunter and his family. The family lives in the mountains close to a village called Altai (110km). Surrounded by mountains that are full of foxes and hares, the area is a perfect place for hunting with a golden eagle. We will be staying at this humble, hospitable nomad family during our falconry trip tasting their hospitality. The family lives in a small wooden house in winter and a yurt in summer.
#Accommodation: yurt or wooden house
#Meals: B+L+D
#Driving time: 4 hour

Day 5 & 6 Falconry days
In the mornings we will mount on our small Mongolian horses and go to nearby mountain tops to experience this amazing hunting activity, an old tradition of the steppe people. Hunting real animals will require days sometimes. Return in the late afternoon. Enjoy the evenings with the family sitting at their expansive dinner table along with local music (throat singing included). While staying with this family you will have the opportunity to observe the daily lifestyle of mountain nomad people. 

Day 7. Ulgii town
Saying goodbye to the family ou will drive back to Ulgii. Once there, Have a lunch at arestaurant and check into our hotel. Enjoy a hot shower. Afterwards, you can take a leisurely stroll in the town center and explore the shops for colorfully embroidered Kazakh handicrafts. In the evening, we’ll gather together for a farewell dinner.
#Accommodation: yurt or wooden house
#Meals: B+L+D

Day 8. Farewell
You will be tranferred to the airport for your flight back to the capital.
#Meals: B
#Driving time: 15 min.

NOTE THIS:
*For this year our airline company offered insuffient number of flights to Ulgii town which caused incompatibilty between our tour schedule and flight. The flights are on Wednesdays and Saturdays (twice a week).
Our 8-day Golden Eagle Festival Tour ends on 10th October and you will have to spend the 11th in Ulgii town on your own for the next day flight (12th). If you want to fly back to Ulaanbaatar on 11th, there is a flight from Khovd town to Ulaanbaatar. Khovd town is about 3 hour drive from Ulgii on paved road. The flight is at noon so if this option is for you, we can drop you at Khovd airport at transfer charge.