Our team will welcome you as you arrive in Ulaanbaatar city. The chauffeur will transfer you to the your hotel. Enjoy the sight of the historic city of Ulaanbaatar as you drive through the city. Spend rest of the day in leisure and absorb the serenity of the Steppe. Overnight stay in a four star hotel in Ulaanbaatar.
In the morning we will be doing the city tour of Ulaanbaatar, which will take us through some of the principal sights of this unique city. We will visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26 meter high gilded statue of the Buddha. Our tour will also take us to the Genghis Khan monument on the Sukhbaatar square and the Museum of National History, which has a number of fascinating displays of traditional Mongolian clothing and weaponry, as well as exhibits charting the course of Genghis Khan's empire-building. Overnight stay in a four star hotel in Ulaanbaatar.
Early in the morning or in the afternoon, we take the flight to Olgii, the center of Bayan-Olgii province in the far west. Arrive and transfer to a Kazakh eagle hunter’s family and get orientation with their life and the area. Overnight stay at an Eagle Hunter Kazakh Family Homestay. NB: There is no English word for the hunting with eagles such as 'eagler'. The professional Kazakh hunters in Mongolia call the hunting with eagle berkutchy. A berkutchy is a lifelong profession, and often a hereditary one. The relationship of the bird and its master is constant, and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the berkutchy must sacrifice his sleep for a long period. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under its hood until its dependence on its master become complete. Such intimacy must turn into a lifelong trust with the eagle - twenty years or more. And it is said that as the man trains the eagle, so does the eagle trains his man.
Today we take part in the eagle training and preparation for the wonderful Eagle Festival for the next 2 days. Witness and photograph the spectacular moments of the eagle training and prey catching etc. Enjoy the best of Kazakh cuisine. In the afternoon, drive back to Olgii and transfer to the local hotel. Overnight stay in a hotel in Olgii.
The first day of the festival: Eagle hunters compete in their beautiful traditional costumes. The horses and eagles are also traditionally decorated for the parade from the Olgii Central square to the competition arena. Later in the afternoon the eagles compete for their speed, agility and hunting skills. A remarkable experience where the skies are no limit and where the dreams fly high. Overnight stay at a local hotel.
Witness the festival taking its peak on the second day. Today’s is the day of a dramatic and competitive game-task for the eagles, where they have to catch the prey within the shortest time to gain maximum scores. Kazakh traditional games like Kokbar etc are played among the spectators. The best eagles with their best trainers are awarded in the evening. It's two days of thrilling experience of one of the most unique game and festival that you can experience. Overnight stay at a local hotel.
After breakfast, we fly back to Ulaanbaatar which will take ~3 hours. In Ulaanbaatar we may stop over at a cafe or restaurant for light refreshments before taking our drive to Hustai National Park, one of the most popular national parks of Mongolia through the rolling steppes. In Hustai National Park witness the wonderful Takhi wild horses and other wildlife and the natural beauty is not to miss. Overnight stay in a Ger camp.
In the morning, we drive back to Ulaanbaatar and then transfer to hotel. Later in the day we visit the Bogd Khaan’s Palace Museum – the residence of the last king of Mongolia and the Buddha Park. Farewell dinner at Mongolian BBQ restaurant as a token of our love and warmth.
In the morning after breakfast we will be checking out of the hotel and our chauffeur will drop you to your port of departure for you sweet and safe journey back to home.
At zerodegreel
every moment will someday make you look back and want to experience it all over again.
