{"id":35554,"date":"2021-09-24T20:24:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T20:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/?p=35554"},"modified":"2022-12-27T16:09:39","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T16:09:39","slug":"where-eagles-fly-mongolias-eagle-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/where-eagles-fly-mongolias-eagle-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Eagles Fly: Mongolia\u2019s Eagle Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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The Golden Eagle Festival in Uglii, Mongolia. Photo: Michel Behar<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Mongolia\u2019s westernmost province,\u00a0remote Bayan-Ulgii, is where the\u00a0Altai Mountains unite\u00a0Western China<\/a>,\u00a0Russia<\/a>,\u00a0Mongolia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Kazakhstan<\/a>. Here on the rocky ridges overlooking the snow-dusted steppe, a dwindling number of ethnic Kazakhs living in Western Mongolia carry on a\u00a06,000-year-old tradition, hunting with magnificent golden eagles, one of the world\u2019s largest predatory birds.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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An eagle handler and his partner, dressed in their best, at the Golden Eagle Festival in Mongolia. Photo: Michel Behar<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Festival Like No Other<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n
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The 21st century has seen the inauguration of an annual Golden Eagle Festival, meant to celebrate and support the all-but-lost art of eagle hunting, during the first week of October. At the festival, the eagle hunters, called\u00a0berkutchi<\/em>, display their birds\u2019 speed, skill and training, as well as the deep bond that forms between bird and human.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Steppe nomads have used birds of prey for hunting for thousands of years. The birds\u2019 keen eyesight and ability to survey the grasslands from far above give them an advantage that humans were able to harness to their own ends. Today, youngsters are being taught to tame and train their own birds, and enter the competitions to test themselves and their birds. In a recent\u00a0years, young women have entered the sport and begun training in a discipline that had been exclusively male up until a few years ago, when the\u00a0first female eagle hunter<\/a> took part in active competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MIR travelers can experience the annual festival first-hand on our small group tour:<\/strong>\u00a0Mongolia\u2019s Golden Eagle Festival<\/strong><\/a>. Travelers can attend the annual Golden Eagle Festival, where the eagle hunters display their birds\u2019 speed, skill, and training, as well as the deep bond that forms between bird and human. Along the way, explore Mongolia\u2019s capital,\u00a0Ulaanbaatar<\/a>, with its Buddhist and nomadic heritage, and the fabled Gobi Desert.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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