Eagle hunting

You will leave your home country with a scheduled flight, spend the night on board and arrive in Ulaan Baatar the following morning. 

On your arrival at the airport in Ulaan Baatar you will carry on the customs procedures and at the exit you will be received by your local guide that will bring you to the hotel.

In the afternoon you will visit the capital, with its Sukhebaatar square and Bogd Khan Palace, built between 1893 and 1903, where the last Mongol king Javzan Damba Hutagt VIII lived. This complex of temples contains many Buddhist works of art and the private collection of personal belongings and clothes of the king.

Overnight in hotel. Lunch and dinner are included.

On this day you will fly to Khovd and then you will travel by road to Deluun in Bayan Olgii province, a town mainly inhabited by Kazakh people.

The Kazakh started to enter Mongolia from northern China in the 19th century, looking for summer pastures for their cattle. Until Mongolian independence in 1921, they led a nomadic life, spending the summers on Mongolian territory and returning to the plains of China for the winter.Kazakh culture is quite different from Khalkh Mongolian's.

They do not wear the Mongolian Del but baggy shirts, trousers and long black cloaks as well as a skullcap or a fox-fur hat. The gers are bigger and richly decorated with felt carpets, called "koshma" and wall hangings called "tush". They are not Buddhist but Sunni Muslims.

The Kazakh culture in Mongolia is far more intact than that of strongly russified Kazakhstan . You will stay in a separate ger next to the family of the hunter. The ger has a stove for the heating and beds. The family will prepare traditional Mongolian dishes.

Overnight in a ger camp. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

You will spend six days with the Kazakh people and discover their traditions and unique culture.  Eagle hunting is a very old Kazakh tradition. Usually female eagles are used as they are bigger, heavier and far more aggressive.

Young birds are caught in the valleys, brought up and then trained. The eagles will mainly hunt foxes for their fur, that's also why the hunt takes place mainly during the cold season, as furs are at their best during wintertime. Other animals hunted by the eagles include marmots for their meat, and sometimes even wolves. 

Overnight in a ger camp. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

After spending seven unforgettable days, you will return to Khovd and fly back to Ulaan Baatar, where you will have a free afternoon for shopping at cashmere factory or in department stores. Before dinner you may attend a folklore show.

Overnight in hotel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

Today you will visit the Buddhist Gandan Monastery, the most important temple in Mongolia, and you will have the chance to attend the morning prayers. Inside the Gandan complex there is the Migjid Janraisag temple, where you can see the huge gilded statue of Buddha Migjid Janraisag.

After that you will go to Choijin Lama Museum: the ancient house of the main lama (Luvsan Haidav Choijin) is now a museum with a rich collection of Buddhist art. Later on, you can learn more on different people and history of this country going to the National History Museum. 

Today a typical lunch in a local restaurant is also scheduled. Overnight in hotel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. 

Today you will leave Ulaan Baatar to fly back home.