Eagle festival & Orkhon Valley tour
Two days among four hundred registered eagle hunters and their birds, then west into the valley the Mongol empire was run from.
A festival you can reach without a domestic flight
This tour combines the Eagle Festival with the highlights of central Mongolia. The festival is held at Chingisiin Khuree, 20 kilometres from the centre of Ulaanbaatar, where Kazakh eagle hunters show their eagles and compete in traditional horseback games. The rest of the tour takes you to Terelj National Park, the Khugnu Tarna reserve, the Orkhon valley and its waterfall, a day of horse riding, and historic Kharakhorum.
Day by Day
Terelj is one of the most popular destinations around Ulaanbaatar. It has been protected since the 1960s and became a national park in 1993, and it is connected to the city by a paved road. Wildlife in the park includes brown bears, grey wolves, foxes and more than 200 species of birds. We also visit the Chinggis Khaan statue at Tsonjin Boldog, on the bank of the Tuul river: a 40-metre statue of Chinggis Khaan on horseback, facing east towards his birthplace.
The Eagle Festival runs from 11:00 to 18:00 at Chingisiin Khuree, 20 kilometres from the city centre. During the festival we meet the eagle hunters and see their eagles up close. About 400 eagle hunters are registered with the Mongolian Eagle Hunters' Association. Most are between 30 and 70 years old, and the oldest is 88. The competitions include the Kazakh horseback game Zhamba Atu; Tenge Ilu, picking up a coin from the ground on horseback; the judging of the hunters' clothing and equipment and how well they handle their gear; Shyrga Tartu, which judges the eagles and their training; and Kokpar, the Kazakh goat-pulling game on horseback.
A second day at the festival, watching the rest of the competitions and spending time with the eagle hunters.
Khugnu Khan nature reserve covers 46,990 hectares in Rashaant soum of Bulgan province, at the point where three provinces meet. Alongside its mountains, the reserve has a remarkable stretch of sand dunes about 80 kilometres long, and the scenery is a striking mix of desert, mountain, river and green grassland. There are two monasteries in the reserve.
The Orkhon valley is one of the most visited places in central Mongolia. It was formed by a unique combination of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and its volcanic landscape is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its links to the history of the Mongol Empire. The Ulaantsutgalan waterfall, about 20 metres high, falls over the volcanic rock of the valley. There is also a chance to see the nomadic way of life, its culture and its traditions.
We ride horses through the Orkhon valley. The Ulaantsutgalan waterfall was formed about 20,000 years ago by a rare combination of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It is about 20 metres high and 10 metres wide, and its river flows 1,120 kilometres north before it joins the great Selenge river.
Kharakhorum was one of the most important cities in the history of the Silk Road. It was founded by Chinggis Khaan in 1220, but it grew into the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 1230s under his son Ogedei. The Mongols had a profound impact on trade across Central Asia, as their vast empire connected east and west. We explore the highlights of the city and visit Erdene Zuu, one of the oldest surviving monasteries in the country and a place of great historical and religious importance.
After breakfast at 9 am, we head back to Ulaanbaatar.
