2-Day Spring Golden Eagle Festival near Ulaanbaatar
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Golden Eagle Festival β Gorkhi-Terelj National Park
We pick you up from your accommodation at 09:00 and head to the Chinggisiin Khuree tourist ger camp, the festival venue, for a full day at the event. The opening ceremony starts at 10:00 with an introduction and a narration on the history and traditions of eagle hunting. Next comes the traditional dress show, where the Kazakh hunters display their handmade outfits of fox fur and embroidered felt. Before lunch, the Eagle Call competition tests each hunter's ability to call his eagle down to his horse from a distance. After lunch comes the fox-skin competition, the real test of a hunter's skill, in which the eagles must catch a fox skin dragged behind their trainer's galloping horse. Then watch Kazakh horseback games: Bushkashi, a tug of war played on horseback with a goat skin and common throughout Central Asia; Kyz Kuar, a horseback race between a man and a woman; and Tiyn Teru, in which riders lean down to pick up coins from the ground at full speed. Afterward, drive about 70 km (1 hour on a paved road) to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, northeast of Ulaanbaatar and famous for its granite rock formations and alpine scenery, and spend the night in a tourist ger camp.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park β Chinggis Khaan Statue β Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, start with the gigantic Turtle Rock, a granite outcrop weathered into the shape of a giant tortoise. Then enjoy a 1-hour horse ride through the Turtle Rock area, taking in the sights and sounds of nature and climbing for a view over the snowy valley. No riding experience is required. Next, take a short hike to Ariyabal Meditation Temple, a lovely, modern temple set among scenic rocky mountains. To reach it, you cross a suspension bridge and climb 108 steps, one for each bead of a Buddhist prayer rosary. After lunch, drive about 40 km on a paved road to the Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue. At 40 m, it is believed to be the tallest equestrian statue in the world, and an elevator takes you to an observation deck on the horse's head for photos over the steppe. Finally, drive about 55 km on a paved road back to Ulaanbaatar, where we drop you at your accommodation at around 17:00.