🦅 Golden Eagle Festival & Altai Tavan Bogd Adventure – 8 Days
📍 Western Mongolia | Altai Mountains | Golden Eagle festival | Eagle Hunter Family | Altai Tavan Bogd national park
🦅 Golden Eagle Festival & Altai Tavan Bogd, Exclusive 8-Day Journey
This 8-day journey combines Mongolia’s most dramatic mountain landscapes with one of the world’s most authentic living cultural traditions. The tour is designed for travelers who want both raw wilderness and deep cultural immersion, far from mass tourism.
The adventure begins in Ulgii, the heart of Mongolia’s Kazakh community, before heading deep into the Altai Mountains. In Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, you explore a remote region of snow-capped peaks, vast glaciers, alpine valleys, and sacred landscapes. Highlights include panoramic views of Khuiten Peak, Mongolia’s highest mountain, the immense Potanin Glacier, the turquoise waters of Khoton Lake, ancient petroglyphs, and a scenic hike to Baga Turgen Waterfall.
Beyond the landscapes, this tour offers a genuine cultural encounter through a stay with a Kazakh eagle hunter family. You will learn about golden eagle training, daily nomadic life, and the deep bond between hunter and bird—traditions passed down through generations.
The journey concludes with full access to both official days of the world-famous Golden Eagle Festival. Witness powerful eagle hunting competitions, traditional nomadic sports, colorful Kazakh costumes, and emotional ceremonies that celebrate a living heritage found in very few places on Earth.
Ideal for culture lovers, photographers, and adventurous travelers, this tour delivers unforgettable scenery, rare cultural access, and exceptional photography opportunities—all during early October, the best time to experience western Mongolia.
This is not just a tour—it is a once-in-a-lifetime journey into the wild Altai and the soul of Kazakh nomadic culture.
⭐ Golden Eagle festival and Altai Tavan Bogd national park tour highlights:
- 🏔 Explore Altai Tavan Bogd National Park
- Discover one of Mongolia’s most spectacular and remote national parks, home to snow-capped peaks, vast glaciers, alpine valleys, and untouched wilderness.
- ❄️ View Mongolia’s Highest Peak & Largest Glacier
- Enjoy breathtaking views of Khuiten Peak (4,374 m) and the massive Potanin Glacier, surrounded by the sacred Five Peaks of the Altai.
- 🌊 Visit the Stunning Khoton Lake
- Relax beside turquoise alpine waters framed by dramatic mountains, and explore nearby ancient petroglyphs and historical sites.
- 🗿 Ancient Altai Heritage Sites
- See Turkic stone statues, burial mounds, and prehistoric petroglyphs that reveal thousands of years of nomadic history in the Altai region.
- 💧 Hike to Baga Turgen Waterfall
- Enjoy a scenic hike to one of the Altai’s hidden natural gems, set in a peaceful forested valley.
- 🦅 Stay with a Real Eagle Hunter Family
- Experience authentic Kazakh nomadic life through a homestay with a golden eagle hunter family, including daily routines, traditions, and warm hospitality.
- 📸 Eagle Hunter Photography Experience
- Capture powerful portraits of eagle hunters, golden eagles, horses, and traditional Kazakh clothing in a natural, non-staged environment.
- 🎉 Attend the World-Famous Golden Eagle Festival
- Witness both full days of the Golden Eagle Festival, featuring eagle hunting competitions, colorful costumes, and ancient nomadic sports.
- 🐎 Traditional Nomadic Games & Sports
- Watch thrilling events such as Shyrga Tartu, Kokpar, Kyz Kuar, horse racing, camel racing, archery, and traditional horseback games.
- 🏔 Remote & Unspoiled Western Mongolia
- Travel through one of Mongolia’s least visited regions, far from mass tourism, offering raw landscapes and genuine cultural encounters.
- 📸 Exceptional Photography Opportunities
- From glaciers and mountain lakes to eagles in flight and vibrant festival scenes, this tour is a dream for photographers and culture lovers.
- ✨ A Once-in-a-Lifetime Cultural & Nature Journey
- This tour combines Mongolia’s greatest natural wonders with one of the world’s last living human–eagle hunting traditions—an experience found nowhere else.
Itinerary:
- 🍽 Meals: Lunch, Dinner
- 🏕 Overnight: Nomadic Ger Camp / Yurt / Tent Camping
- 🚗 Driving: ~200 km | ~5 hours
✈️ Upon arrival in Ulgii, the cultural center of Mongolia’s Kazakh community, you will be warmly welcomed by your local guide and experienced driver.
🍽 After lunch in Ulgii, begin your journey toward the heart of the Altai Mountains.
🚙 The scenic drive to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park passes through wide open valleys, glacial rivers, alpine meadows, and dramatic mountain landscapes.
🏔 This region is one of Mongolia’s most remote and least visited areas, home to snow leopards, ibex, eagles, and nomadic herders.
🏕 Upon arrival near the park gate, settle into your nomadic ger camp, yurt stay, or tent campsite.
🌙 Enjoy a peaceful evening surrounded by snow-capped peaks and star-filled skies.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner
- 🏕 Overnight: Nomadic Ger Camp / Yurt / Tent
- 🚗 Driving: ~15 km off-road | ~2 hours one way
🚙 After breakfast, take an off-road drive deeper into the national park to reach a high-altitude viewpoint.
🏔 From this spectacular vantage point, admire sweeping views of the Potanin Glacier, Mongolia’s largest glacier, and Khuiten Peak (4,374 m), the highest mountain in the country.
❄️ The surrounding peaks form the famous “Five Sacred Mountains” of the Altai, revered by local nomads for centuries.
📸 Plenty of time for photography, quiet reflection, and exploration.
🥪 Picnic lunch surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery.
🚙 Return to camp in the afternoon for rest and relaxation.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- 🏕 Overnight: Nomadic Ger Camp / Yurt / Tent
- 🚗 Driving: ~160 km | ~4 hours
🚗 After breakfast, drive toward the breathtaking Khoton Lake, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in western Mongolia.
🗿 Along the way, stop to explore ancient Turkic stone statues, burial mounds, and deer stones, evidence of early nomadic civilizations that lived in the Altai region over a thousand years ago.
🏞 Upon arrival at Khoton Lake, enjoy time along the lakeshore where turquoise waters reflect surrounding snow-capped mountains.
📸 Visit nearby petroglyph sites, showcasing ancient rock carvings depicting animals, hunters, and daily life.
🌙 Overnight near the lake, enjoying the tranquility of one of Mongolia’s most pristine natural settings.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- 🏕 Overnight: Eagle Hunter Family
🚗 After breakfast, drive to the trailhead of Baga Turgen Waterfall.
🥾 Enjoy a scenic 1.5-hour hike through forested valleys and mountain terrain to reach the waterfall, one of the hidden natural gems of the Altai.
📸 Time to relax, photograph, and enjoy the sound of cascading water surrounded by alpine wilderness.
🚙 In the afternoon, continue your journey toward a remote countryside area to visit a Kazakh eagle hunter family.
🏡 Upon arrival, receive a warm Kazakh welcome and settle into a traditional family homestay.
🌙 Dinner and overnight with the family, experiencing authentic nomadic hospitality.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- 🏨 Overnight: Hotel in Ulgii
- 🚗 Driving: ~200 km | ~5 hours
🍽 Breakfast with the eagle hunter family.
🦅 Learn about the ancient tradition of golden eagle hunting, including training methods, daily care, hunting equipment, and the spiritual bond between hunter and eagle.
📸 Enjoy extended photo sessions with the eagle hunter, golden eagle, horses, traditional clothing, and surrounding landscapes.
🚗 In the afternoon, drive back to Ulgii city, watching the landscape gradually shift from wilderness to town life.
🏨 Check in to your hotel and rest after days in the mountains.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast
- 🏨 Overnight: Hotel in Ulgii
🚐 After breakfast, transfer to the festival grounds. Along the way, see eagle hunters arriving on horseback, dressed in richly embroidered Kazakh costumes.
🎊 The first day focuses on ceremony, identity, and cultural pride.
🦅 Golden Eagle Festival – Day 1 Program
- Registration and credential verification of eagle hunters
- Opening ceremony of the Annual Golden Eagle Festival
- Best Kazakh costume, eagle equipment & horse harness competitions
- Horse race
- Eagle adaptation competition
- Tenge Ily – traditional coin-grabbing game on horseback
- Uriankhai archery competition
- Best Kazakh costume competition for couples
- Evening folk concert at the local theater in Ulgii
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast
- 🏨 Overnight: Hotel in Ulgii
🚐 Return to the festival grounds for the most exciting and competitive day.
🎯 This day highlights true hunting skills, speed, precision, and teamwork between hunter and eagle.
🦅 Golden Eagle Festival – Day 2 Program
- Shyrga Tartu – eagle hunting competition (speed and accuracy)
- Camel race
- Kyz Kuar – traditional horseback chasing game
- Continuation of traditional nomadic games
- Kokpar (Kukhbar) – horseback competition over a goat skin
- Award ceremony for festival champions
- Closing ceremony
📸 Exceptional opportunities for action, portrait, and storytelling photography.
- 🍽 Meals: Breakfast
🚐 After breakfast, transfer to Ulgii Airport.
✈️ Flight back to Ulaanbaatar.
👋 End of an unforgettable journey into the heart of Kazakh nomadic culture and the world’s most authentic eagle hunting tradition.
ℹ️ Tour Notes – Golden Eagle festival and Altai Tavan Bogd national park tour
- 📅 Early booking strongly recommended – During the Golden Eagle Festival, domestic flights and accommodation in Ulgii are very limited and often sell out months in advance.
- ✈️ Domestic flights – Flights between Ulaanbaatar and Ulgii are limited and subject to weather-related schedule changes.
- 🏕 Accommodation standards – This tour includes a mix of ger camps, tent camping, and local hotels. Facilities in remote areas are basic but clean and authentic.
- 🌦 Weather conditions – Early October is cool to cold, with wind and possible light snow, especially in the mountains. Warm layered clothing is essential.
- 🚙 Road conditions – Long driving days on mostly unpaved roads. Travel times may vary depending on weather and road conditions.
- 🦅 Eagle hunting & wildlife – Eagle hunting demonstrations depend on weather, season, and wildlife movement and cannot be guaranteed.
- 📸 Photography – Excellent photography opportunities throughout the tour. Protect camera equipment from dust, wind, and cold.
- 🤝 Cultural respect – Always follow your guide’s advice and ask permission before photographing local people, especially during family visits.
🌍 Why Choose the Golden Eagle Festival and Altai Tavan Bogd national park tour?
- 🦅 Authentic Culture, Not a Show – Experience real Kazakh eagle hunters, living traditions, and the genuine Golden Eagle Festival.
- 🏔 Altai’s Greatest Landscapes – Explore glaciers, high peaks, alpine lakes, and remote wilderness in Altai Tavan Bogd National Park.
- 🏡 Deep Local Immersion – Stay with an eagle hunter family and learn their daily nomadic lifestyle firsthand.
- 🎉 Full Festival Experience – Attend both official days of the Golden Eagle Festival with all major competitions and ceremonies.
- 📸 Exceptional Photography – Eagles in flight, dramatic mountain scenery, vibrant cultural moments.
- 🌍 Remote & Unspoiled – Travel far from mass tourism into one of Mongolia’s least-visited regions.
- 🤝 Support Local Communities – Your visit directly benefits eagle hunter families and helps preserve an endangered cultural heritage.
🎒 What to Bring for Golden Eagle festival and Altai Tavan Bogd national park tour
- 🧥 Warm layered clothing – Thermal layers, fleece or down jacket
- 💨 Windproof jacket – Essential for open steppe and festival grounds
- 🧢 Cold-weather accessories – Hat, gloves, scarf
- 👟 Comfortable shoes or boots – Warm and suitable for uneven ground
- 📸 Camera & accessories – Extra batteries, memory cards, lens protection
- 🎒 Daypack – For daily essentials
- 🧴 Personal items – Toiletries, sunscreen, lip balm, hand sanitizer
- 💊 Medications – Personal medicine and basic first-aid items
- 🔌 Electronics – Power bank, chargers, travel adapter
- 📄 Documents – Passport, visa (if required), travel insurance copy
- 💵 Cash – Limited ATMs outside Ulgii
❓ FAQs – Golden Eagle Festival and Altai Tavan Bogd national park tour
- 🦅 What is the Golden Eagle Festival?
- An annual cultural festival where Kazakh eagle hunters compete using trained golden eagles, preserving an ancient nomadic tradition.
- 📍 Where does the tour take place?
- In western Mongolia, around Ulgii, Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, and nearby Altai regions.
- 📅 When is the festival held?
- Usually in early October each year (dates may vary slightly).
- ✈️ How do we get to Ulgii?
- By domestic flight from Ulaanbaatar. Flights are limited during festival time.
- 🏕 What accommodation is provided?
- A mix of local hotels, nomadic ger camps, tent camping, and an eagle hunter family homestay.
- 🌦 What is the weather like?
- Cool to cold, especially mornings and evenings. Wind and light snow are possible in the mountains.
- 📸 Is this tour suitable for photographers?
- Yes. It offers outstanding opportunities for wildlife, cultural, and landscape photography.
- 🧭 Is the tour physically demanding?
- Moderate. Includes some hiking (Baga Turgen Waterfall) and long drives on unpaved roads.
- 🦅 Is eagle hunting guaranteed?
- Eagle hunting activities depend on weather and wildlife movement and cannot be guaranteed.
- 💰 When should I book?
- Early booking is strongly recommended, as flights and accommodations sell out months in advance.