by Julian Morgans. Every year around October, Mongolia holds the Golden Eagle Festival where Kazakh eagle hunters celebrate their heritage and compete to catch small prey. Clothed in handmade furs and leathers and riding on horseback, the hunters and their eagles are almost as one. And we will recommend you our best travel ideas. About Eagle Hunting. Hunting with eagles is a family tradition and children as young as 13 are taught to the sport. It is not just a festivity, but also is an ancient hunting tradition with eagles and unique cultural heritage of Kazakh minority of Mongolia. When the eagles are not hunting they wear special caps to blind them and keep them calm. One of the Mongolian ethnic groups is the Muslim Kazakhs of Turkic origin. Today, several forms of this art still exist in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, in Xinjiang in China, and in the province of Bayan Olgii, in Mongolia, where many Kazakhs live. After trekking high up into craggy mountains and perching themselves atop a vantage point, the silent hunters gaze down on the valleys and plains below. Moreover, the eagle remains a wild animal, it can suddenly decide to disappear in the sky and to leave its master. Mongolian eagle hunting festival . By Lucy Xu. KAZAKH EAGLE HUNTING. Golden Eagle Festival is a cultural and adventurous attraction for both local and foreign travelers and photographers. The eagle hunting tradition has begun from central Asian nomadic past 6000 years ago. Nowadays, we can count 250 falconers (or "berkutchis") in the whole province. If you are traveling in summer, we can arrange the tour overland including some attractions and scenic places of the Gobi desert, the north and the west of Mongolia. The Mongolian eagle keepers are some of the last to carry on this ancient tradition. (Photo by Brad Ruoho/The Star Tribune) Jeanette Cox, an Adventure Sherpas client, held an eagle … Hunting wolves with eagles was the “sport of kings”. Hunting with eagles is one of the best tours for those people who want to experience Eagle hunter’s life and do wildest hunting on the high mountains of the Altai region. Living with Mongolian Eagle Hunters. Let's explore Mongolia with us. What was once a secret experience has become the topic of festivals and documentaries, which have helped shine a light on a dying tradition of the old world. Then it will be delivered and will wildly live again 20 years and find a partner for reproduction. Hunting trips can last many days, as the hunter and eagle trek up to a mountain ridge to obtain a good view across the landscape. Have her hunts been successful? The hunter's moon stretches from the beginning of October to the end of March, because it's easier to see the foxes' coat on the snow. Other Mongolian ethnic groups don't seem to practice eagle hunting much, despite the fact there are plenty of eagles throughout Mongol-dominated provinces out west such as Zavkhan and Uvs. But training eagles to hunt is not easy. One hunter, known as a berkutchi, told Reuters, eagle hunting is “our tradition, and we, Kazakhs, simple can’t live without it.They say it is a sport, but this is wrong. While in the care of their human families, eagles’ bonds with their human companions are unshakeable. Eagle Hunting: Marketization of Traditional Practice. However, it’s enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to the growing desire of the people to preserve their cultural identity. Zamanbol, one of just 10 female eagle hunters left in Mongolia. “The bond with the bird is so strong! In Mongolia's remote north-west, a teenage girl is her family's sole hope of keeping an ancient tradition alive. Leo Thomas/ InstagramAn eagle hunter carries his eagle on horseback over craggy cliffs. One of the first things we learnt was that Eagle Hunting is a key part of Kazakh culture. The hunters care for their birds almost as if they were children, swaddling them in leather during the winter months and cradling them after their hunts. Getting a bird's-eye view of hunting eagles. Hence, it is practiced by mostly Mongolian Kazakhs and passed down through the generations. Golden eagles can take down small mammals like foxes, as well as goats and wolves. Eagle hunting is a traditional form of falconry, widespread throughout the Eurasian steppe among nomadic peoples. One of the last true wilderness areas of Asia, the stunning beauty of the magnificent Altai Mountains will be the backdrop for this extraordinary Eagle Hunting tour. For centuries, nomadic tribes of the Altai region have trained their young men and women in the ancient art of golden-eagle hunting. It represents the most dramatic and primary relations between man and beast, which is kept well through generation to generation in the remote mountains of western Mongolia. Several eagles can hunt one single prey, so that they can catch bigger animals, such as ibex or wolves. They’ve also highlighted women like Zamanbol, who are the last of their kind. Zamanbol hunting on horseback with her eagle, alongside her brother Barzabai and his eagle. Horseback Mongolia is a Franco-Mongol travel agency based in Ulaanbaatar since 2006. The 6000-year-old tradition of eagle hunting in the far west of Mongolia is a fascinating aspect of Mongolian culture that first drew me to the country. Falconers prefer females because they're bigger and more powerful then males. Though these people are most famous for hunting with golden eagles, they have been known to train northern goshawks, peregrine falcons, saker falcons, and more.