Mongolia
The country's most remote mountains, then a centuries-old eagle-hunting tradition passed from father to daughter
Mongolia
A journey through Mongolia's far west, the opposite of the Gobi Desert: the Altai Mountains, a remote range on the border of Kazakhstan, Russia, and China, then the Kazakh community of Ölgii, which has practised golden eagle hunting for centuries, a tradition passed down orally from generation to generation and recently reopened to women hunters.
When
Sept to Oct
Price
From 3 500€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
7 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-2
The first chapter unfolds in the Altai Mountains, a remote range in Mongolia's far west where the borders of Kazakhstan, Russia, and China meet, one of the country's least-visited regions despite peaks over four thousand metres and still-active glaciers. High-altitude steppes, roamed by herds of two-humped Bactrian camels, contrast with green valleys where semi-nomadic families still camp in summer.
Day 1
On horseback across the Altai steppes
A horseback ride through the remote Altai steppes, meeting semi-nomadic families camping under ger in summer, with glaciated peaks as a backdrop.
Day 2
A night in a ger with a nomadic family
A night with an Altai nomadic family, sharing a traditional meal of camel dairy products and mutton, around a central stove fuelled by dried dung.
Days 1-2
The road to Ölgii, capital of Mongolia's Kazakh minority, which makes up nearly nine-tenths of the local population and has practised fox and hare hunting with trained golden eagles for centuries. This tradition, passed down orally from generation to generation and long reserved for men, has recently reopened to women hunters, the most famous of whom became an international figure after a documentary about her training.
Day 1
Meeting an eagle-hunting family
A visit to a Kazakh family from Ölgii carrying on golden eagle hunting, a demonstration of the training and the bond between hunter and eagle, captured young and released after several years.
Day 2
A horseback hunting demonstration
A demonstration of horseback eagle hunting in the hills around Ölgii, an ancestral technique in which the eagle, perched on the hunter's gloved arm, is released at the sight of a fox or hare.
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