Spend two full days fully immersed in the Spring Eagle Festival and Nauryz celebrations                                                                                       

 Enjoy authentic Kazakh cuisine (like beshbarmak and kazy), vibrant cultural performances, and intricate traditional costumes.

  ITINERARY

  09:00–09:10: Opening ceremony

•09:10–09:30: Parade of Eagle Hunters

•09:30–10:00: Kazakh Fork Performance

•10:00–10:30: Uriankhai Archery and Horse Archery competition

•10:30–11:00:Drawing competition

•11:00–11:30: “Khan Hunt” / “Kush Kuu” traditional ankle bone game competition

•11:30–12:00: Best handcrafted items competition

•12:00–13:00:Competition of Eagle Hunting

•13:00–13:30: Girls’ horseback riding contest“Kyz Kuar” the Kazakh National Game

•13:30–14:00: Tug-of-war game competition / “Kokpar”/

•14:00–15:00: Games SWING tournament and taking commemorative photos

•15:00–16:00: Closing ceremony / Prize awards

Let me know if you’d like any specific details clarified!

Eagle Calling Event

The first day is mostly allocate for the eagle hunters to demonstrate the different aspects of the eagle training and hunting skills. The first competition is a calling event.
Three circles mark the field, each with varying numbers of points – 6, 8, and 10. The eagle is bring to the top of the nearby hill, while its hunter awaits on his horse in a given circle.
The eagle is let go, flying towards and landing directly on the hunter’s arm. The further the ring, the higher the point. Several confident hunters go to the circle 10.

Many of their eagles fly in a straight line to their hunters, while others take a longer road, checking nearby rocks for small rodents, or even disappearing high in the sky. during competition some eagles loose, fighting among themselves, or landing with another on a hunter’s arm. The younger hunters tend to use the lower numbers as they hone their calling skills.

Shyrga Tartu – Lure Grabbing
The next event is similarly calling the eagles from the top of the mountain. However, instead of landing on the hunter’s arm, the birds have to grab a piece of rabbit fur of rabbit tied on the rope and leave trailing on the ground behind the horse. In previous years, the horses were pulling actual dead rabbits or foxes, but the most recent version only uses the fur. The more experienced pairs of eagle-men hunters would succeed with the horse galloping at full speed. Less able ones would still their horses and await the eagle to land on the fur.

Urianhai Archery Competition
While the main event takes place in the arena, a contest of archery takes place all day long. With heavy bows and long arrows, these archers put on quite a show.
The morning of the second-day start by a continuation of the calling event, where only a few selected from the day before were able to participate. Only the best display of Kazakh horsemanship and hunting from the first day of Golden Eagle Festival compete on the last day.

Kyz Kuar – Girls Chasing and Whipping Boys
Also called the “Girl chase,” both man and woman are racing side by side on their horses. The man tries to escape the wrath of the women who whips him tirelessly. Some men are better at avoiding the whipping than others. Some women are better, or at least more eager, at “beating” than others. This event is hilarious, and you can tell that each pair is having fun.

Kukhbar – Goat Skin Competition
The game is a tug of war over a goat carcass between two riders on horses. It used to be an actual dead goat, but the more recent events use a woolen decoy. This game is probably the most competitive of all the different contests. Each participant fully committee with their full strength to pull the “carcass.” In a few occasions, disputes arose, with participants appearing on the judging platform and angrily complaining. One or two times, another rider would join in the argument. The trio would then pull, gallop, turn, twist, sometimes even push their way through the crowd. Or set the horses again at full speed racing side by side, while the men pull the carcass.

Best Dressed Men and Women
The costumes were all unique, a display of various customs and traditions, all high in colors, different styles of clothes and hats in comparison to the Mongol Kazakhs.
A Kazakh Festival for Kazakhs
Aside from the many tourists, the Golden Eagle Festival remains an important event for Kazakhs around the Altai region. Many Kazakh families attended, with kids playing around, and riding horses and camels alike. Many would shop at the stalls, try their end at the archery competition too. Or simply watch the contestants.