Golden Eagle and Staying with Kazakh Nomads

We welcome you at the airport or train station on time and transfer you to a hotel.
Have a rest until we take you for  guided walking city tour that will introduce you to the highlights of the city: The central city square with a grand statue of Genghis Khan and Sukhbaatar statue placed at the center as well. Museum of National History is located right next to the square introducing Mongolia's history from early humans to modern era. Then choose to visit one of two museums from the following: 1. Choijin Lama or State Oracle Residence-museum displaying best samples of Buddhist artwork and religious masks. 2. The Fine Arts Zanabazar Museum displays old arts including   Buddhist arts, painting, folk arts and crafts, sculptures, carvings and embroideries.  
In the evening at 6 p.m you will be brought to watch a show of traditional music, throat singing and contortion. After the show  a welcome dinner is set for you.

Meet Mongolian Expeditions staff at your hotel early this morning and take a 3 hour flight to Ulgy town in Western Mongolia.

The Kazakhs living in the area are the largest national minority and practice Sunni Islam. A number of other ethnic groups also reside in the province in the region. You will fly on your own and upon arrival at the local airport you will be welcomed by our local support team of a  driver and a guide. 

Have lunch and head for Oigor river to get to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. Tonight you will meet locals who will transport your luggage to Altai Tavan Bogd base camp.

Dinner is served at the Oigor river side where we will stay overnight in a tent. 

Today we will trek for 18 km to Tavan Bogd peaks base camp. Around 2/3 of the way is a gradual but continuous ascent across high mountain terrain with some marshes and a couple of streams to cross will challenge us. Our camel supported caravan will start later but soon overtake and arrive at camp site earlier allowing the cook set up the field kitchen. Lunch boxes are prepared and distributed to us.

Erect the tents and have dinner. 

After breakfast we will get ready for the day`s trek to the lower gate of Tavan Bogd NP - White River valley. This time it is an easy stroll downhill although interrupted by a couple bogs and slightly longer than the way up. Again loads are carried by camel caravan. Have lunch prepared by our cook along the way. 

Today we will enjoy meeting local Tuvan nomads and getting to know their way of living. Lunch and 

After having breakfast, we will load our luggages to the car and drive to Khoton and Khurgan twin lake located at 2073m. Our campsite at Khoton lake is idyllic and is fed by over ten rivers from glaciers and nearby lakes. In places, Khoton lake is up to 50 metres deep although the average is 29 Meters. Khoton lake has only one island although it does have a strangely inviting beach on its southern shore. 

The area has  one of the largest petroglyph galleries in Mongolia. They date back to Neolithic period and the Bronze Age and depict numerous hunting scenes, and representations of wild and domestic animals. Also there are some distinctly well preserved ancient burial sites. This evening you may go swimming, explore the surroundings or laze in the camp.

The neighbor Khurgan Lake is surrounded by glacial moraines. The lake is 23 km long, and 6 km wide with a total shoreline of  71 km.  Lake Khurgan has many small islands. These islands are formed from Moraines. Some of these islands are up to 30 metres high.

After breakfast, head towards Sagsai soum where we will meet lcoal  Kazakhs who are culturally and ethnically different from Mongolians with language and religion as the two primary cultural markers.  The Kazakh language belongs to Turkic family of languages, and is the dominant language in Bayan-Ulgii. The Kazakh population is predominantly Muslim. Although the majority consider themselves Muslim, a small but growing proportion practice basic Muslim tenets of Namaz and fasting during Ramadan.

We will enjoy our time with Kazakh nomads today. Mongolian Kazakhs are traditionally semi-nomadic pastoralists, herding sheep, goats, yaks, camels and horses.  The nomadic economy is strongly influenced by traditional gender roles – men herd, women cook, care for children and prepare textiles.  It is your chance to learn about their way of living and unique culture. 

The another highlight of the tour- Eagle hunting is going to take place today.  Our kazakh friends gather to present their tradition of eagle hunting. 

Kazakh hunters take a lethal bird of prey from its mother, nurse it until it has a wingspan larger than most humans, and then train it to attack fast-moving prey from the air and hand it over to them, their masters. This tradition reaching back thousands of years on the Eurasian steppe. Nowadays it is still practiced in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and in Xinjiang province, China.

In 2011 UNESCO added Kazakh eagle hunting to the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as an example of living human heritage.  Stay with local family. 

Say good bye to our local Kazakh friends and continue our trip to Ulgii town. In Ulgy we check in to a local hotel. Have lunch and dinner in a local restaurant. Enjoy shopping handcraft and coffee shops. 

This morning we catch a return flight to Ulaanbaatar. On arrival, we will transfer you to your hotel. Free afternoon for shopping and else. You are invited to farewell dinner by our team. 

It is time to say good bye!  We transfer you to airport and wish you a good flight back home.