What is the Golden Eagle Festival?
In the far west of Mongolia, where the Altai mountains meet China, Russia and Kazakhstan, lives a Kazakh community that still hunts with golden eagles. Bayan-Ölgii is Mongolia's only Kazakh-majority province, and its eagle hunters, the bürkitshi, catch and train the great birds to hunt foxes and hares on horseback through the winter, passing the skill from father to son and, now, sometimes to daughters.
Every year on the first weekend of October, dozens of them ride in from the valleys to the Golden Eagle Festival, held on the steppe just outside the provincial capital, Ölgii. Organized by the Mongolian Eagle Hunters' Association, it is part competition, part gathering, part show: around 80 to 100 hunters in fox-fur hats and embroidered coats, each with an eagle on his arm, competing to prove whose bird is the best trained and whose dress the finest.
The festival has become famous, helped by the 2016 documentary The Eagle Huntress, about a 13-year-old girl, Aisholpan, competing in it. Fame has brought tourism, and with it debate: researchers have documented hunters keeping eagles mainly for festivals and photographs rather than hunting, and the younger generation's changing motives. It is still a real gathering of a living tradition, and one of the most dramatic sights in Central Asia.
What to expect
The festival runs over two days at the festival grounds a few kilometres outside Ölgii, against a backdrop of bare brown hills.
Day 1 morning
The parade and the judging
The hunters ride in on horseback in a grand opening parade, eagles on their arms, and are judged on their traditional dress and equipment. Then the eagle competitions begin: each bird is released from a high point and called down to its owner galloping below, judged on speed and accuracy.
Both days
Horse games
Between the eagle events come horse and camel races, archery and the Kazakh games of the steppe: picking up a coin from the ground at full gallop, the courtship chase kyz kuar, and kokpar, a rough horseback tug-of-war over a goatskin.
Day 2
The final rounds
The eagles hunt a lure of fox fur dragged behind a rider, and the best bird and best-dressed hunter are crowned. A concert of Kazakh music often closes the festival.
Kazakh eagle hunters on horseback in western Mongolia
Photo by Illustrated in Blue / flickr · CC BY 2.0
Planning your trip
Getting there
Ölgii is well over 1,000 kilometres west of Ulaanbaatar. Domestic airlines fly the route, but seats are limited, fares rise for festival weeks, and flights sell out fast, so book them as soon as you know your dates. Overland, it is a drive of several days across Mongolia, best done as part of a tour.
Where to stay
Ölgii has a few basic hotels and guesthouses, which fill for the festival, and ger camps nearby take visitors. Most people come on a tour that includes lodging, often a mix of town guesthouses and nights in a ger or with a family. Comfort is basic, and that is part of the trip.
What it costs
The festival itself charges an entry fee, and proceeds go to the eagle hunters' association. The real costs are getting there and around: flights to Ölgii, which can cost hundreds of dollars each way in festival week, and a driver and guide, which most visitors need. Organized tours from Ulaanbaatar are the norm and are priced accordingly.
Go like you know
- Stay for the second day. Crowds are thinner and the hunters more relaxed once the opening parade is over.
- Bring a long lens for the eagle calling, and a fast shutter.
- If you want a quieter, smaller version, the Sagsai festival in mid-September draws around 40 hunters and fewer visitors.
- Mongolia's other great festival is Naadam in July, with wrestling, archery and horse racing.
- For another remote gathering of peoples in full traditional dress, see Papua New Guinea's Goroka Show in September.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Golden Eagle Festival?
On the first weekend of October each year. In 2026 it was held on October 3 and 4, outside Ölgii. The 2027 festival is expected on October 2 and 3; confirm with the Mongolian Eagle Hunters' Association or a tour operator before booking flights.
Can women be eagle hunters?
Traditionally the skill passed from father to son, but in recent years a small number of girls and women have trained eagles and competed, following the example of Aisholpan in The Eagle Huntress. Some observers argue the film overstated how new this was; either way, women hunters are now part of the festival.
Do I need a tour to visit?
Not strictly, but it is much easier with one. Flights and lodging are scarce, the festival grounds are outside town, and few people in Ölgii speak English. A local guide also gives you access to the hunters and their families, which is a large part of what makes the trip worthwhile.
