'Eagle Festival - 2024' to take place on March 9-10

One of the peculiar features of Mongolian winter tourism, the “Eagle Festival” will be held for the 14th time at Chinggisiin Khuree Tourist Complex at the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar City on March 9-10, 2024, Montsame reports. 

Most activities of the annual Eagle Festival are organized as competitions. The parade of the eagle hunters dressed in traditional costumes and mounted on horseback, proudly displaying their most trusted friend, "Eagles," on their hands, commences the Festival. The Festival selects the Best Traditional Costumes, the Best-Looking Eagle, and the Best-Looking Horse, considering the preservation of traditional Mongolian customs and attire.

The remarkable tradition of domesticating and hunting birds of prey is known as falconry and originated six thousand years ago among the nomads of Central Asia. Therefore, Mongolian eagle hunting practice was registered on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

The Ulaanbaatar City Tourism Department, Chinggisiin Khuree Tourist Complex, and the Mongolian Falconry Association will jointly host the Festival in anticipation of the Mongolian Kazakhs' Nauryz, a celebration marking the spring season. The Eagle Festival aims at demonstrating and preserving the unique traditions, heritage, and culture of the Kazakh people, passing them on to the next generation.