| Description |
The Eagle Festival, one of Mongolia's most popular tourism events, has been held since 2000 with the aim of reviving the Kazakh eagle hunting tradition, passing it on to future generations, promoting it to domestic and foreign tourists, and turning it into a tourism product. The tradition of eagle hunting is believed to have originated among Central Asian nomads 6,000 years ago and has survived to the present day, with Mongolia being the best-preserved country. Therefore, in order to promote this rich heritage around the world and increase the flow of tourists, the “Eagle Festival” is held twice a year, in the spring on March 4-5 in Ulaanbaatar and in the fall in Bayan-Ulgii aimag in the first 7 weeks of October. The event begins in the form of a competition, in which eagles adorn themselves with national costumes, place domesticated eagles on their arms, ride horses trained to hunt eagles and join the parade. The best national costumes, horses and eagle equipment are selected. There are competitions to test the eagle's ability to hunt. The relationship between the eagle and the eagle hunter is determined by whether the eagle is obedient or not. In some years, live animals are caught and tested for eagle hunting.
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