The Eagle Festival is an annual traditional celebration held in Bayan-Ölgii Province the first weekend of October. It is organized by the Mongolian Falconers Association and marks the opening of the hunting season.

[Attend the Eagle Festival](https://www.voyage-mongolie.com/circuit/festival-aigles)

During the Eagle Festival, the Kazakh falconers, known as "Berkitshi", honor their cultural heritage and compete in events designed to capture small game such as foxes and hares using their royal eagles—birds they have often raised and trained over many years. They showcase both the agility of their eagles and their remarkable skill in training wild predators. Prizes are awarded for speed, agility, and precision, as well as for the finest traditional Kazakh costume.

Some 10 km from the center of Ölgii, you can attend the opening ceremony, a parade featuring all the falconers, cultural exhibitions, demonstrations, and displays of traditional Kazakh craftsmanship. This area also hosts the sporting events and competitions. Participants, dressed in their ceremonial falconer attire and mounted on horseback, compete for titles including best eagle and falconer, best hunting eagle, and best eagle at spotting its master. Among the other sporting activities, you can witness horse racing, archery, and the hugely popular buzkashi—a game in which mounted riders compete to seize a goat carcass and carry it to their camp while others attempt to wrest it away.

A smaller festival is held annually in the nearby village of Sagsai during the last two weeks of September (check for exact dates).

Finally, a third festival takes place in the Ulaanbaatar region during the first week of March. It is organized in such a way that travelers can easily combine it with the Ice Festival.