Western Mongolia Eagle Hunting tour.
This trip is aimed at both photographers and filmmakers alike. We will be training you individually as well as collectively on various aspects of photography and composition. Hopefully one of our international models will be joining us giving you all an opportunity to create some editorial material and development.
We aim to stop as much as possible and create some fascinating vistas, and photographic experiences. You’ll meet local people and diverse Mongolian ethnic groups, which progressively change the further west we go.
You will need to be very fit and healthy as it’s not for the fainthearted. Remember sleeping in Tens, trekking, and horseback riding. Photographically we want you to be reasonably experienced with DSLR cameras and video.
Day 1, Arrival in Ulaanbaatar
Hotel transfer, city tour including Gandan Monastery, National Museum of Mongolia, (culture from the Stone Age to the 21st Century and Buddhism, the Sukhbaatar Square (Chingis Khaan Square). Taking in local prayers, and monks’ activities.. Might be good 4 photo ops. Climatise.
Day 2, Flight to Western Mongolia Flight to Ulaangom central part of the UVS Province. A short tour of the town gives a bit of a perspective. UVS has lakes, wetlands, dunes, and mountains. Should be some great telephoto shots 4 sure. Staying in a hotel (no idea of star rating atm)
Day 3: We drive into the Gashuun Valley which has panoramic landscapes and features the Turgen mountains. We visit stone memorials of ancient periods, giving us a photographic opportunity. We see nature in its true form, and camp on the banks of the Turgen River. Our first experiences staying in tents.
Day 4: We drive across to Achit Lake – the largest lake in the UVS province, located on the border of three western airmags. Sunsets, sunrises, and fishing 4 those interested. Flocks of geese, eagles, and other birdlife for those interested in capturing that. In the afternoon, however, we will drive to the Kharkhiraa Valley, surrounded by dense pine forests, clear rivers, and flowers on the fields. Excellent opportunity to photograph our model, go hiking, and try out different techniques. On the way there we stop at the island of Devel to photograph the rare birds, 400mm plus lens recommended. We stay in our tents overnight and will do so for the next 10 or 11 days.
Day 5: We drive to Ulgil, the central town of the Bayan-Ulgii province. Unlike other provinces, its population is dominated by Turkic Kazakhs, who have their language, and customs, and the only Muslim religion in Mongolia. We trip around to the museum, local market, and theatre. Great opportunities here to photograph a culture, other than Mongol. Something a bit different. Could be full of surprises. We stay in a hotel this evening.
Day 6: We drive through to the Shiveet Khairkhan Mountain area. The closest place to drive to the Altai Peaks. The altitude is 2500-3000 meters. We visit a local Kazakh family and explore their lives as well as rent horses for our trip. Here is where we meet the local people, take portraits, and document their daily lives. They operate large GER dwellings, bigger than the Khalkha majority group, and they are quite characteristic. We get our luggage sorted 4 the next 3 days trekking to the Altai Peaks. Back to tenting.
Day 7 Altai Tavan Bodg Peak where we leave our vehicles and load up the horses and trek towards the Altai Tavan Bogd Peaks. These are at 4100-4374metres. Great for photo scenes of the horse and camel caravans which suit the Mongolian landscape, rocky, and snow-capped mountains. We arrive near the foot of the peaks and camp there. It’s a 3-4 hour hike to the campsite, so be prepared.
Day 8: We head back to the vehicles, but end up driving to Khurgan Lake, the lowest point of the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. We go through what’s known as the white River (Tsagaan Gol) similar to the rivers in the South Island of NZ. Glacier flower or milk as it’s known, (The suspended powder of rock eroded by the glaciers), changes the colors of the rivers to turquoise or whitish. Great photographic opportunities for landscapes and people here. We end by driving towards Lake Khurgan. 3 hours on horseback in this stage, so be prepared. Tenting as usual.
Day 9: A full day of shooting at the Khoton and Khurgan Lakes. Connected by water channels, it is the source of the Hovd River which drains the whole Mongolian Altai. The actual lake is located in an intermountain tectonic depression in the northern portion of the Mongolian Altai. Another night in tents.
Day 10 This we drive through to Buyant Village where our Eagle Hunters are. On the way, we stop at Tsengel Sum and the Valley of Jivertei. Great opportunities here for photography of the ancient man stones that belonged to the Turk Empire, which existed 5th to the 7th centuries. Another night in the tent.
Day 11, 12, & 13 Eagle Hunters Development. Close to the Tsambagarav mountain (4193 mtrs) via the Tolbo Lake. We meet the local people and stay with an eagle-hunting family. We photograph them at various stages of development, encompassing nomadic life. We photograph them training eagles as they chase fox skins dragged by their owners, collect marmots, small foxes, and wolves, returning to the GER, where they are used as food. Normally this is only a day trip, but we want to make it memorable as much as possible photographically as well as filmically. We stay with various families and learn about their lifestyle.
Day 14 We drive to Khovd the central part of the province Khovd. This is the major industrial center of Mongolia.. We have a tour of the city, and museum, and get materials such as stuffed Ibex and other wildlife that we wouldn’t have seen, such as snow leopards, various ethnic costumes, and artifacts. We’ll also take in the re-creation of the cave paintings at Tsenkheriin Agui/Tsenkheryn cave.
Day 15 We fly back to Ulaanbaatar at the local airport transfer to the hotel and relax. We share dinner and recap what we’ve learned. Staying in a hotel…
Day 16 We transfer to Chinggis Khan International Airport or Train station and depart Mongolia.
The enclosed videos are representational of what to expect, as it could vary from hot to cold, but the scenery is something quite unique.