Festivals and Events
Naadam festival
Naadam is a traditional festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam" (эрийн гурван наадам) "the three games of men". This is Eastern version of olympics like Ancient Greeks. The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery, and are held throughout the country during midsummer. Women have started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling.
Nauryz festival at Bayan-Ulgii province
The Kazakh New Year’s celebration of Nauryz has been celebrated by Turkic and Iranian people for over 2000 years. It is the biggest holiday in the Kazakh year. The day corresponds to the spring equinox and marks the renewal of life. Typically revolves around visiting family and friends and eating lots of traditional food.
Tsagaan Sar - Mongolian Lunar New Year
While we in the UK observe New Year’s Eve on 31st December with little more ceremony than a prossecco-fuelled rendition of Auld Lang Syne at midnight, in our three destinations they do things quite differently. Here, in the second of three posts exploring the festivities in Mongolia, Bhutan and Burma, is how they celebrate New Year’s Eve in the Land of the Blue Skies.
Golden eagle festival
During the communist period in Kazakhstan, many Kazakhs fled for Mongolia,settling down in Bayan Ulgii, an area that has been designated for the Kazakhs of Mongolia today. Kazakhs (Altaic Kazakhs or Altai-Kazakhs) living in Bayan-Ölgii Province of Mongolia continue to hunt with eagles today. There are an estimated 250 eagle hunters in the Western Mongolian province
Khovsgol lake - Ice Festival
March is normally the month of two infamous and popular festivals. Due to severe winter weather conditions, either one or other or both, can be cancelled at short notice, however, if you are lucky enough to attend them, they will be like nothing else.
Gobi Desert - Thousand Camel Festival
Gloriously, this event is officially billed as the Thousand Camel Festival and it certainly lives up to its name! The Bactrian, known as the “ship of the Gobi”, is the undoubted star of the show here in the heart of the desert. The camel herders, with their woolly-coated, double-humped steeds, gather to compete in races and polo competitions.