Where Falconry Still Flies
Adventure Overview
In the foothills below Almaty, a handful of Kazakh families still practice berkutchi — the ancient art of hunting with golden eagles — a bond between hunter and bird that predates the written history of the steppe by thousands of years. This adventure puts you inside a working eagle-hunter's homestead, not a staged show, before carrying you deeper into the nomadic way of life that shaped Kazakhstan.
Hold a golden eagle on the glove and watch a real hunting demonstration, then saddle a sturdy Kazakh horse for a ride across open grassland to a working nomad camp. Spend the night under yurt felt, share fresh kumis and dombra music around the fire, and wake to a morning of traditional steppe games and crafts before the drive back to Almaty.
