Sagsai Kazakh Eagle Hunter Family Stay
Сагсай
A Kazakh herding village west of Ölgii, where you can stay with eagle-hunter families, watch golden eagle training, ride horses, and experience nomadic life.
Sagsai is one of the areas with the highest concentration of eagle-hunter families. Each late September, it also hosts a smaller Sagsai Golden Eagle Festival. Visitors can stay in Kazakh felt yurts or winter earthen houses. They can follow eagle hunters up the mountains to fly their birds, ride horses and herd livestock, and taste milk tea, boortsog, and hand-cut mutton. This is a chance to learn about the eagle-hunting tradition, which is inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A driver and interpreter must be arranged through a local Ölgii travel agency. Sagsai is about 30 km from Ölgii, roughly one hour on a dirt road.
Opening hours
Advance reservation required
Nearby sights
- Golden Eagle Festival Ground
- Ölgii Central Mosque
- Bayan-Ölgii Provincial Museum
- Tolbo Lake
- Achit Lake
- Tsambagarav Mountain
- Khoton & Khurgan Lakes
- Shiveet Khairkhan Petroglyphs (Upper Tsagaan Gol)