Mongolia Photo Tour – Trip Report 2019

It’s not often that a girl gets to call a handful of eagle hunters in the far north western reaches of Mongolia friends. But after so many visits, laughs, cups of salty tea, seeing the kids grow up…that’s what they’ve become. Each year when I return, with a new set of guests, it’s an equally special time. Being a Mongolia photography tour guide for Oryx Photo Tours affords me the opportunity to LOOK FORWARD to my job. How many other people can say that?

2019’s Eagle Hunters of Western Mongolia photography tour was definitely a special one. We embraced every opportunity afforded us with open arms and really experienced everything there was to experience. This Mongolia photography tour abounds in photographic opportunities – but it is so much more than that. There is lots of time to really get to know our Kazakh hosts and learn about their lives. We cooked and ate with them and slept in their cozy gers under the huge Mongolian sky.

The Golden eagle festival in olgii itself is always 2 days of fantastic energy as hundreds descend on the festival grounds – locals, tourists and eagle hunters together – for all kinds of celebration. There’s eagle hunting, of course, but so much more. There’s local games for kids, the sounds of sizzling foods and someone on a microphone introducing what’s going on in the center of the makeshift arena. There’s the traditional sheep tug-of-war on horseback (!) and traditional clothing competition. It’s all a party of your eyeballs, and camera of course!

Next year’s dates are already set, so grab a spot before it’s too late! Each year gets better and better. I can’t wait.