Hunting bird festival in Kyrgyzstan

Hunting bird festival - a spectacular show of Kyrgyz hunting

Hunting bird festival is one of the most vibrant and exciting event in a series of cultural events in Kyrgyzstan. Here you can see a variety of hunting birds - from eagles and erne to vultures and falcons. Predatory, opinionated birds with sharp claws and graceful beaks are born hunters, who, in a mysterious way, were tamed by people as early as ancient times.

The first hunting birds came to India, later this style of hunting was spread worldwide. The Kyrgyz still value hunting birds, because once, one bird alone could feed the whole village. However, nowadays hunting has developed into an entertainment and modern falconers take falconry more for their own pleasure and for tourists.

A falconry festival in Kyrgyzstan organizes shows of eagles and falcons, hare or fox hunt, traditional Kyrgyz birds’ game: Arkan, Tartmay, Zholuk and Tastamay, as well as various cultural events, folk performances, contests and so on.