Winter Expedition To Mongolia
Winter Expedition To Mongolia
View Dates & Prices
4 Participants
Mongolia
MONGOLIA PHOTO TOUR – OVERVIEW
MIGRATION OF THE EAGLE HUNTERS
In this incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience for adventurous photographers, I will be offering 4 people the chance to come with me on an awe-inspiring nomadic migration across Mongolia’s Altai mountains with a Kazakh family and their livestock. Your journey will give you intimate access to an incredible cultural experience in a beautifully remote corner of Mongolia.
On this expedition, we will be following along with my good old friend, Kazakh eagle hunter, Yermyek’s families accompanied by around 2000 animals including camels, horses, goats, sheep and yaks, crossing snowy passes, frozen lakes and through the incredible winter scenery of the Altai mountains. Backed up by a team of 2 off-road vehicles and 4 staff including cooks and translators, we will erect a camp of warm yurts every night at each stage of the journey, providing home-cooked food and cosy beds in the evenings when outside temperatures regularly fall to minus 30°C. Our destination will be the eagle hunter family’s Spring camp in Tavan Bogd National Park, a place that few outsiders have witnessed in the thrilling winter months. Once there we will set up camp alongside our good friend eagle hunter Yermyek’s family and enjoy 3 days in this truly remote location. We will accompany him in hunting with his golden eagle and be spending time with his extended family at their homestead. After the migration, we will return to Ulaanbaatar.
We will be using the same fixers and guides who organized the first trip to Western Mongolia with the BBC’s Human Planet team and with trusted friends who understand precisely the kind of opportunities that photographers and filmmakers desire for. I have limited the group to 4 people in order to give everyone the chance to shoot great images without creating too much impact on our surroundings. I will be travelling with you at all times and offering as much advice and help as you can absorb as well as I’ll be guiding you through my methods of shooting, editing and image preparation in post-processing.
MONGOLIA PHOTO TOUR – OVERVIEW
MIGRATION OF THE EAGLE HUNTERS
In this incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience for adventurous photographers, I will be offering 4 people the chance to come with me on an awe-inspiring nomadic migration across Mongolia’s Altai mountains with a Kazakh family and their livestock. Your journey will give you intimate access to an incredible cultural experience in a beautifully remote corner of Mongolia.
On this expedition, we will be following along with my good old friend, Kazakh eagle hunter, Yermyek’s families accompanied by around 2000 animals including camels, horses, goats, sheep and yaks, crossing snowy passes, frozen lakes and through the incredible winter scenery of the Altai mountains. Backed up by a team of 2 off-road vehicles and 4 staff including cooks and translators, we will erect a camp of warm yurts every night at each stage of the journey, providing home-cooked food and cosy beds in the evenings when outside temperatures regularly fall to minus 30°C. Our destination will be the eagle hunter family’s Spring camp in Tavan Bogd National Park, a place that few outsiders have witnessed in the thrilling winter months. Once there we will set up camp alongside our good friend eagle hunter Yermyek’s family and enjoy 3 days in this truly remote location. We will accompany him in hunting with his golden eagle and be spending time with his extended family at their homestead. After the migration, we will return to Ulaanbaatar.
We will be using the same fixers and guides who organized the first trip to Western Mongolia with the BBC’s Human Planet team and with trusted friends who understand precisely the kind of opportunities that photographers and filmmakers desire for. I have limited the group to 4 people in order to give everyone the chance to shoot great images without creating too much impact on our surroundings. I will be travelling with you at all times and offering as much advice and help as you can absorb as well as I’ll be guiding you through my methods of shooting, editing and image preparation in post-processing.
EXPEDITION LIMELIGHT
- An incredible 11 days once-in-a-lifetime experience for adventurous photographers on an awe-inspiring nomadic migration across Mongolia’s Altai mountains with a Kazakh family.
- A small group of only 4 participants, guided in areas which have until now been hardly photographed and the group would be accompaniment by an internationally renowned photographer with great knowledge of the region.
- In this Mongolia Photo Tour, you’ll have the lifetime experience to live alongside nomadic Kazakh Eagle Hunters in their remote family yurts, experiencing their everyday lives.
- Concentrated private photo sessions with traditional Eagle Hunters.
- A true photographic adventure in the wildest regions of Western Mongolia and Northern Mongolia.
- Special attraction – Private eagle hunting festival to photograph the Eagle Hunters practising their hunts with their trained Golden Eagles.
- It’s a great opportunity for Landscape opportunities in some of the most attractive locations in the Altai Mountains.
- A local English-speaking guide who is knowledgeable about the natural and human history of northern Mongolia.
ABOUT EAGLE HUNTERS
Imagine a world that is wild, untouched and so remote that it is one of the least inhabited areas on Earth. A world that is home to a group of people that have developed a unique relationship with one of the world’s most revered birds of prey, the Golden Eagle. This is the world of the Kazakh Eagle Hunters, who not only survive in this amazing landscape but who have developed a wonderful relationship with eagles to hunt with them for prey, including rabbits and even foxes.
Deep in the rugged hills of the Altai Mountains region of western Mongolia, live a group of hunters with an extremely rare skill of hunting small mammals with golden eagles. These are the ‘Kazakhs’. The Kazakhs are the descendants of Turkic, Mongolic and Indo-Iranian indigenous groups and Huns who populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea. For more than 4000 years, nomadic tribes of the Altai region have trained their young men and women in the ancient Mongolian art of golden-eagle hunting and have developed and nurtured a special bond with golden eagles for centuries. The ancient art of eagle hunting is one of the many traditions and skills that the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz in contemporary Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have held onto for the last decades. They don’t hunt eagles, but rather use the revered golden eagle as their tool and form a close bond with the bird of prey along the way.
Historically, the golden-eagle hunters known as ‘Burkitshi’ have been male, as the age-old art was traditionally handed down from the father to the son. However, in recent years, very few courageous women have developed this skill. Today, there are at least 8 female Mongolian golden-eagle hunters.
ITINERARY
Day 1 (04.02.2024)
Day 2 (05.02.2024): Fly to Ulgii
Day 3 (06.02.2024): Proceed to Ulaankhus Preparation For The Migration
After finishing the greeting and tea and snacks we’ll be doing photography sessions of the eagle hunters. There will be possibilities to gather 3 to 4, or even more, eagle hunters for photography. Tonight we’ll stay with the family but we will have our own yurt or camp for the night. Our expedition cook will prepare Western food & local cuisine, a hot meal, coffee and snacks.
Packing down the winter camp: A day spent with our Kazakh hosts who will be packing up all their possessions ready to leave the next day. Accommodation will be at our personal tents by the side of the family house.
Day 4 (07.02.2024): Migration Day 1
Traditionally the men rode on horses, women rode on horseback or on a pack of animals and Bactrian camels were traditionally used to move possessions. Everything is made ready and prepared for moving: ger parts, carpets, pots and pans, shelves, stoves. Nowadays, if the family has access, trucks are used for moving the ‘home.’ Herder starts herding early in the morning before sunrise, and we’ll walk with the nomads and their herd at the same time as taking photographs while we follow the families to their spring camp. Each day our ground team will drive ahead in special 4×4 vehicles and set up our Ger tents for sleeping and dining.
Our walking will be approximately 10 to 15 kilometres per day. While the walking isn’t terribly difficult (it will be cold and there will be a lot of walking), anyone who gets tired or simply wants a break can always hop into one of our vehicles. Photography from sunrise to well past sunset each day. At night our accommodation will be in a Ger(yurt).
Day 5 (08.02.2024): Migration Day 2
Day 6 (09.02.2024): Migration Day 3
We’ll be awake to the fresh mountain air and stunning morning glow of the Altai Mountain range, and start moving towards Tsengel Khairkhan snow-capped mountains, a place of high altitude and beautiful landscape. Overnight stay in a warm Ger(yurt).
Day 7 (10.02.2024): Migration Day 4
Day 8 (11.02.2024): Rest Day Portraiture and Landscape
Early morning photographing landscapes and exploring the neighbourhood areas. The focus of our afternoon will be to travel with our eagle hunter to one of the beautiful peaks around this valley to capture an epic ‘eagle hunter on horseback’ shot. A beautiful and very isolated spot in the snow-covered mountains of Tavan Bogd national park. The best time to shoot will be sunset and dusk so we will make time for everything precisely. Overnight stay in a warm Ger(yurt).
Day 9 (12.02.24): Back to Ulgii Town
Overnight accommodation will be in a hotel at Ulgii.
Day 10 (13.02.24): Landscape and portraiture and river riding with an eagle on the Hold river
Day 11 (14.02.2024): Fly back to Ulaanbaatar
A note about this itinerary: There are many factors that can cause this itinerary to change. For this reason, we have allowed a few days on either side of the migration to mitigate such an occurrence.
Date
4th February 2024 to 14th February 2024
Price
| Date | Price (in US Dollars) |
|---|---|
| 4th Feb -20th Feb 2024 | 6750 USD |
***Please read all details on this page including the Terms and Conditions on the website.
Meet your mentor
Apratim Saha
Internationally renowned photographer Apratim is a contributing photographer for National Geographic, Getty Images and Stocksy United. He is a Canon Brand Ambassador & Mentor and the Global Brand Ambassador for Datacolor, Nisi, Godox, Vanguard and Blackrapid. He has over 37 years of experience, from traditional film to digital photography. He is a commercial photographer specializing in people photography, portraiture, lifestyle & editorial clients. Read More…
Meet your mentor
Apratim Saha
Internationally renowned photographer Apratim is a contributing photographer for National Geographic, Getty Images and Stocksy United. He is a Canon Brand Ambassador & Mentor and the Global Brand Ambassador for Datacolor, Nisi, Godox, Vanguard and Blackrapid. He has over 37 years of experience, from traditional film to digital photography. He is a commercial photographer specializing in people photography, portraiture, lifestyle & editorial clients. Read More…
Terms and Conditions
- All domestic flights
- Transportation from Ulaanbaatar to Ulan Ulaanbaatar, overland transport, tips, translators.
- Accommodations in a Single Occupancy in hotels and shared occupancy in Ger.
- Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner on all days including alcoholic drinks.
- Expert guidance on Photography.
Everything except your international flight, personal travel insurance, Visa fees and the costs of the kind of things you would normally expect to buy with your personal money supply (gifts, personal treats etc.). Other than that, from the moment we pick you up at Ulaanbator’s Airport, we will take care of everything for you. Accommodation, all-day meals including non-alcoholic drinks, internal flights to Western Mongolia, overland transport, tips, translator, anything you can think of and probably quite a few things you can’t.
- International flights
- Visa fees
- Gifts, personal treats
- International flights.
- All expenses of personal nature
Important points to be noted
- The expedition is designed from Ulaanbaatar to Ulaanbaatar.
- This expedition is conceptualized in such a way so that personal attention can be given to each and every photographer and for that, the group will be restricted to 4 participants only.
- This tour has been specifically designed for photographers. Non-photographer spouse/friend may be accommodated on the expedition but at full cost and on agreeing to stick to the schedule of the expedition.
- While all care would be taken to stick to the schedule, unforeseen circumstances and time consistency might lead to some changes.
Deadlines
Conditions
Participants will be granted the expedition based on email confirmation on a first come first serve basis. Feel free to call +91 8509333385 or +918900702900 for any further assistance.
Booking
Cancellation and Refunds
To reserve your spot 40% of the full fee is required at the time of your booking. You can pay using the online payment link on our website or ask for the account details or PayPal to transfer the payment. Your reservation may be cancelled if full payment has not been received by the last date specified and communicated. All cancellation notices must be received in writing and will become effective as of the date of the postmark (standard mail or electronic).
Cancellation deductions will be as per the following policy of full fees:
• 40% cancellation of the total fee if cancelled 90 days before the start of the expedition or earlier than the expedition.
• 100% cancellation of the total fee if cancelled 59 days on or before the start of the expedition.
Please read all details on this page and the Detailed Terms and Conditions, Disclaimer / Undertaking in the Registration cum Booking Form.