Hunting with eagles - a Kyrgyz tradition

 

One of the interesting activities you can find in Bokonbayevo is a demonsration of how hunting eagles are trained. In the winter time, you can also go on horse-back hunting with eagles. Although falcons are also used for hunting, they can only capture smaller animals. Eagles, however, can catch foxes, wild goats, even a wolf if it's not in a pack. 

It's a dying tradition in Kyrgyzstan, but a a few people still do it: in Bokonbayevo itself there are at least a couple of families. They can do the demonstration at short notice, they will come and pick you up with a car and take you to a suitable place around town. You can organise the demonstration through the official community tourism office (CBT), but probably your host can put you in touch with them as well - this is the cheaper option. While it is obviously a touristy thing, it is indeed how a hunting eagle is trained and I found it interesting. It was also nice to get up close to such a mighty animal. Unfortunately I can't find his phone number, but I went with a young man called Azamat and his brother. A dog was also trained; it reminded me of the Afghan Hound. Azamat and his brother also organise eagle hunting trips on horse back in the winter months for a very reasonable rate. It was still too early and I didn't go back later, but it could have been quite interesting.