Day trip to Kazakh family of Eagle hunters in Nur-Sultan

Itinerary

From the first minutes of your arrival to the village you will be met by mischievous children in Kazakh traditional clothes which they usually wear during National holidays, celebration of birthday parties and in front of highly respected guests!

During this journey you will immerse yourself into the life of a truly traditional Kazakh family which you can now hardly meet in big cities. Upon entering Yurta (Kazakh traditional house) you will see women, one of whom will be cooking baursak (round fluffy pastry) and another rolling kurt (salty snack made from cottage cheese). You can join both of these women and test your cooking skills.

After the culinary master-class, you will join our big and sometimes noisy Kazakh family in yurta for a home-made lunch. The main dish that will be served to you is beshbarmak – boiled dough in a square form as lasagna with lots of horse meat, beef and onions. The name of the dish literally means “five fingers” which refers to a nomadic tradition of eating without cutlery. You can also try eating beshparmak with your hands because it tastes better! Before starting your main course you should drink shorpo – mutton broth served in bowls called kese. Drinking shorpo is healthy and simply delicious.

After lunch, head of the house will invite you to join him to take part in Kazakh archery. If you don’t know the art of archery he will teach you! Also, you will hear enchanting sounds of dombra. Dombra can truly be called the queen of Kazakh instruments.

During the visit, you have a unique opportunity to watch Berkut show (Golden eagles). Berkuts are endangered species registered in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. Hunting with golden eagles is one of the most unique traditions of Kazakh people. Eagle hunter is called “kusbegi” or “berkutchi”. Currently, there are few families left who continue carrying the skill and one of them is our host.

After lunch you can try your skills in horse riding. If you have no experience this is a perfect opportunity to learn it from our kusbegi!