Mongolia's Golden Eagle Festival Sweepstakes

O: What's your favorite view in this trip?
The stunning view of the Gobi Altai Mountains from the front porch of the Three Camel Lodge in the Gobi Desert.

O: What's your favorite walk to suggest to visitors?
Take a walk on the grounds of the Gandan Monastery, the oldest Buddhist monastery in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and now its spiritual center, to observe chanting monks and believers. In the countryside, hike at the Yol Valley, a deep gorge carved by a pre-historic river where you can walk on a frozen ice bed even in the early months of summer in the middle of the desert.

O: Where do you send visitors looking for some peace and quiet?
The Gobi Desert has a mysterious meditative quality to it.

O: What is your favorite activity to suggest to visitors?
A highlight is to travel overland past unspoiled landscapes and to be introduced to Mongolia???s unique culture through interactions with nomadic families living as they had lived for centuries.

O: What are your favorite small treats on the trip?
To see dozens and dozens of eagle hunters arrive in the province center on horseback with their trained birds of prey to participate in the Golden Eagle Festival.

O: What mistakes do you see visitors make?
We often see travelers make cultural mistakes that they are not aware of, such as when inside the ger, they sit with their feet pointing toward the back of the ger where the Buddhist shrine and family photographs are located. Also, while in the countryside, it is illegal to purchase fossils such as dinosaur eggs and they are subject to confiscation by authorities upon departure.

O: What is your favorite historical fact or piece of trivia or legend about the city or area?
The conservation of the Bogd Khan Mountain, situated south of the capital city dates back to the 13th-century, when Genghis Khan designated the Bogd Khan as a holy mountain and prohibited felling of trees, tilling of soil, and killing of game. Since then, the mountain has been protected and worshiped in Mongolia, making it one of the world's oldest nature reserves.

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