Reis naar Kazachse familie van Eagle-jagers in Nur-Sultan (6 uur)

If you are going to do one tour in Astana, choose this one! We were a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids aged 8 and 10) and we all agree that this trip was the highlight of our trip and absolutely unforgettable. The kids loved the archery and the horse riding the best, my husband loved the eagle and I loved the food. We also watched some videos of eagle hunting which were so interesting. All of us thought the guide, driver and the family were warm and friendly and we felt welcome immediately. It was a great insight into traditional Kazakh life and we learned so much, thank you!

This tour was the sort of amazing experience of Kazakh culture that I’ve always dreamed of, and much more! My guides drove me about an hour outside of Astana to spend an afternoon with a wonderful family of eagle hunting champions and their champion eagle. I loved meeting the family, holding their majestic eagle, riding on one of their horses, enjoying archery and fun traditional games. Then, to my surprise, they let me help cook fried bread, they showed me traditional Kazakh music (with a dombra) and dancing (and invited me to join!), prepared a spectacular luncheon for me that graciously accommodated difficult dietary restrictions. They also showed me how to build a traditional yurt and invited me inside one of them. The hospitality of the warm family and the knowledge of the engaging guide were beyond all expectations, and so was all of the fun I had. If you are interested in nomadic Turkic cultures or just looking for a fun educational experience, I cannot recommend this tour enough to anyone visiting Astana!

I can THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND this tour. Please note it is not 24 hours as the key details state, but rather around 4-5 hours I think. My friend and I negotiated with the company to pay additional costs for the English speaking guide and driver and spend the entire day in their care. We were collected from our hotel at 9.45AM and taken firstly to the Alzhir Memorial ie.the Akmola Labourcamp for wives of traitors to Motherland during the Stalin era. We were shown a film and a local guide took us through the facility telling us sobering stories. From there we were taken to the village of the Eagle hunters and were really impressed with the care we received. These folk have a desire to teach not only their younger generations, but also all people about their culture. We had a hand with cooking, rode the horse around the yard, played knucklebones, held the eagle, learnt archery, put a spoke in the yurt, participated in a ceremony for the baby who happened to turn one that day, had a lovely lunch while listening to Arman singing and playing a traditional instrument. Fabulous! When that part of the tour was complete we were taken back to Nur-Sultan and, at our request, taken on a boat trip (which we had not been able to manage by ourselves) on the river up to the Presidential Palace and return. We had requested to be taken somewhere for dinner and their choice to the very reasonably priced Mangalik Aspan restaurant with great views across the city. Finally, our tour became our shuttle to the station (and even, our fault, a dash across town to the correct station!) for our night train to Almaty. The girls were delightful, sharing their local knowledge, taking photos for us etc. That day was a highlight of our trip to "The Stans" Thank you.