Private Tour

Trip to Kazakh family of Eagle hunters in Astana (6 hours)

Overview

Available languages

German

English

Italian

French

24 hours

Mobile ticket

Join our Kazakh family of Eagle hunters and prepare for an exciting day of cultural and culinary adventures in Astana.

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 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!

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Service animals allowed

Specialized infant seats are available

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Archery teaching

guide

Lunch

All Fees and Taxes

Air-conditioned vehicle

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

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 (traditional house)you will see women,one of whom will be cooking baursak round fluffy pastry)and 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 means “five fingers” which refers to a nomadic tradition of eating without cutlery.You can 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!You will hear enchanting sounds of dombra.Dombra can truly be called the queen of Kazakh instruments

Sample Menu

main

Besparmak

Options

Lunch

Traditional Kazakh Lunch
Pickup included

Reviews

4.50

12 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Amazing!
leilah H,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
One of the coolest experiences and tours I’ve done while traveling! The host family was so kind and welcoming:)
Immensely enjoyable experience!
Leilah Hillman,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Outstanding experience with Armand and Yerlan! The eagle hunting was so cool as was the archery and home cooked meal in a traditional Kazakh home.
Bad content, great execution
Tigr Ldy,
Oct 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
2.00
The description versus reality were very different: This tour suggests that you get to see a yurt, you do not. There was two child there for a few minutes (I get that they had school but either have someone else do a music time/dance or don't advertise its about kids). You do not get to help cook the meal. Of the two bows, one was broken, and of the 5 arrows, only 1 was straight and had a tip. You are in a cinderblock-fenced backyard. There is no eagle hunting or even eagle flying demonstration. Our eagle hunter wore sweats, not traditional clothing. They had no water for lunch or anything, so bring your own bottled water! That being said, our guide was one of the best guides, and he did a great job of discussing the history, both geographically and politically, as we drove out to the small city where the eagle hunter lived and back. He answered every question thoroughly and provided great explanations. The eagle hunter guy was very nice, and the lunch was tasty. We did get to hold one of the smaller eagles, which was cool. I believe there are other offerings of this type of tour that are more true to the descriptions and I'd suggest you go there.
Unique and memorable tour!
Selena C,
Aug 17, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
We all enjoyed the unique experience. Our guide Yerlan communicated clearly, helped by asking the family to provide a non-meat dish for the vegetarians, and shared his knowledge of Kazakhstan. The family was very kind and hospitable, the food and tea was delicious, and we had a great time with the experiences of archery practice, holding a golden eagle, enjoying musical talents, and riding a horse with views of the steppe.
ok
WTH9,
May 1, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00
Let me say that this review does not reflect the warm welcoming family of Armand and his village but just that our experience was not what we expected for the money we paid. Armand and his family were extremely welcoming and so very kind to us. We paid $580 for 2 people and got to spend about 20 mins with his eagle, each of us had an attempt to shoot 2 arrows and then a display of a Kazakh horse riding sport game. We had a nice lunch inside of his home and then watched many eagle hunting videos and he played a few songs on his dobra guitar.. There was no yurt, no traditional costumes, no actual eagle flying display. We were there for a total of 4 hours and we asked the guide/translator to send us some of the photos he took and we never got any. The eagle was amazing and Armand and his wife were so very welcoming and we were happy to meet them but we just felt based on other experiences we read about here we did not get the full experience we expected for the money.
A once in a lifetime adventure!
544laurav,
Sep 28, 2022
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
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!
Phenomenal!
jessr307,
Aug 1, 2022
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
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!
A Brilliant Unforgettable Day
Adrianne K,
Oct 13, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
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.
Excellent Experience
Zach M,
Sep 23, 2019
- Review from Viator
5.00
5 others and I went on this excursion and really enjoyed ourselves. If you’re looking to experience authentic Kazakhstani culture this is for you.
We will never forget this experience!
Margaret R,
Jun 23, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
My boyfriend and I had an incredible time visiting the eagle hunter (Arman) and his family. This tour is exactly as promised in the description! When we arrived at Arman's house, his wife was cooking baursaki (savory doughnuts) over an open fire in the backyard. My boyfriend helped her make them, and they were delicious! It was too chilly out to have lunch in the yurt, but we were given a lesson on the yurt's construction and cultural significance. We then tried our hand at archery (with varying success), a traditional Kazakh game of throwing sheep bones, and horseback riding. Perhaps the most special part of the afternoon was getting the chance to meet (and hold!) Arman's decades-old prize hunting eagle, which was passed down from his father. It was simply magical. We were then invited into Arman's home to enjoy horse milk, do a traditional Kazakh dance, and eat a feast of beshbarmak. Aigerima secured us a fantastic English translator who gave us a running commentary throughout it all. I can't recommend this tour enough! It was simply the highlight of our visit, and an experience we will never forget.