The Golden Eagle Spring Festival, a traditional Mongolian event, opened at the Chinggis Khuree tourist camp near the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sunday, with the aim of promoting ethnic Kazakh culture and boosting tourism.

Twenty eagle hunters aged from 14-86 are competing in the two-day festival to catch small animals, such as foxes and hares, with specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills of both the birds and their trainers, according to the Mongolian Eagle Hunter’s Association.

Mongolia is home to the thousand year-old tradition of hunting with trained Golden Eagles. This unique tradition has been passed from generation to generation among the Kazakh nomads who live in the mountains of Mongolia’s far west.

The Golden Eagle Festival is held twice a year in the spring and autumn season in Mongolia. The autumn festival takes place in the province of Bayan-Ulgii which is home to Mongolia’s Kazakhs. The festival, one of the most interesting tourism activities in Mongolia, is estimated to attract 3,000 domestic and foreign visitors this year. The last spring festival attracted over 2,000 visitors.