Golden Eagle experience

Today, we had an opportunity to hold a golden eagle out in the field near the seven bulls rock formation. A traditional eagle hunter and his son were on hand to show and explain how the nomadic people of Krygyzstan would hunt with eagles. The eagle hunter gave a demonstration of how the eagle would hunt, by placing a fake wolf skin on the ground. The son would take the eagle further afar. The eagle's eyes were covered the whole time. When they uncovered the eagle's eyes and the hunter whistled, the eagle went towards the skin and grabbed it with its legs. It was over in a second. Superfast!
I then had a chance to hold one of the eagles. Surprisingly, it was not so heavy, but when it spread out its wings, the wingspan was really wide. I had to arch away to make space. We also had an opportunity to practise archery with a traditional hunter's bow and arrow. Overall, a fun experience.

From here we drove a bit and stopped at two of Jeti Oguz famous rock formations. The first was a heart shaped rock, a well known landmark and a national symbol.

Yuri Gagarin, the first person to orbit the earth, came to this area to rest and relax when he returned back to earth

The seven bulls rock formation is unique in the area. The red cliff resembles seven bulls with various legends regarding the formation of the red rocks. It sits high above the village of Jeti Oguz.

After lunch, we started our hike in Jeti Gorge. It is a popular hiking and camping valley. After passing some traditional yurts that people were camping at, we started to hike up the grassy mountain trail. The surrounding views were filled with mountains lined with trees. The area was lush with greenery and blue skies above us. The weather was nice and hot. The first part of the hike was a bit steep, slowly ascending up the mountain trial. But at the top plateau you have got some wonderful 180 panoramic views.

From here the trail goes deep into the forest. The trail went up and down, winding in between the trees of the forest. As you got deeper into the forest, I could hear a waterfall. Sure enough, the end of this particular trial was a waterfall. This waterfall is called the Maiden Tears and is around 40m high. It was nice and cool here, getting a break from the shining sun and hot weather. Well worth the hike!