Mongolia
Naadam Festival (code:22)
Naadam
is a traditional type of festival in Mongolia. The
festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam", "the
three games of men". The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse
racing and archery
and are held throughout the country during the midsummer holidays. Women have
started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but
not in Mongolian wrestling. The biggest festival is held in the Mongolian
capital Ulaanbaatar
during the National Holiday from July 11 – 13, in the National Sports Stadium. Other
cities and towns across Mongolia and those with significant Mongolian
populations in China, have their own, smaller scale Naadam celebrations. It
begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes,
horse riders, and musicians. After the ceremony, the competitions begin.
Naadam is the most widely watched festival among
Mongols, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or
another. Naadam has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and
sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that
followed the celebration of various occasions. Now it formally commemorates the
1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country. Another popular
Naadam activity is the playing of games using shagai, sheep
knuckles that serve as game pieces and tokens of both divination
and friendship. In the larger Nadaam festivals, tournaments may take place in a
separate venue.
Tour Overview
Tour
Length: 6 days
Group size: 3 to 24 people
Transport
type: Vehicle
Tour cost: US$ 590 - (including taxes)
Tour level: Standart
Schedule
2011: June- September (You can choose when you come and the date.)
Highlights: Ulaanbaatar city, Wrestling,
Horse racing, Archery, Terelj National Park, Horseback
riding tour, city shopping, Visit nomad families, opportunity to ride horse and
much more!
ITINERARY
Day-1 Arrival in Ulaanbaatar.
After transferring to a hotel, there will be some sightseeing around town. We
visit the Dinosaur Exhibition Hall of the Natural Historical Museum, and Gandan
monastery. Dinner at the History Club restaurant offers the chance to hear a
wonderful performance of pleasant melodies on the horse-headed violin (the
morin khuur) and the famous Mongolian traditional vocal singing, called
"Khoomii”. There will be an overnight stay in the hotel. (L+D)
Day-2 Naadam festival- Horse racing
Unlike Western horse racing, which consists of
short sprints generally not much longer than 2 km, Mongolian horse racing
as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 15–30 km long.
The length of each race is determined by age class. For example, two-year-old
horses race for ten miles and seven-year-olds for seventeen miles. Up to 1000
horses from any part of Mongolia can be chosen to participate. Race horses are
fed a special diet. Children from 5 to 13 are chosen as jockeys who train in
the months preceding the races. While jockeys are an important component, the
main purpose of the races is to test the skill of the horses. Before the races
begin, the audience sings traditional songs and the jockeys sing a song called Gingo.
Prizes are awarded to horses and jockeys. The top five horses in each class
earn the title of airgiyn tav and the top three are given gold, silver,
and bronze medals. Also the winning jockey is praised with the title of tumny
ekh or leader of ten thousand. The horse that finishes last in the
two-year-old class (the daaga class) is sung a song wishing him luck.
(B+L+D)
Day- 3 Naadam festival- Wrestling,
Archery
512 or 1024 wrestlers meet in a
single-elimination tournament that lasts nine or ten rounds. Mongolian
traditional wrestling is an untimed competition in which wrestlers lose if they
touch the ground. When picking pairs, the wrestler with the greatest fame has
the privilege to choose his own opponent. Wrestlers wear two-piece costumes
consisting of a tight shoulder vest (zodog) and shorts (shuudag).
Only men are allowed to play.
Mongolian archery is unique for having
not only one target, but hundreds of beadrs or surs on a huge
wall. In this competition both men and women participate. It is played by
ten-men/women teams who are given four arrows each; the team has to hit 33
"surs". Men fire their arrows from 75 meters away while women fire
theirs from 65 meters away. When the archer hits the target the judge says uuhai
which means "bulls eye". The winners of the contest are granted the
titles of "national marksman" and "national markswoman".
(B+L+D)
Day-4 Terelj
National Park
After
breakfast at the hotel, drive to Terelj National park. You'll explore the
extraordinary formation of rocks and stones; some of them look quite similar to
turtles. The Terelj National Park incorporates parts of Khentii Mountain Range.
Overnight in tourist camp. (B+L+D)
Day-5 Back to
Ulaanbaatar and city shopping
After breakfast, we will drive to
Ulaanbaatar. You may choose an optional city tour where you will be taken to
souvenir and cashmere shops before enjoying an evening concert. Then a farewell
dinner and overnight at the hotel. (B+L+D)
Day 6 Departure
After breakfast, will be transferred
from hotel to train station or airport. (B)
B- Breakfast
L- Lunch
D- Dinner
Included:
- Twin bedded rooms in a hotel
- Shared accommodation in tourist ger camp
- Guiding and interpreting service
- All meals as listed in the itinerary
- Daily supply of bottled water
- Transfers by vehicle 4x4
- Local guides
- All entrance fees
- Horse, camel, yak ride trial
Not included:
- international airfare
- visa cost
- alcoholic drinks
- travel insurance
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