Stretching across endless steppe and mountain landscapes, Kazakhstan is one of the few places where travelers can still glimpse what life was like for the world’s great nomadic cultures.
For centuries, the Kazakhstan nomads moved with their herds, lived in felt yurts, and practiced eagle hunting and horsemanship that defined their identity. Today, while most Kazakhs live modern lives, their traditions are carefully preserved through cultural villages, yurt camps, and family-run experiences.
For travelers who want to connect with history not in a museum but under open skies and witnessing a sliver of what daily life was to these nomads, then the below list of activities will have you experiencing just that and its undoubtedly some of the best things to do in Kazakhstan.
What are Kazakh Nomads?
Kazakh nomads are synonyms to Kazakhstan as samurais are synonyms to Japan. The vast Kazakh steppe (an area of unforested grassland), has been home to nomadic tribes whose way of life was inseparable from the land.
These nomadic tribes have been inhabiting the place for thousands of years. Among the most known tribes of the Kazakhs were the Huns. These were skilled horsemen and archers (warrior-herders) who once thundered across Eurasia, leaving an indelible mark on history.
Later, Turkic and Mongol tribes swept through, with Genghis Khan’s empire cementing the role of the horse and yurt as symbols of nomadic identity. These clans lived in tightly knit groups, herding livestock across the grasslands, moving with the seasons, and passing down traditions through oral epics, music, and craftsmanship.
Kazakh nomads differ from the other Mongolian nomads in several ways, but mainly by the fact that they speak Turkic, rather than Mongolian, they follow Islam, rather than Buddhism, and they hunt with eagles.
By the 19th century, an estimated 90% of Kazakhs still lived as nomads, making them one of the last major nomadic civilizations in the world.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Kazakhstan gained independence and became a democracy. The government encouraged Kazakhs living in Mongolia to return by offering housing, jobs, and education. Many families did move back, but a large number chose to stay. Those who remained did so for the same reason their ancestors settled there—to keep living a traditional nomadic lifestyle.
Although in the current era, most of the kazakhs have moved into the city, a handful of them still stick to their tribes and nomadic life. Today, eagle hunting festivals, yurt-making, and horseback games like kokpar (a dramatic sport resembling polo, but played with a goat carcass) preserve the living memory of this heritage.
And this nomadic culture invites travelers across the globe to experience their civilization and learn about their ways of life.
Kazakh’s Eagle Hunters
A hunter dressed up in medieval style leather and fur, sitting on a horse back with an Eagle perched on his shoulder is not a sight one would think of seeing in the 21st century. But in the steppe of Kazakhstan, this is a practice that is still alive today.
The Kazakh practice of hunting using birds of prey dates back to the Bronze Ages according to cave paintings. Genghis Khan was said to be a lover of Eagle hunting and Marco Polo described experiencing this practice with Khan’s grandson in the early 1000s.
Today, around 240 Kazakhs practice eagle hunting; a skill and knowledge that’s passed down only in nomadic herder families. This form of Eagle hunting is such a rare yet alive tradition that UNESCO added it to the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a prime example of living human heritage.
You can visit these eagle hunters known as berkutchi. They raise a gloved arm and release their golden eagle that plunges from the sky.
In villages around Astana, visitors can meet eagle hunters who explain the training, the patience, and the immense respect required to keep such a bird. Ethical demonstrations showcase the bird’s power without hunting live prey. You’ll learn that each eagle is treated as family, living and hunting with its master before being released back to the wild after years of companionship.
If you want to witness this rare practice up close, you can join a Day Trip to a Kazakh Eagle Hunter Family in Nur-Sultan. You’ll not only see the bond between hunter and eagle firsthand but also share tea with the family and learn what it takes to keep this ancient art alive.
The Huns Ethno Village: A Living Museum
About an hour’s drive from Almaty lies the Huns Ethno Village, a cultural resort opened 15 years ago, where you get to experience Kazakhstan’s nomadic way of life before modernity took over. The Hun’s village is a time portal where locals in traditional attire perform and share their culture with you.
Archers line up in traditional attire while riders perform horse-riding stunts featuring incredible acrobatics. Yurts open their felt doors, and the air is alive with the sound of dombra strings.
It’s here that travelers can test their hand at archery, watch equestrian games, learn how felt is shaped into rugs, and even sit down inside a richly furnished yurt for a meal that might have been served to a khan centuries ago.
Sleep in a Yurt Camp
No experience speaks “Kazakh nomad” more than a night in a yurt. These portable homes, ingenious in design, have sheltered nomadic and Kazakh’s ingenious tribes and families for generations.
Inside, the latticework walls and central crown (the shanyrak) create both strength and poetry especially when you look up through it at a canopy of stars.
If you’re looking to combine this experience with some of the country’s most breathtaking landscapes, one of the best options is this 2-Day Tour to Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes with Charyn Canyon and Yurt Camp Experience.
Not only do you get to explore three of Kazakhstan’s most iconic natural wonders, but the tour also includes a stay in a traditional yurt camp. It’s the perfect way to immerse yourself in nomadic culture while still enjoying a well-organized trip that’s ideal for travelers who want the best of both worlds.
Nomadic Style Food
No immersion in Kazakh is complete without tasting the dishes that fueled life on the steppe. Meals are hearty, communal, and rich with history. Beshbarmak, literally “five fingers,” is the national dish—sliced meat (often horse or lamb) over noodles, eaten with the hands. Kazy (horse sausage), baursak (pillowy fried bread), and kymyz (fermented mare’s milk) round out a table that feels as much ritual as meal.
For travelers less keen on horse meat, beef and lamb, you can dig into staples like plov (rice pilaf) and lagman (hand-pulled noodles).
One of the most unique options is the Gourmet Tour with a Traditional Kazakh Family of Jewelers in Nur-Sultan. Here, you’ll not only taste authentic home-cooked dishes but also see the family’s craft in traditional jewelry-making – an art closely tied to nomadic identity.