Naadam Festival, 

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The highlight of the Mongolian year is Eriin Gurvan Naadam (Naadam for short), meaning 'Three Manly Games'. The games themselves are horse-racing, wrestling and archery, but they are not necessarily manly; women take part in everything except the wrestling. The notoriously friendly Mongols converge for three days of traditional sports, food, crafts, music and general festivities. The horse-racing takes place across the open steppes, an incredible sight as Mongolians are renowned for their superb horsemanship; Mongolians joke that they learn to ride before they can walk. The archery demonstrates remarkable skill using bows and arrows that have not changed much for hundreds of centuries. The wrestling is, apparently, more tactical than fast-moving but worth seeing for the incredible costumes alone.