Waterfall of the Tears of the Leopard

Tears of the Leopard Waterfall – the most famous waterfall of the Barskoon Gorge.

One of the most beautiful gorges in Kyrgyzstan, the Barskoon Gorge (in Kyrgyz, Barskoon) is located on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 90 km from the capital of the Issyk-Kul region, the city of Karakol.

In the Barskoon Gorge, among relict firs and pines, three waterfalls originate from the glaciers of the high mountains. The lowest of them is the Manas Bowl, slightly higher is the Old Man's Beard, and at the very top is the Tears of the Leopard (also known as Champagne Splashes).

The Barskoon waterfall, like the Barskoon Gorge itself, is a stunning place. The air is so pure that it rings in your ears, the ecology is healthy, the grass is lush and green, and the cold, fast mountain river creates an ecological paradise. The water from the glacier is crystal clear – it is drinkable!

This unique place is a state natural monument. The height from which the water flows down is about 100 m.
Therefore, there is always such a noise at the waterfall that no other sounds can be distinguished. When the water falls on the rock, it breaks into millions of droplets that scatter for dozens of meters around. In winter, the waterfall is frozen in ice, resembling a fairy-tale ice palace among the rocks. At any time of the year, the Tears of the Leopard Waterfall presents a grand spectacle that inspires admiration for the magnificence and power of nature.

According to legend, the "Manas Bowl" was formed after Manas scooped water with his hand, leaving a bowl in the rock.

There is a legend among the people about how the largest 100-meter waterfall "Tears of the Leopard" came to be.
The female leopard, going hunting, left her three cubs in the den, but they crawled out and fell from the rocks. Upon seeing her dead cubs, the female leopard cried, and her tears turned into a waterfall with three cascades, where the river's water falls in succession.

A mesmerizing sight: the waters of the Barskoon River, flowing from under the glaciers of the Terkey Alatau, fall from a high vertical cliff. The water crashes into a small basin that it has carved out over hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years.