Barskoon Waterfall

Barskoon and Tamga are charming twin villages nestled at the entrance of the Barskoon Valley, renowned for their breathtaking waterfalls and excellent trekking and horse riding opportunities. Conveniently located near Jeti Oguz, these villages make for an intriguing and accessible side trip.

Among the highlights of the area is the Barskoon Waterfall, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most celebrated natural attractions. With a dramatic drop of 24 meters (79 feet), this striking waterfall is easily reachable and surrounded by several smaller cascades that add to its scenic allure.

The region is also notable for its historical connection to the 11th-century scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari, also known as Barskhani. Renowned for authoring the first comparative dictionary of Turkic languages, which he completed in Baghdad between 1072 and 1074, al-Kashgari’s maps placed Barskoon at the heart of the world.

The A364 road from Barskoon, which winds through the Barskoon Valley, was once a significant Silk Road route crossing the Bedel Pass (4,284 meters or 15,055 feet) into China. Today, it serves as the main thoroughfare to the Kumtor Gold Mine, ensuring it is well-maintained and frequented by trucks and travelers.

Along the road in Barskoon, you’ll find two intriguing landmarks: a Soviet-era truck mounted on a pedestal and a bust of Yuri Gagarin, who vacationed on the south shore of Issyk-Kul following his pioneering space flight. To the southwest of the villages lies an ancient burial mound dating from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, with a diameter of 20 meters (65 feet) and a height of 2 meters (6.5 feet). Additionally, the remnants of an ancient Silk Road settlement from the 8th to 12th centuries are scattered along the route, offering a glimpse into the past for those traveling from Bedel Pass to China.

East of the villages, the landscape transitions into a sytyr, or alpine cold desert. In Soviet times, the route continued east along the upper Naryn River, looping around via the Yshtyk Pass (3,689 meters or 12,103 feet) to Ak Shyrak, Inylchek, and eventually back to Karakol. Unfortunately, some bridges along this once-challenging route have now collapsed, rendering the road impassable.