Waterfalls of the Turgen Gorge. 

It seems that there is no Almaty resident who has not visited Bear Falls, because the route to this work of nature is one of the easiest!

The Bear Falls owes its name to the Bear Stream, which flows into it, and it, in turn, is named after the bear family that lives nearby. But do not worry, Bear Falls is very close to the road, and therefore it is very rare to meet a wild beast in its vicinity.

HOW TO REACH THE WATERFALL?

To get to the waterfall, special skill is not required. The road to it is well asphalted, and even a child will master the walking segment of the path.

From the checkpoint at the entrance to the Turgen Gorge we drive to the Ak-Bulak cafe, leave the car here and cross the Turgen river over the bridge. There you will see a plate with a pointer towards the waterfall. The hiking route is only 1 km along a good trail and wooden bridges over a stream laid for the convenience of tourists. Along the trail you will find many tables and benches, which will greatly facilitate the route for older people.

The Bear Falls is a bubbling stream of water that breaks into the rocks with a noise and forms a truly magnificent sight. Its height is as much as 30 m, and the water temperature does not exceed 12 degrees, so that at the foot of the waterfall real water dust is formed from cold, refreshing spray.

Bear waterfall is about 1 million years old and in its rocks you can often find traces of prehistoric plants, but not only this attracts anthropologists from around the world to the Turgen Gorge, because millions of years ago a large number of prehistoric animals lived here.

The people called the Bear Falls a “young man,” thanks to the legend of an elderly couple living nearby. Once the head of the family went to the forest for brushwood, but never returned. A worried spouse goes in search of him and meets a young dzhigit. A woman asks if she has seen her husband’s dzhigit, to which the dzhigit laughs and replies: “Why don’t you recognize your spouse?” And takes the woman to the waterfall. She drinks his water and turns into a young girl.