Great Chegem Waterfalls

The Great Chegem Waterfalls are hidden in a narrow gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria and seem to emerge directly from the rock. Rather than one single cascade, dozens of streams issue from fissures. On the Sakal-Tup River, water slides through a stone channel; at Kayarty, cascades fall and seep from cracks from heights approaching sixty metres. Striking the ledges, the streams become fine spray. Cool mist fills the air, and in sunlight rainbows form over the gorge.

Local people call the Chegem cascades the “Tears of the Mountains.” Thin streams run down the cliffs as though the rocks themselves were crying. One legend tells of exceptionally beautiful girls from a Balkar village who, during a raid, chose death over captivity and stepped from the cliff. Their long black braids caught on the rocks and turned into streams of water that remain on the walls.