The waterfalls are located in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, 55 kilometers from Nalchik, in the Chegem gorge. The nearest settlements are Nizhny Chegem and Khushto-Syrt.
There are three main waterfalls here:
- Maly Chegemsky waterfall, or Adai-Su (Maiden’s spit). Despite the name, this 30-meter waterfall is the most powerful and beautiful of the entire group.
- Waterfall on the Sakal-Tup river. Like the Small Chegem Waterfall, it looks like a giant trough with water, only of a different shape and there is much less water here.
- The main Chegem waterfall consists of several waterfalls located next to each other. Some of the water falls in the form of small cascades from a height of 50-60 m, the other oozes from dozens of crevices in the upper part of the cliffs of the gorge.
The Adai-Su waterfall stands apart 8.5 kilometers from the other two.
from the parking lot to Adai-Su about 300 meters.
Adai-Su Waterfall
paths to the Adai-Su waterfall
Adai-Su Waterfall, Kabardino-Balkaria
Maly Chegemsky waterfall
Maly Chegemsky waterfall, June
Sakal-Tup Waterfall and the Main Chegem Waterfall are located nearby. The first waterfall is the most beautiful, especially if you are lucky and there will be no people there.
Sakal-Tup Waterfall
The main Chegem waterfall did not impress me personally at all – there are too many tourists, cars and merchants. Shopping stalls and goods hung on the walls of the gorge spoil the visual part of this place very much.
The main Chegem waterfall
The main Chegem waterfall and river
The main Chegem waterfalls
Chegem waterfalls
Main Chegem waterfalls, June
There is an observation deck, and here are the stairs to it:
stairs to the observation deck
entrance is 50 rubles
view from the stairs down
The entrance costs 50 rubles, the money is collected by a girl, payment receipts and entrance tickets are not issued.
the stairs are steep at the top
path to the observation deck
observation deck at Chegem waterfalls
the observation deck is located far from the edge of the cliff
There is only one name from the observation deck, in fact, the gorge is poorly visible from it. I walked around it and went down a little lower on the rocks. Be careful, if you want to repeat it, you can slip and fly from a 60-meter height into the river.
view of the gorge and waterfalls if you go down outside the observation deck
After visiting the observation deck, I had lunch in a cafe a little away from the noisy center in a cafe that had a summer playground by the water. I took a salad, soup and chicken kebab with compote. The lunch cost 750 rubles. Everything was delicious, the only thing I didn’t like was some uncomfortable tables, well, for example, tablecloths could be made, the lack of running water – I had to wash my hands in some strange “country” tank, and a terrible toilet with disgusting smells. I dined alone at the summer festival, all the other visitors ate inside the building.
lunch by the river
view of the cafe’s summer playground from the river
lunch for 750 rubles
toilet
Toilets are either in the cafe – they are free for visitors, or there is one paid, it is located in the very center of the gorge right by the waterfalls on the second floor, in general it will be difficult to pass by it.
There may be difficulties with parking the car, the whole gorge is a solid parking lot, the cars are right next to each other.
There are a lot of merchants and it’s better not to look in their direction, otherwise they won’t leave you alone with their knitted socks and souvenirs.
Chegem waterfalls and trade
Chegem waterfalls, merchants
Chegem waterfalls, the road to the observation deck the site
Chegem waterfalls, photo 1
Chegem waterfalls, photo 2
Chegem waterfalls, photo 3
Chegem waterfalls, photo 4
Chegem waterfalls, photo 5
Chegem waterfalls, photo 6
shopping stalls at Chegem waterfalls
Chegem waterfalls, photo 7
entertainment for tourists at Chegem waterfalls
Chegem waterfalls, photo 8
Cafe on Chegem waterfalls, gazebo on the top right
Is it worth going to the Chegem waterfalls specially from afar? I would recommend combining their visit with some other place, for example, with a trip to the Aktoprak pass, then it will be a really interesting spectacular day. But just to come here and that’s it – especially if you are traveling from afar, probably not quite right. It took us two hours to visit two waterfalls and lunch. That was enough time for everything. The very visit to the waterfalls is completely free.
I definitely wouldn’t come here specifically a second time. We came here only because the Chegem waterfalls stood on our way to the Aktoprak pass. It would be stupid not to stop by, especially since you could also have lunch here.
Also interesting:
A trip to the Tsmiakom gorge for the flowering of rhododendrons
Climbing Mount Kai-khokh in North Ossetia
A trip to the Aktoprak pass, Chegem waterfalls and Lake Gizhgit