Place to see: Barskoon Waterfall, Barskoon, Kyrgyzstan

About this place:

Located approximately 20km south of the village of Barskoon (pronounced bars-kone) on the southern shore of Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk Kul is the Barskoon Waterfall. By car, you can reach a place where two of the three cataracts are visible, which is a great place to picnic. At this spot you will find two monuments to Yuri Gagarin. Legend has it that as he was hurtling into space on the first ever manned space flight, he looked down and saw this waterfall. After his spaceflight, he made a point of coming to visit the waterfall, where he left an inscription on one of the rocks. (The inscription has since been defaced.) From this point, a steep trail leads up the mountain to the three falls.