Ecological tours to Jety-Oguz Gorge from Tamga.

"The Jety-Oguz Gorge is densely overgrown with bushes: black barberry, irgay (Cotoneaster nummularia), boyarka (Crataegus pinnatifida), honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) and rose hips (Rosa cinnamomea). All this was intertwined with beautiful clematis (Clematis soongorica)."

P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. "Journey to the Tien Shan". 1856 - 1857.

Excursion to Jety-Oguz Gorge.

Waterfall "Maiden Braids" is located at an altitude of 2470 meters above sea level, is located in Jety-Oguz gorge, 954 meters from left bank of river of same name, 3.6 kilometers to south and a little to east of Jety-Oguz resort, on northern slope of Terskey Ala-Too mountain range in Jety-Oguz district of Issyk-Kul region. 
1.5 kilometers to the northwest of the Kok-Zhaiyk tract, on one of the left tributaries of the Jety-Oguz River, is the waterfall "Maiden Braids". There is a path to the waterfall, the walk here takes about 1 hour, you can also take a horse ride. The waterfall is surrounded by Tien-Shan firs, the tops of which reach the height of the beginning of the fall of the water.
At the bottom of the waterfall, trunks of old trees are piled up chaotically and quite beautifully, which give the waterfall a picturesque appearance. It seems that the waterfall is in a rocky, vertical cirque from the eastern wall of which streams of water break off.
The height of the fall along the inclined rock wall reaches about 40 meters, the width of the water flow spreads along the wall from 5 to 10 meters. The waterfall impresses not with its power, but with the beauty of the falling stream, the water seems to run along the rock and with enough imagination you can see the girl's braids.
On the way to the waterfall, you can enjoy the picturesque views of the left bank of the Jety-Oguz valley. The "Maiden Braids" waterfall in the Kok-Zhaiyk tract is located in the mid-mountain forest, meadow and steppe zone, there are mountain forest and meadow soils, Tien-Shan spruce with rich shrub undergrowth, forb-grass lawns.
To hike to the waterfall in rainy weather, you need to be prepared for certain difficulties, since the paths are very narrow, not equipped, covered with black soil, which becomes soggy with an abundance of water and makes it difficult to move.
Geographical coordinates of "Maiden Braids": N42°17'58 E78°15'08

Authority and photos by:
Alexander Petrov.