Batareyskiy Waterfall (Teriberka)

Batareyskiy Waterfall, also known as Battery Waterfall, is a four-step waterfall on the Barents Sea coast near the village of Teriberka in the Kola District of Murmansk Oblast. The stream flows out of Maloye Batareyskoye Lake and drops down a rocky ledge towards the sea. The waterfall lies within the Teriberka nature park, close to the Dragon Eggs beach and the bird cliffs, and is one of the main natural sights of Teriberka. It is often called the northernmost waterfall in European Russia.

Origin of the name

The waterfall and the lake that feeds it are named after the 199th artillery battery, stationed on Cape Dolgy in the late 1930s. During the Second World War the battery defended Teriberka against attacks from the sea and the air.

Teriberka itself long remained a quiet, little-known village. The film Leviathan made it widely known, tourists and photographers followed, and the creation of the nature park turned this stretch of coast into one of the most visited places on the Kola Peninsula.

What to see

The water falls in four steps with a total drop of about 10 to 15 metres. The view changes with the seasons. In spring and summer, when the lake is full, the stream is powerful and turbulent; in autumn it calms down. In winter the stream partly freezes into a wall of ice with water still running beneath it. From the top of the cliff above the falls there is a wide view of the Barents Sea, so photographers shoot both from above and from the shore below.

Getting there

You cannot drive to the waterfall: cars are left at the car park by the nature park checkpoint, and from there an equipped nature trail leads through a rocky gorge. From the hotels in Lodeynoye the walk takes about an hour and a half each way, from Old Teriberka more than two hours. In winter many visitors ride out on a sledge pulled by a snowmobile.

Good to know

The waterfall is in a protected nature park and a permit is required. It is issued in advance on the website of the Murmansk Oblast protected areas directorate; the visit is paid, with different rates for Russian citizens and foreigners, and entering without a permit is fined. Check current prices before the trip. The weather on the coast changes quickly, so bring sturdy shoes for the rocks and warm waterproof clothing even in summer.