Adventure in Kaieteur Falls

Kaieteur Falls in Guyana, small country in South America is one of the most majestic spots on Earth. It also sports one other significant advantage – not many people have heard of Kaieteur Falls. Make Kaieteur Falls your next vacation spot and you will not only travel to see one of the most scenic waterfalls in the world, you will also vacation at a place not known of by many people. Sure, there are things to do in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but everyone and their cousin has already been there. I would bet my Snickers King Size bar (can’t live without them) that your cousin has never heard of Kaieteur Falls or Guyana for that matter. I am willing to bet that even you didn’t know Guyana was in South America.

Kaieteur Falls Fact Sheet

If looking for new travel destinations you will find Kaieteur Falls located on the Potaro River in the center of Guyana. Kaieteur Falls flow over a flat sandstone cliff and then plunge down 226 meters (741 feet) making Kaieteur the largest single drop waterfall in the world. Once the falls reach its first break, it continues to tumble over remarkably beautiful rocks for another 25 meters (101 feet) for a total distance from top to bottom of 251 meters (822 feet).

If size does matter to you Kaieteur Falls has a drop of over five times the size of Niagara Falls and is twice as tall as Victoria Falls in Africa (located on Zambezi River). Although Victoria and Kaieteur Falls have similar local ecology the winner in both size and glory is Kaieteur.

Kaieteur Falls Flora and Fauna

Massive waterfalls are known for amazing flora and fauna. If all you want is water you might not care but if unusual, interesting and bizarre are on your list of favorites try Kaieteur Falls. Kaieteur Falls has Kaieteur Swifts (a type of bird) that are known for being the fastest living creatures quite capable of capturing flying insects. These little birds nest in the rocks behind the apparently impenetrable curtain of falling water. Many endangered species feel at home in the Kaieteur National Park and it’s fun and easy to observe them. Areas around Kaieteur Falls are especially designed to offer some great viewing of animals, birds and exotic plants.

Getting to Kaieteur Falls

There is no word to define how remote Kaieteur Falls and Kaieteur National Park really are. You have two choices for travel which is nice because it cuts down on decision making.

Getting There by Plane:
Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, has an airport and you can hop on a small air craft. It takes about and hour and offers an amazing bird’s eye view of the falls and the surrounding are which is simply spectacular…

Getting There on Foot:
If flying is too easy you might opt for the long walk to Kaieteur Falls, but you better be in pretty good shape for the stroll. It can take you 3 to 5 days to reach Kaieteur Falls. The advantage is that you will see lots of virgin rain forest with many great sights within Kaieteur National Park before you reach Kaieteur Falls.

While Kaieteur Falls is the most popular vacation spot in Guyana, you’re still not likely to be overrun by crowds and your hiking partner might be the only other person around if you go there during the week. During busier seasons and on weekends you might run across another tourist who dared the wild hike or flew over to see Kaieteur Falls. The entire area gives you the authentic wilderness experience not often offered by more popular tourist destinations. It’s that uniqueness and unsurpassed virgin beauty that would make it a trip of a lifetime.