Kaieteur Falls in Guyana, a small country in South America is one of the most majestic places on Earth. It also has another significant advantage: Not many people have heard of Kaieteur Falls. Make Kaieteur Falls your next vacation spot and not only will you travel to see one of the most picturesque waterfalls in the world, but you’ll also vacation somewhere unknown to many. Sure, there are things to do in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but everyone and their cousins have already been there. I’ll bet my King Size Snickers bar (I can’t live without them) that your cousin has never heard of Kaieteur Falls or Guyana. I’m willing to bet that not even you knew that Guyana was in South America.
Kaieteur Falls Fact Sheet
If you are looking for new travel destinations, you will find Kaieteur Falls located on the Potaro River in central Guyana. Kaieteur Falls flows over a flat sandstone cliff and then plunges 226 meters (741 feet), making Kaieteur the largest single-fall waterfall in the world. Once the falls reach their first break, they continue to tumble over remarkably beautiful rock for another 25 meters (101 feet) for a total top-to-bottom distance of 251 meters (822 feet).
If size is important to you, Kaieteur Falls has a drop more than five times the size of Niagara Falls and is twice as tall as Victoria Falls in Africa (located on the Zambezi River). Although Victoria and Kaieteur Falls have a similar local ecology, the winner in both size and glory is Kaieteur.
Kaieteur Falls Flora and Fauna
The massive waterfalls are known for their incredible flora and fauna. If all you want is water, you might not care, but if the unusual, the interesting, and the bizarre are on your favorites list, give Kaieteur Falls a try. Kaieteur Falls has Kaieteur Swifts (a type of bird) which are known to be the fastest creatures alive and capable of catching flying insects. These little birds nest in the rocks behind the seemingly impenetrable curtain of falling water. Many endangered species are at home in Kaieteur National Park and it’s fun and easy to spot them. The areas around Kaieteur Falls are specially designed to offer an excellent view of exotic animals, birds and plants.
How to get to Kaieteur Falls
There is no word to define how remote Kaieteur Falls and Kaieteur National Park really are. You have two options for travel, which is good because it reduces decision making.
How to get there by plane:
Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, has an airport and you can hop on a small plane. It takes about an hour and offers an incredible bird’s eye view of the falls and the surrounding area, which is simply spectacular…
How to get there on foot:
If flying is too easy, you can opt for the long hike to Kaieteur Falls, but you’d better be in good shape for the hike. It may take you 3-5 days to get to Kaieteur Falls. The advantage is that you will see a lot of unspoiled rainforest with many sights within Kaieteur National Park before reaching Kaieteur Falls.
While Kaieteur Falls is the most popular vacation spot in Guyana, it’s still not likely to be swarmed by crowds and your hiking partner might be the only other person nearby if you go there during the week. During the busier seasons and on weekends, you might run into another tourist who dared the wild hike or flew in to see Kaieteur Falls. The entire area gives you the authentic nature experience not often offered by popular tourist destinations. It is that uniqueness and unsurpassed unspoiled beauty that would make it the trip of a lifetime.
