NEED TO KNOW
LOCATION Kaieteur Falls lies in Kaieteur National Park, and is 145 miles (230 km) southwest of the Guyanan capital, Georgetown
MAXIMUM HEIGHT 825 ft (250 m)
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES Jan: 79°F (26°C); Apr: 81°F (27°C); Jul: 81°F (27°C); Oct: 82°F (28°C)
Kaieteur Falls is buried deep in the dense tropical jungles of central Guyana and, like Iguaçu, is memorable for its stupendous scale. The falls are five times higher than those at Niagara, and spew out water at a prodigious average rate of 23,414 cubic ft (663 cubic m) per second, making Kaieteur, statistically, one of the world’s most powerful cascades and, visually, one of its most dramatic.
The setting is unforgettable too – the waterfall lies in one of the continent’s largest tracts of undisturbed rain forest. And despite being Guyana’s leading tourist attraction, it still only attracts around 40,000 visitors a year – far fewer than Iguaçu, let alone Niagara.
Practical Information
Getting There There is no road access to the falls. They are best visited either by plane on a day trip from Georgetown, which is an hour’s flight away, or on foot via a spectacular wilderness trek that takes between three and five days to complete.
When to Go Visit in January, June or July, during either of the country’s two rainy seasons, when the falls are at their most powerful.