The Kaieteur Falls in Central Essequibo, Guyana
Kaieteur Falls is a single drop waterfall located at the central Essequibo Territory in Guyana. It is particularly located on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National park flowing over a series of steep cascades. This isn’t really a popular site compared to Niagara and Iguazu Falls, but if you like discovering treasures in an underdeveloped yet more-in-touch-with-nature setting, Kaieteu Falls is the treasure you should look for.
The Kaieteur Falls has a drop of 226 meters making it one of the highest waterfalls in the world. Moreover, it has a height of 251 meters and a width of 122 meters during the rainy season. It is among the most powerful waterfalls too with an average flow rate of 663 cubic meters per second.
The high Kaieteur Falls was discovered by the British geologist Charles Barrington Brown in April 24, 1870 when he was appointed as a government surveyor during the British-colonized Guyana. He further studied the waterfall that made him create the books Canoe and Camp Life in British Guiana and Fifteen Thousand Miles in the Amazon and its tributaries, published in 1876 and 1878 respectively.
The magnificent waterfall was named before a Toshao or chief named Kai who saved his people paddling over the falls by sacrificing himself to the great spirit Makonaima. The story came from a Patamona Indian legend.
It isn’t only the high falls that gets everyone’s attention here. Wildlife is also present around the area that you could chance upon seeing the rare golden frogs or the broad-leafed bromeliads. Usual wild animals like jaguars and monkeys can also be seen around.
For a quick trip to Kaieteur Falls, you can fly to the airstrip by the falls from Georgetown. From the airstrip, you take a short hike that’ll pass through stops like the Boy Scout’s View where you can already see the falls right in front of you. There’s another stop which is the Rainbow View where you can literally see rainbows in the mist.
