Known as the most powerful waterfall in the world, the Kaieteur Falls – Potaro-Siparuni and its white waters are surrounded by beautiful green landscapes in a jungle full of life and offers stunning views of the Kaieteur National Park. The falls are a little known by tourists.
Located on the Potaro River within the Kaieteur National Park, the waterfalls rise 256 meters high in the middle of Guyana’s tropical rainforest. Locals typically call the Kaieteur Falls “Old Man Falls.”
The Kaieteur Falls are up to 5 times higher than the Niagara Falls, located between the United States and Canada but much less known, and about 2 times the height of the Victoria Falls, located between the Zambian Border and Zimbabwe in southern Africa.
Upon reaching Kaieteur Falls, you will see a single drop waterfall, which is the highest in the world according to the World Database of Waterfalls. Its distinction lies in the unique combination of great height and large volume, with an average flow of 663 m3 per second.
A part of this majestic scenario is the Potaro River, which is a wide flow of brown-colored waters that runs about 225 kilometers. Upstream of the falls you will find the Potaro plateau, which extends to the distant and steep Pakaraima mountains. The Potaro River joins the Essequibo River, which is one of the longest and widest rivers in South America, to give life to the Kaieteur Falls, one of the most spectacular and most powerful waterfalls on Earth.
Once you arrive at this place, you will see that the Kaieteur Falls are a major tourist attraction in Guyana; together with the landscape that surrounds them, this is one of the most visited tourist spots in the country.
The Kaieteur falls receive more than 40,000 tourists per year. Despite the complicated access to the area of the falls, you will have several trails through which you can enjoy the landscape of the rainforest. In addition to arriving on foot, another common form of access to the area is by plane, from the Georgetown airport.
The walks to get to Kaieteur Falls will take you approximately 4 to 5 days. As there is no route drawn specifically, various guides from the Kaieteur National Park will direct you to the place. There are also other options to get there faster, such as boating for a whole day from Pamela Landing or taking a plane to the park. Whatever the chosen medium, the first glance at the falls will always impress you.
A place full of discoveries!
The Kaieteur National Park has different trails and viewpoints that will be found from different angles and are ideal for taking panoramic pictures. For this reason, the best way to travel around the Kaieteur National Park is by walking routes where you can perceive nature in its most virgin state.
You can also observe multiple exotic animals, such as bright and multicolored frogs or butterflies of different types and sizes. Some of the most striking plants that will be found are bromeliads and orchids, Venezuela’s national flower. The landscape of the jungle near Kaieteur falls is unique in the world and hosts one of the highest biodiversity indexes on the planet, although certain species are in danger of extinction.
With all these wonders to discover and various activities such as hiking to get to know the national park, Kaieteur Falls is one of those hidden treasures of nature that are worth discovering.
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