Overview
Kaieteur National Park is in the highlands of Guyana. The park offers a genuine Amazonian experience for lovers of the jungle.
Understand
Kaieteur National Park Visitor Centre.
History Small groups of Amerindian tribes have been present in the area for thousands of years. The first outsider to explore the area in depth and witness the waterfalls was British-Canadian explorer Charles Barrington Brown in 1870.
Established in 1929, the national park was Guyana's first legally protected area. The boundaries of the park were expanded in 1999 to 63,000 hectares (242 sq mi) to protect the land and biodiverse wildlife against the encroachment of mining. Since the 2010s, the Guyanese government has started to boost funding towards tourist services within the park.
Landscape Kaieteur is pristine and virtually unspoilt. The jungle is dense but walking through it is doable and comfortable. It is possible to get lost though so have a compass and a guide with you. If you reach a high point or get to an aerial position, you will see the jungle below as a blanket of broccoli, an awe-inspiring sight.
The tiny golden rocket frog is endemic to the Kaieteur National Park. If you stay long enough in the park, you will hear the eerie cries of the red howler monkey and if you are lucky you will be able to see them.
The most famous birds found are Kaieteur is the Guianan cock-of-the-rock, with its bright orange plumage and unusual fan-shaped crest, and the scissors-tailed swift who nest on nearby cliffs and swoop down at incredible speed while hunting flying insects.
The largest butterfly in South America, the 20 cm (8 inch) sun butterfly, is found throughout the national park and particularly around the falls. Its wings are a colourful combination of bright orange, brown, yellow, white and black.
Other species that call the national park home include giant otters and jaguars.
Like much of the Amazon, the jungle is mostly still unexplored with scientists discovering new species in the rainforest all the time.
Climate Kaieteur has a tropical jungle climate with maximum temperatures of 30 °C all year round. The main rainy season in interior Guyana starts from April to September. So the best to time to see the waterfalls at its widest and most majestic would be just after the rainy season ends.
Get in
By plane The most common way of visiting the park is by flying from Ogle airport in Georgetown in a small (15 seats or less) aircraft.
Several airlines, including Trans Guyana Airways and Air Services Limited make the trip, mostly as organized day tours. These depart Georgetown around 13:00 and return around 17:00. The flight takes about an hour each way, giving visitors a few hours at the falls.
Prices are similar (around USD190 per person) for all companies and almost any hotel in Georgetown can arrange them. It is best to book a few days in advance as the airlines will only make the trip if a full planeload of visitors have been booked.
Buying a one-way ticket is difficult, as the airlines prefer all seats to be occupied on both the inbound and outbound legs. By foot Trekking fanatics can walk from Georgetown to Kaieteur, stopping at villages on the way for rest, food and supplies. This trip takes roughly a week. By public transport It is possible to make the journey to Kaieteur using a mixture of chartered and public transportation, though this will almost certainly be more expensive than visiting by air.
Begin by taking a minibus to Mahdia (either #72 from Stabroek market in Georgetown or Mabura if already travelling on the Georgetown-Lethem road).
From Mahdia it's necessary to first get down to Pamela Landing on the Potaro River (no public transport.
From Pamela Landing it's necessary to go by boat for approximately five hours up the Potaro River to Tukeit in the National Park. There are two possible approaches to this:
1. Charter a small boat for the entire journey (it will be necessary to carry it around two sets of rapids at Amatuk and Waratuk). Ask around in Mahdia for someone willing to make the journey.
2. Take a separate boat for each leg of the journey. It will likely be possible to arrange onward transport at both Pamela Landing and Amatuk, both of which have small permanent populations. However Waratuk sees little through traffic, so it is probably wisest to call the team at the Park Visitor Centre and arrange to be picked up by them at Waratuk.
From Tukeit it is a moderately strenuous walk of 2-3 hours uphill to the airstrip and visitor centre. The trail runs through the jungle, but gets fairly regular use and is not difficult to follow. The trail becomes indistinct at the top of the plateau, but at this point you are within about ten minutes of the visitor centre and at worst it should be possible to find your way there by following the sound of the falls and keeping an eye out for signage and the radio antennas near the airstrip.
Get around
Once you get out of the airstrip, it is easy to hike, explore and see the sights on foot.
See
Kaieteur Falls. The standout natural wonder of the park. The waterfall is the largest single drop fall on the planet. Though there are taller waterfalls, there is no other that matches its combination of height and water volume, making it arguably the world's most powerful waterfall. Since tourists visit in small groups, the lookout is never crowded, allowing you to experience the spectacle in near isolation.
Menzies Landing. A small village on the edge of the park.
Do
There are several day tours and overnight tours available. The daytime tours give you about 2 hours in the afternoon to explore and discover the surroundings.
Buy
There is a small souvenir shop at the park visitor centre selling postcards, balata (natural rubber) sculpture and a few other miscellaneous souvenirs.
Eat
So it is best to stock up on food supplies beforehand in order to save some coin.
Drink
In the park there is a small store that sells beer and an alcoholic drink called "High Wine".
Sleep
Kaieteur National Park Guesthouses. There are two park guesthouses, one near the visitor centre, airstrip and the falls and a second several km downstream from the bottom of the falls at Tukeit. Beds are clean and include sheets and mosquito nets. Pots, pans a gas stove and drinking (rain) water are provided at both guesthouses.It is best to call the park visitor centre in advance if you wish to stay at either.
Camping Camping is not permitted in the park.
Make Kaieteur National Park your own.
Before committing, pick one main reason for this visit and two nearby experiences that support it. Check the guide’s transport sections against current operator information. A convenient base can save more time than adding another attraction.
- Choose your arrival point and one base. Write down the real transfer time, not just the map distance.
- Build a first-day plan with room to settle in. Cluster the places you want to see rather than crossing the city repeatedly.
- Use actual accommodation and transport quotes in your budget. Add fees to the quote before comparing it.
- Keep one uncommitted block. Weather, energy and a good local recommendation can all change your plan.
Source transparency
This guide adapts licensed text by Wikivoyage contributors. It is not a claim that Lakhou has visited or independently verified every listing. We converted the source to plain text, selected practical sections and removed price sentences and private contact information. The planning framework and any related-business booking recommendations above are Lakhou editorial additions.
Original revision 4749217 · Contributor history · CC BY-SA 4.0. Reused text and adaptations on this page are available under that license. Source revision date: 2023-10-12. This is not a date of field verification.
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