The story of a place
A vast waterfall within an extensive forest landscape.
Kaieteur's impact comes from the scale of its drop and the surrounding rainforest. The river seems to disappear over a broad sandstone edge, with far fewer urban distractions than at many famous waterfalls.
Access is generally organised and weather-dependent. A short flight-based visit and a longer expedition are entirely different undertakings, each requiring reputable arrangements.
The essential experience
Make time for this.
Take an authorised visit that leaves time for more than one safe viewpoint and an explanation of the surrounding ecology.
Explore the highlights
Look a little closer.
Watch Kaieteur’s broad river flow plunge from the edge of the forested plateau.
Water and rock
Notice the shape of the lip and gorge.
Mist patterns
Wind changes what is visible.
Plateau vegetation
Look at the specialised life around the falls.
For the curious reader
History, landscape
and context.
Kaieteur Falls is one of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the world. It is located on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National Park, central Essequibo Territory, Guyana. It is 226 metres (741 ft) high when measured from its plunge over a sandstone and conglomerate cliff to the first break. Upriver from the falls, the Potaro Plateau stretches out to the distant escarpment of the Pakaraima Mountains. The Potaro River empties into the Essequibo River which is the 34th longest river in South America and the longest river in Guyana.
Background reading: an abridged extract from Kaieteur Falls, by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and shortened for this guide. Retrieved 22 September 2026. Source revision ↗.
Turn curiosity into a visit
Plan your visit.
- Physical demands
- Managed viewpoint walks differ greatly from a multi-day expedition.
- The practical detail
- Never approach an unprotected edge to reproduce a dramatic photograph.
Before you set off.
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A place in the world
Find your bearings.
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- 1Kaieteur FallsOpen directions ↗ · Location reference ↗
A sense of place
In pictures.
Keep looking.
10 photographs, with full-size views and individual credits.
Go a little further
