The South American Jungle
If you happen to come across Kaieteur Falls in the South American Jungle you will be struck by how it resembles the classic jungle waterfall that exists in the cultural mind's eye. It is 370 feet wide and the water of the Potaro River plunges 741 feet over the Guiana Shield to a short series of cascades increasing the overall height of the falls to 822 feet. The falls spill into a basin of water before continuing its way through the jungle. The Guiana or Guyana Shield is currently thought to be the world’s oldest surface, at least above the ocean anyway, coming in at roughly 2 billion years of age. That means it unlike much of the land on the world’s surface hasn’t been covered over by water or pulled under the earth’s crust during periods of volcanic activity. It is one of many tabletop (tepuis) mountains in the South Americas. These mountains can be equated to very high jungle covered plateaus.
Besides this Kaieteur Falls is, shall I say, lucky to exist in one of the world’s most diverse rain forests in the world and on top of that there is very little human habitation in the rain forest so that conserving the waterfall and the jungle was an easy decision to make.
The falls exist in roughly the north eastern portion of South America, in the area of Mazaruni-Potaro on the similarly named Kaieteir Gorge. Tourists will be glad to know the there are plenty of ways to visit the falls. Guided treks can take visitors on a three day journey over land to reach the base of the falls and usually on a route that provides ample opportunity to view the waterfall from varying distances. You can also get to the falls in about an hour by air from Georgetown.
A legend states that a Chieftain of the Patamona tribe named Kai, sacrificed himself by going over the falls in his canoe. He did this in order to appease the Great Spirit, Makonaima and cause the god to intervene and prevent a raiding party of the Carib tribe from destroying his people. This is why the falls are called Kaieteur. ‘Teur’ means ‘falls’ for those wondering what the last part of the name means. In reality we are calling the waterfall, Kai falls Falls. Isn’t that a kick?
There are many different plant species in the National Park, over 20,000 and 35% of these are endemic. As a result Kaieteur National Park is one of the lush est rain forest areas on Earth. There is also a range of endangered species making their homes in the park, Visitors can count themselves blessed to catch sight of the Makonaima bird swooping around the cliff of the waterfall where they make their nests. The forest is also home to the Golden Frog, a frog adorned in one of several brilliant colors that excretes deadly poison. The Cock-Of-The-Rock bird is another vibrantly colored creature that lives in the area, typically its plumage is a very chromatic yellow-orange.