Kaieteur Falls - Discovery, Tourism, Ben Fogle's "Extreme Dreams" trek to the falls

Waterfall in C Guyana, on the R Potaro; nearly five times the height of Niagara, with a sheer drop of 226 m/742 ft from a sandstone tableland c.100 m/350 ft wide into a wide basin where the water drops a further 22 m/72 ft; discovered in 1870; set in the 116 km²/45 sq mi Kaieteur National Park, established in 1929.

Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall on the Potaro River in central Guyana.

Kaieteur Falls is about five times higher than the more well known Niagara Falls, located on the border between Canada and the United States and about two times the height of the Victoria Falls located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa. The same web site lists it as 19th largest waterfall in terms of volume , and in their estimation, Kaieteur is the 26th most scenic waterfall in the world .

Its distinction lies in the unique combination of great height and large volume, averaging 663 cubic meters per second (23,400 cubic feet per second). Thus it is one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world, rivaling even the Jog Falls of India's Karnataka state during the monsoon season.

Up river from the falls, the Potaro Plateau stretches out to the distant escarpment of the Pakaraima Mountains.

Discovery

On 24 April 1870, Charles Barrington Brown, one of two British geologists appointed government surveyors to the colony of British Guiana (Guyana), became the first European to see Kaieteur Falls.

According to a Patamona Indian legend, Kaieteur Falls was named for Kai, a chief, or Toshao who acted to save his people by paddling over the falls in an act of self-sacrifice to Makonaima, the great spirit.

Tourism

Kaieteur Falls is a major tourist attraction in Guyana. Many people love the pristine rainforest that surrounds the falls. The falls is located in Kaieteur National Park and is in the centre of Guyana's rainforest.

Ben Fogle's "Extreme Dreams" trek to the falls

In May 2006, Ben Fogle trekked to the falls with five English novice explorers for his "Extreme Dreams" series. Each programme was prefaced with the statement that Kaieteur is the highest single-drop waterfall in the world, as it is often falsely described by Guyanese people.