Guyana boasts more than 300 glorious waterfalls, including several of the world’s highest waterfalls: Kaieteur, the world’s largest single drop waterfall is five times the size of the US Canadian border falls, the Niagara Falls; King George VI falls, at 525 feet, and King Edward VIII at 840 feet.
This week Guyana Times International features just a few of the 300 waterfalls.
Amaila Falls on the Kuribrong River, a tributary of the Potaro River is one of the most scenic. The river drops from the escarpment over Amaila Falls vertically for approximately 200 feet, and continues in a series of rapids and falls for almost two miles before reaching placid water at an elevation of 175 feet. The total drop is about 1,200 feet. During the course of the falls, the river changes direction from east to north.
Barrington Brown Falls is a waterfall on the Corentyne River approximately 250 km south of Orealla. Drios Falls is a waterfall on the Corentyne River and is located approximately 245 km south of Orealla. Also found in Orealla is the Maopityan Falls.
The Cuquenan Falls (also spelt Kukenam) is a 2,000-foot single drop waterfall, and is amongst the 15-highest free-leaping waterfalls in the world. It is located on a tributary of the Arabopo River, which rises on the Cuquenan Plateau, at Mata Hui, near the borders of Venezuela and Brazil. It is actually located in the western part of Guyana and stands as one of the world’s most isolated and untouched waterfalls.
Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall on the Potaro River and is located in the Kaieteur National Park. It is 226 meters (741 feet) when measured from its plunge over a sandstone cliff to the first break. It then flows over a series of steep cascades that, when included in the measurements, brings the total height to 822 feet.
Kumarau Falls, located in Cuyuni-Mazaruni region, is considered to be the sister waterfall to Kaieteur. Its spectacular sheer drop of 620 feet and 200 feet width makes it equal in aesthetic and scientific value to Kaieteur.
King Edward VIII Falls, an 840 foot single drop, is found in Potaro-Siparuni southern highlands.
The exact location of the waterfall has been very difficult to identify over the last decades due to a common confusion of a waterfall with a similar name – King Edward VI Falls – which is a series of rapids that occur along the river in Corentyne.
King Edward VIII Falls was discovered in 1935 by explorer Paul A. Zahl, who was conducting aerial surveys of the Pakaraima escarpment.
Great Falls, also known as Kamarang Great Falls, is a 700-foot single drop waterfall. The pulse-pounding Marshall Falls and the beautiful Baracara Falls are found in Essequibo. Murray’s waterfall is also on the Essequibo River, approximately 55 km south of the confluence with the Rupununi River. Also in Essequibo, Pot Falls is located approximately 30 km north of Kurupukari. Rappu Falls is located approximately 17 km north of the confluence with the Rupununi River. Waraputa waterfall is located approximately 11 km south of the confluence with the Potaro River.
Orinduik Falls lie on the Ireng River, a highland river that thunders over steps and terraces of jasper on the border with Brazil before merging with the Takutu River and into Brazil to join the Amazon River. The falls are situated amid the rolling, grass-covered hills of the Pakaraima Mountains.
Walking up through rainforest into the Kanuku Mountains (Rupununi) is the refreshing Jordan Falls, a waterfall only relatively recently discovered by the western world during an aerial survey project. (Sources: Guyana Tourism Authority; www.worldtouristplace.com)
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