National Geographic Traveller UK 03.2020

Rewa REWA ECO–LODGE

SURAMA ECO–LODGE

KAITEUR FALLS

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GUYANAGeorgetown

50 Miles

As Herzog explained in his distinct cadence:
“From the bottom of the falls, the gigantic
cave is inaccessible and has resisted all
attempts by explorers.”
The director opted to send a camera over
the edge too, so that the dangling doctor
could reveal Kaieteur’s secrets. Yet,
tantalisingly, he then opted not to include
the footage in his inal ilm. The physician
— very much cut from Herzog’s profoundly
weird cloth — said of the experience: “I
had the feeling of weightlessness at the
beginning and a sense of deep space, which
ends in a black nothingness.”
Standing looking over this tremendous
valley, I can understand the decision not to
give away the mystery. It’s surely inevitable
that Kaieteur Falls will soon begin to
receive more visitors — this magniicent
site can only be ignored for so long. The
infrastructure will need to improve, even
though any development will surely remove
something of the organic thrill of seeing it so
elementally raw today.
Currently, the majority of visitors are
day-trippers, taking an hour-long light
from Georgetown on small planes similar

to ours, walking a set path along its

edge, then leaving before sunset and the

swits’ daredevil display. There’s only one

accommodation option: a battered cabin

that looks one big rainy season away from

collapse, although there are already plans for

it to be replaced with something sturdier. It

can only be hoped that development of this

singular site is handled with as much care as

Rewa and Surama.

What Guyana was, what it is and what

it could be are all very diferent things.

The ghosts of the colonial era may belong

to Guyana’s past, and eco-tourism to its

present and future, but Kaieteur is the

nation’s constant. Whatever is to come, it’ll

be there. It was lowing when the Union Jack

was irst raised in Georgetown in 1812 and

in May 1966 when The Golden Arrowhead

of Guyana replaced it. It was lowing when

the irst sugar cane was harvested along

the Demerara River and it was lowing

when the irst hammocks were hung at

Rewa Eco-Lodge. Guyana can, at times,

be an unpredictable place, but there’s one

certainty: Kaieteur Falls is lowing as you

read this now.

Getting there & around

Fly via the Caribbean (usually Barbados)

with Virgin or British Airways, changing

to a LIAT or Caribbean Airlines plane to

get to Georgetown, Guyana.

Alternatively, ly via New York or Miami

with American Airlines.

virginatlantic.com ba.com

liat.com carribean-airlines.com

americanairlines.co.uk

Average light time: 9h.

In Guyana, there’s only one road

currently running from Georgetown into

the interior, so visitors should expect to

travel using varying means of transport,

including boat, light aircraft and

four-wheel-drive vehicle.

When to go

Guyana’s wet season is from mid-

November to mid-January and then

May to mid-July (stretching into August

in the interior). Travellers looking to

head into the interior should travel

during the drier months of February to

April or September to mid-November.

Year-round, temperatures hover around

the mid- to high 20Cs.

More information

rewaecolodge.com

suramaecolodge.com

guyanatourism.com

When to go

WILDLIFE WORLDWIDE offers a

small-group tour, the 15-day Ultimate

Guyana Nature Experience, which

features Georgetown, the Iwokrama

Rainforest, the Amerindian village of

Surama and the Rupununi savannah.

From £5,675 per person, including

international lights, guided tours,

transport, accommodation, most meals

and activities. wildlifeworldwide.com

ESSENTIALS

A local ranch hand on the lookout
for giant anteaters at Waikin Ranch

112 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

GUYANA