Kaieteur National Park is located in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana, about 633 km (393.33 miles) south of Georgetown, the country's capital. It is closer to the border with Brazil than to the Caribbean coast. Many people believe it is Guyana's only true national park because the park near the capital is not a real wilderness area. Kaieteur is part of the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. The main attraction in the park is Kaieteur Falls, which is considered the largest single-drop waterfall in the world by the amount of water it carries.
The Kaieteur National Park Act was created by the government to protect the area's natural resources, unique natural features like Kaieteur Falls, its variety of plant and animal life from the Amazon region, and the indigenous tribes who have lived in the forest for many years. The Act is managed by the Kaieteur National Park Commission. Some living things found in this region exist nowhere else on Earth, such as the golden rocket frog (Anomaloglossus beebei), a small frog that only breeds in the leaves of the bromeliad plant Brocchinia micrantha, which grows only within the park.
The area is served by Kaieteur International Airport, which is located near Kaieteur Falls.
Boundaries
In 1999, the park's area was expanded from 5 square miles (10 km) to 242 square miles (630 km) by a Presidential Order.
Mining
In 2017, 24 villagers from the Chenapau community were arrested for mining illegally inside Kaieteur National Park but were later released without being charged.
In November 2023, villagers were accused again of illegal mining within the park. This led to a protest where the villagers explained that mining is their main way to earn money. The Chief Warden and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) told the protesters to leave or face consequences. The villagers said they were mining in a buffer zone that was marked as land allowed for mining under the Amerindian Act.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat stated that the GGMC will help the villagers find another area to mine that is not inside the National Park.