Kaieteur Falls: When Is The Best Time To Visit?

When is the best time to visit Kaieteur Falls?

To answer this question, we’ll need to understand the rainfall patterns of the Guyana Shield (the plateau on which Kaieteur Falls drops).

Although Guyana typically gets rain year round (usually in the form of tropical thundershowers thanks to the high humidity and proximity to the equator), most of the rain falls as summer monsoons from April through September in the interior of the country.

Note that on the coast, there are two rainy periods from May through July and from November through January. I’d consider the Guyana Shield part of Guyana’s interior so this dual rainy periods probably doesn’t really apply.

Personally, to try to minimize the likelihood of adverse effects of floods and other weather-related complications, I’d try to time the trip for the end of the wet periods.

That way, you get the benefit of saturated water tables from the wet season accumulations along with increased chances of “fair” weather.

That said, in our trip, we went there at the end of August/start of September and we had fine (albeit hot and humid) weather while the Potaro River had seemingly nice flow. So this sample size of one would support my conclusion above though I wouldn’t take it as gospel.

Indeed, like in all matters concerning weather, it’s a roll of the dice. Of course, you try to rely on historical climate data to “play the percentages” in the face of this uncertainty.

Just to give you an idea of how our brief experience went at Kaieteur Falls, here are some more pictures taken from that Labor Day Weekend 2008 visit.