Rewa, Rainforest and Kaieteur Explorer

Take a flight over the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers and hundreds of miles of unbroken tropical rainforest to land at Kaieteur Falls, the world’s highest free-falling waterfall. Kaieteur Falls which was first seen by a European on April 29, 1870, is situated in the heart of Guyana on the Potaro River, a tributary of the Essequibo. The water of Kaieteur, one of the worlds natural wonders, flows over a sandstone conglomerate tableland into a deep gorge – a drop of 741 feet or 5 times the height of Niagara Falls. There are no other falls in the world with the magnitude of the sheer drop existing at Kaieteur. Amerindian legend of the Patamona tribe has it that Kai, one of the tribe’s chiefs (after whom the falls is named), committed self-sacrifice by canoeing himself over the falls. It was believed this would encourage the Great Spirit Makonaima to save the tribe from being destroyed by the savage Caribishi.

Kaieteur supports a unique microenvironment with Tank Bromeliads, the largest in the world, in which the tiny Golden Frog spends its entire life and the rarely seen Guianan Cock-of-the-rock nesting close by. The lucky visitor may also see the famous flights of the Kaieteur Swifts or Makonaima Birds which nest under the vast shelf of rock carved by the centuries of water, hidden behind the eternal curtain of falling water.

Overnight at Cara Lodge. Breakfast and snack included.

An optional Birding in the Botanical Gardens and dinner at Aagmans Indian Restaurant is available on this day. There is also the option to upgrade your Kaieteur Falls experience to include a private guide, the addition of visiting Orinduik Falls or both. Add these your tour at checkout.

Before dawn we will head to the canopy walkway where we can birdwatch easily and from this tree top vantage you can sometimes see Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys. The walkway has four suspension bridges leading to three platforms, the highest of which is over 30 metres above the ground, and these will allow great looks at a range of canopy species, many of which you would struggle to see well from the forest floor. The walkway is also an excellent place to look for various species of cotinga including the poorly known and range-restricted Dusky Purpletuft and if there are any suitable fruiting trees nearby, you stand a good chance of seeing this bird, as well as the more widespread Purple-breasted Cotinga. Apart from the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway itself you can enjoy wildlife and birdwatching walks on the trails around the area. For those interested in botany many of the trails have the key tree species marked. Many bird species, stunning insects, noisy amphibians, and playful primates make the surrounding forest their home. Deer, Tapir and Agouti are also regular visitors to the lodge. Serious birders will want to search the undergrowth for the rarely seen Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo.

As darkness falls on the canopy walkway, you may see the White-winged Potoo. Night walks are also possible and something interesting or new always seems to pop on to the scene along the trans-national road near the lodge.

Overnight at Atta Rainforest Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Before dawn, we will head to the canopy walkway where we can birdwatch easily and from this treetop vantage, you can sometimes see Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys. Return to the lodge for breakfast before departure. Transfer by vehicle through the Iwokrama rainforest to Corkwood where there is a comparatively short trail to hopefully see the amazingly brilliant Guianan Cock-of-the-rock. This trail is through interesting and pristine rainforest and the guides can explain how the plants are used for medicine and other purposes. Later journey by boat along the Rupununi River, with opportunities to see wild Giant River Otters and Black Caiman, until you reach the Rewa River and the Indigenous community of Rewa. The village is located where the Rewa River runs into the Rupununi River and the surrounding area is rainforest, mountains and oxbow lakes and teeming with wildlife birds and fish. The community is predominately Macushi with a few families of the Wapashana and Patamona tribes and villagers practice subsistence farming, fishing and hunting.

The Rewa Eco-lodge is situated on the riverbank overlooking the Rewa River with views down river to the Rupununi River. Along the riverbank tables and benches offer a relaxing location to enjoy the river and accommodation sweeps back across lawns towards the forest. Simple cabins with private bathrooms feature verandas with hammocks and meals are served al fresco or in the communal benab.

Later this afternoon take a short boat ride from the for a ten-minute walk to a lovely oxbow lake. The magical setting is enhanced with a wooden deck stretching out over the pond, allowing close-up views of the Victoria Amazonica, the world’s largest waterlily and the national flower of Guyana. The leaves that float on the water grow up to 3 metres in diameter with a submerged stalk of 7 to 8 metres. The flowers which bloom at dusk are white on the first night. By the third night, they change colour to pink and also change to a male flower. The golden colours across the pond at dusk combined with birds coming into roost provide a lovely nature experience.

Overnight at Rewa Eco-lodge. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included.

Enjoy breakfast at dawn overlooking the Rewa River. Then head out by boat to begin a hike up Awarmie Mountain. The climb is steep in a few sections but in general not too difficult. Along the way, you may see lots of birds and perhaps good close up views of Black Spider Monkeys. There is good birding along the trail with White Bellbirds calling both from the scrubby woodland at the beginning of the trail and again from the forests far below you when reaching the summit. Other species you may see include Ornate Hawk-eagle, Black Curassow, Red-fan Parrot, Guianan Puffbird, Todd’s Antwren, Spotted Tanager and Bay-headed Tanager. The area also has a high density of macaws including Scarlet, Blue-and-yellow and Red-and-Green Macaws.

There is a small plateau on the top of the mountain and in one direction, there are uninterrupted views back to the Rupununi River, some patches of savannah and across to the distant Kanuku Mountains. In the other direction, there is a near-vertical drop of at least 200m and the view is across great swathes of undisturbed forest to the distant Iwokrama Mountain and much closer, Makarapan Mountain, estimated to be two-thousand million years old.

This afternoon take a boat up the Rewa River and then a 15-minute hike through the rainforest to Grass Pond. This pond is about 3kms long and is a beautiful setting with Victoria Amazonica and has a good population of Arapaima, the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world. During your visit, you could fish for Peacock Bass or search for Brown Capuchin monkey and Capybara. Birds likely to be seen include Limpkin, Wattled Jacana, Black-collared Hawk, Green Kingfisher and Guianan Puffbird. As dusk settles, watch the flower of the Victoria Amazonica bloom.

Overnight at Rewa Eco-lodge. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

After breakfast say goodbye to staff and newfound friends and board boat for travel along the Rupununi River to Kwatamang Landing where you will continue by road to the airstrip for your return flight to Georgetown.

Transfer from Eugene F. Correia International Airport to Cara Lodge.

Overnight at Cara Lodge. Breakfast included.

An optional dinner at Back Yard Café is available on this day. Add this to your tour at checkout.