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Things to Do in Guyana

From the thundering Kaieteur Falls to the wildlife-rich Rupununi savanna - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.

Travel guide - last updated September 2026

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, culturally and geographically closer to the Caribbean in many ways than to its Spanish and Portuguese-speaking neighbors. Kaieteur Falls, one of the world's most powerful single-drop waterfalls, sits deep in largely untouched rainforest, reachable mainly by small plane given the lack of road access. Here are 4 places worth building a trip around.

Top attractions

The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.

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Kaieteur Falls

One of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the world by volume, nearly five times the height of Niagara Falls, set deep in the rainforest and reached almost exclusively by small aircraft.

📍 Kaieteur National Park

🚉 There is no road: light aircraft fly from Ogle airport near Georgetown for a day trip of about an hour each way, and the overland trek through Amatuk and Waratuk takes five days by boat and foot.

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Rupununi Savanna

A vast grassland region in southern Guyana, home to jaguars, giant river otters and one of the most reliable places to spot the harpy eagle, one of the world's largest raptors.

📍 Rupununi, southern Guyana

🚉 Flights from Georgetown reach Lethem in an hour, and a rough road takes 12 to 15 hours by 4x4 minibus - ranches in the savanna arrange their own transfers from either.

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Georgetown

Guyana's capital, with wooden colonial-era architecture including St. George's Cathedral, one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world.

📍 Georgetown

🚉 The capital has no rail: minibuses run numbered routes from Stabroek Market, and the seawall, St George's Cathedral and the botanical gardens are the fixed points visitors move between.

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Iwokrama Forest

A protected rainforest reserve with a canopy walkway among the treetops, part of one of the largest intact tracts of rainforest remaining in South America.

📍 central Guyana

🚉 The reserve straddles the Georgetown-Lethem road: minibuses stop at the river crossing at Kurupukari, and the field station and the canopy walkway arrange pickups from there.

Mark Guyana, get the stamp

🇬🇾GUYANAVISITED

🇬🇾GUYANALIVED

🇬🇾GUYANAWISHLIST

In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.

Open MyPassportStory

Planning questions

How many days do you need in Guyana?

A week lets you combine Georgetown, a Kaieteur Falls flight, and time in the Rupununi savanna or Iwokrama Forest.

What's the best time to visit Guyana?

September-April (dry season, with some regional variation) is generally the most reliable time for wildlife viewing and flights to Kaieteur Falls.

Is Guyana good for a first-time visit?

Yes, particularly through an organized eco-tourism operator, which is how most visitors reach Kaieteur Falls and the interior - Georgetown itself is straightforward given English is the official language.

Do I need a visa to visit Guyana?

Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays. Check the official visa information for your nationality: minfor.gov.gy.

What are some things to do in Guyana on a tight budget?

Local Guyanese food is inexpensive, joining a shared-group tour to Kaieteur Falls or the Rupununi costs considerably less than a private charter, and Georgetown's colonial architecture costs nothing to view from the street.

Can I rent a car in Guyana, and what licence do I need?

You can around Georgetown and the coast, but the interior is another matter: the road south to Lethem is unpaved for hundreds of kilometres and crosses rivers by pontoon, so a 4x4 with a driver, or a flight, is what visitors actually use. A foreign licence is accepted for visits of up to a month when carried with an International Driving Permit, after which a local licence is needed. Minimum age is generally 25. Traffic drives on the left. Official visitor information is published by the Guyana Tourism Authority at guyanatourism.com.