The local aviation sector continues to expand the frontiers of interior travel and by extension the destination options. The latest, a further popularization of two already familiar interior visitor destinations, is being offered by Air Services Ltd (ASL), which announced earlier this week that it was introducing two new tours: a one-day Georgetown/Lethem trip catering for Guyanese and visitors in Georgetown and a one-day Lethem/Kaieteur tour designed for Guyanese and visiting Brazilians.
The new tours will come into effect on Saturday May 30 and will be run on the last Saturday of each month.
According to ASL General Manager Annette Arjoon-Martins for the Lethem day tour, flights will depart Ogle airport at 07:00 hrs for a 90-minute flight over some of the country’s forested areas, rivers, mountains and savannah before arriving at Lethem at 08:30 hrs. On arrival at Lethem, visitors will be taken by bus on a tour of the Lethem township before crossing over the Takutu Bridge to visit a shopping centre in the Brazilian border town of Bom Fim. Upon returning to Lethem, the bus will then take visitors on a scenic trip that will allow for visits to the Amerindian villages of St Ignatius and Kumu, and strolls through the scenic savannahs en route to the base of the Kanuku Mountain located in one of Guyana’s protected areas. The Kumu stop includes a shady five-minute walk along a nature trail through the forest leading to the picturesque Kumu Falls situated below one of the peaks of the mighty Kanuku Mountain.
The large granite rocks strewn around the Kumu Falls afford the ‘facility’ for visitors to take a rest though there are always the options of benefitting from a stimulating water massage by simply standing under the cascading water or taking a refreshing dip in the pool below the falls. The tour bus then returns the visitors to the Lethem Airstrip.
The return flight leaves Lethem at 13:00 hrs and arrives at Ogle Airport at 02:30 hrs. The Lethem tour costs $48,000 per person.
Designed to accommodate both Guyanese and Brazilian visitors from Boa Vista and other places in that country, the Lethem/Kaieteur trip will depart Lethem at 09:00 hrs on a one-hour flight to Kaieteur Falls. On arrival at Kaieteur, visitors will be taken on a 90-minute guided tour of the area during which they will have an opportunity to see Guyana’s unique golden frog which spends its entire life in the abundant large tank bromeliads, and to observe the distinctive flora of this ancient landscape which is over 500 million years old. The tour of Kaieteur Falls encompasses three viewing points for the best views of Kaieteur. ‘Boy Scouts View’ affords a view of the full drop of the falls. ‘Rainbow View’ so named for the rainbow vistas frequently seen from this vantage on sunny days. The final stop is ‘Falls Top’ where visitors are on the brink of the falls with the waters of the Potaro River cascading into the Kaieteur gorge below. The tour ends with a short return walk to the airstrip for an 11:30 hrs departure on the return flight to Lethem. The Lethem/Kaieteur tour costs $29,000 per person.
Commenting on the new tours being offered by the company Arjoon-Martins told Stabroek Business that the company “recognises the vast array of tourism products that exist in the Rupununi and is committed to supporting the development and popularization of those products.” ASL, Arjoon-Martins said, is also “keen on making Guyana’s tourism products such as its magnificent Kaieteur Falls available to its southern neighbour, Brazil, starting with the residents of Boa Vista.”
“ASL is deeply committed to the development of Guyana’s tourism product and sees it as one of the most attractive and sustainable pillars of the country’s economy,” Arjoon-Martins said.
