diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 546273445..26c920017 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -72,6 +72,10 @@ To update |kitty|, :doc:`follow the instructions <binary>`.
 - macOS: Use the system cursor blink interval by default
   :opt:`cursor_blink_interval`.
 
+- Wayland: Use the kitty Wayland backend by default. Can be switched back
+  to using XWayland by setting the environment variable:
+  ``KITTY_DISABLE_WAYLAND=1``
+
 - Add a ``no-append`` setting to :opt:`clipboard_control` to disable
   the kitty copy concatenation protocol extension for OSC 52.
 
diff --git a/kitty/constants.py b/kitty/constants.py
index e1d61e774..2447eaae4 100644
--- a/kitty/constants.py
+++ b/kitty/constants.py
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ def glfw_path(module):
 
 
 is_wayland = False
-if os.environ.get('WAYLAND_DISPLAY') and 'KITTY_ENABLE_WAYLAND' in os.environ and os.path.exists(glfw_path('wayland')):
+if os.environ.get('WAYLAND_DISPLAY') and 'KITTY_DISABLE_WAYLAND' not in os.environ and os.path.exists(glfw_path('wayland')):
     is_wayland = True