Flavours of Guyana

Saturday – Pickup and transfer from the airport to Kanuku Suites. If time permits, you can choose an optional tour to Mangrove Heritage Centre and Trail or Roy Geddes Steel Pan Museum.

Sunday – At dawn you can take an optional birding tour to the Georgetown Botanical Gardens, which is home to over 200 species of birds including the regional endemic, the Blood-coloured Woodpecker. Later in the morning, 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 world’s 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.

This evening you can choose an optional tour to experience the Seawall, bars and street food of Georgetown or dinner at Aagman’s Indian restaurant.

Overnight at Kanuku Suites. Breakfast and snack included.

Monday – Board scheduled flight for journey to the Rupununi where you will be met and transfered to Surama Eco-Lodge.

On arrival in Surama you will receive a warm welcome and settle into your accommodation at the lodge. A guide will escort you for a short walk on trails to observe the forest and bird life. As the afternoon cools your guide will take you on a tour of the village. Visit the local school, medical centre and church along with some of the village houses. Tonight enjoy an educational walk to observe wildlife and experience the mystique of the forest after dark. Make sure to bring your flashlights to look for the eyeshine of the creatures of the night.

Overnight at Surama Eco-Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Tuesday – Rise before dawn for a walk across the savannah and then climb up Surama Mountain for incredible views across the village and savannah to the Pakaraima Mountains. This is not a technical climb but can be arduous, especially after rain, and not for everyone. Your guides will happily offer alternative activities if you prefer not to do this climb. Return to village for lunch and then take a three-mile walk across the savannah and through the rainforest to the Burro Burro River. Your guides will then paddle you on the Burro Burro River, through the rainforest for opportunities to observe Giant River Otters, Tapir, Tira, Spider Monkeys and many more species.

Return to village for sunset.

Overnight at Surama Eco-Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Wednesday – Dawn forest walk to look for wildlife and birds before travelling through the rainforest to the Iwokrama Forest, for a short walk to hopefully see the amazingly brilliant Guianan Cock-of-the-rock. This trail is through pristine rainforest and the guides can explain how the plants are used for medicines and other uses. Then continue the journey to Atta Rainforest Lodge, home of the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. 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.

Another area where we will want to spend some time is the clearing around the lodge, as this is one of the best places to see another of Guyana’s “must-see” birds, the Crimson Fruitcrow. This species is seen here on a reasonably regular basis, as it often comes to feed in some of the nearby trees. The clearing is also a reliable site for Black Curassow as there is a family party which has become habituated to people and regularly passes through the clearing.

Overnight at Atta Rainforest Lodge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Thursday – Before dawn we will return to the canopy where we can birdwatch easily and from this tree top vantage you can sometimes see Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys. 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 new or exciting always seems to pop up along the transnational road near the lodge.

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

Friday – Welcome the dawn chorus from the canopy walkway or get close up with a range of hummingbirds in the lodge gardens.

After breakfast drive through the Iwokrama Rainforest for your final chance to view more neotropical wildlife before a scheduled flight back to Georgetown.

Overnight at Kanuku Suites. Breakfast and lunch included.

Saturday – This morning become a local and join Chef Delven Adams for a street-food breakfast in Bourda Market and explore the range of unexpected Guyanese breakfast selections. Delven will then lead you through the labyrinth of the market, discovering it’s deepest corners including the fish, meat, fruit and vegetable marketplaces. You have the chance to meet Delven’s preferred stall holders and taste their produce. There are also fascinating bush medicine stalls, providing concoctions for every kind of ailment. We then head off for a guided tour of Georgetown, the chief port, capital and largest city of Guyana situated on the Demerara River Estuary. The city was designed largely by the Dutch and is laid out in a rectangular pattern with wide tree-lined avenues and irrigation canals that criss-cross. Most of the buildings in the city are wooden with unique Guyanese-colonial architecture dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. A few of these that should not be missed is the residence of the Prime Minister, Statehouse built in 1852 and St. Georges Cathedral which is one of the world’s tallest free-standing wooden buildings. Close by is the Georgetown Town Hall, a splendid example of Gothic architecture, the Victoria Law Courts, St. Andrews Kirk and Stabroek Market, the largest and oldest market of its kind in the Caribbean built in the year 1881.

No tour of the city is complete without a stop to hand-feed West Indian Manatees in the National Park and a visit to the Georgetown Botanical Gardens which is home to over 100 species of birds including the range-restricted Blood-coloured Woodpecker, White-bellied Piculet and Festive Parrots. The garden is also home to the Georgetown Zoo which has evolved into a wildlife rehabilitation centre with over 90% of its population being rescued animals.

Lunch is a special treat as you re-join Delven at his home, where his backyard has been converted into the exclusive hidden gem, the Backyard Café. He will prepare an amazing meal from the morning’s market experience whilst you enjoy the relaxing setting with an arbour, herb garden, fireside and bar with fresh local juices.

Later you can take an optional Demerara River Tour in a local river taxi that enables a completely different view of the city. The journey passes under the Demerara Harbour Bridge, once the longest floating bridge in the world at a total length of 1,851m long. As the sun sets over the river flocks of brilliant Scarlet Ibis, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Striated Herons, Snail Kites and Rufous Crab Hawk settle into the mangroves for the evening.

Overnight at Kanuku Suites. Breakfast and lunch included.

Sunday – Pickup and transfer to the airport for your departing flight. Breakfast is included