Guyana Mashramani and Culture Tour

Pickup and transfer from Cheddi Jagan International Airport to Georgetown and your selected hotel.

Cara Lodge was built in the 1840s. It has a long and romantic history and was the home of the first Lord Mayor of Georgetown. Over the years, the property has been visited by many dignitaries including King Edward VIll who stayed at the house in 1923. Other dignitaries have included President Jimmy Carter, HRH King Charles III and Mick Jagger. This magnificent wooden colonial home turned hotel offers the tradition and nostalgia of a bygone era. 

Overnight at Cara Lodge. (Check in time 1400hrs, Check out time 12midday) 

​Optional Service (not included in package rate)
Birding in Georgetown’s Botanical Gardens – 3 Hours Duration

0545hrs pickup and transfer to the extensive and beautiful Georgetown Botanical Gardens where, if we are lucky, we will have views of the Blood-colored Woodpecker. Veniliornis is found only in the Guianas and even there almost wholly limited to the narrow coastal plain. The gardens host Snail Kite, Gray Hawk, Pearl Kite, Carib Grackle, Red-bellied and Red-shouldered Macaws and the rare festive parrots. We will walk on trails in the back of the gardens and may see Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Black-crested Antshrike, Silver-beaked Tanager, Buff-breasted Wren, Golden-spangled Piculet and Ashy-headed Greenlet. You may even want to take a break from birding to feed some manatees in one of the nearby ponds.

Return to your hotel.

From the Eugene F. Correia International Airport take a scheduled 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 is situated in the heart of Guyana on the Potaro River, a tributary of the Essequibo. The water of Kaieteur 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.

Kaieteur supports a unique micro environment with Tank Bromeliads, the largest in the world, in which the tiny Golden frog spends its entire life and the rarely seen Guiana 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 over millions of years by the black water of the Potaro River.

Condition of Sale: Flights to Kaieteur and/or Orinduik Falls are operated on a scheduled aircraft and mainly on weekends, and all flights have a minimum passenger restriction. Therefore, any booking to Kaieteur and Orinduik Falls is subject to a minimum of 12 passengers being available to travel. In most cases we are able to fill flights. However, in the rare case that we cannot meet the required numbers we will reschedule the trip to another day during your stay, if this is possible. Wilderness Explorers retains the right to reschedule a flight as a first option. If we cannot reschedule the flight Wilderness Explorers will guarantee a flight, with a minimum of 2 passengers, to Kaieteur Falls only. If a flight is cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control, such as weather, we will endeavour to reschedule the flight or offer another excursion of the same value during your itinerary. If this is not possible then a full refund on the flight will be made.

Pickup and transfer from Eugene F. Correia International Airport to Georgetown.

Optional Service (not included in package rate)
Evening Seawall, Bars and street food experience

You also have the opportunity to view the flag raising ceremony and also the fireworks (don’t know the venue)

Overnight at Cara Lodge. B and snacks on the Kaieteur Falls tour

Every Sunday evening Georgetown’s Seawall comes alive as families, courting couples and friends’ promenade along the seawall, enjoying the Atlantic sea-breeze. The narrow strip becomes a hive of pop-up cocktail bars, street food vendors, blaring Caribbean music and parties spilling out of the trunks of cars. This excursion takes you into the heart of the scene visiting various bars and enjoying street food, with your guide, who knows all the best places. We will also visit other local bars around the city, looking for what is popular, traditional or unusual. Every Sunday is a new experience, tailored around the group and the level of immersion into the local culture they wish to enjoy.

Today you and your designated guide will head around the corner of Church and Thomas Street to view the Mashramani float parade. 

Mashramani is a colorful and energetic annual festival held in Guyana to commemorate the country becoming a republic in 1970. It’s a time of great national pride and unity, showcasing the diverse culture of the Guyanese people. (6hrs)

Enjoy some light local refreshments.

Overnight at Cara Lodge. B 

Today we will have some much-needed rest after our frolicking with the revellers the day before.  Overnight at Cara Lodge.

This morning we make an early start to have breakfast at one of the local stands with our host, guide and culinary master, Chef Delven Adams who will guide us around Bourda Market, the largest of the four markets in Georgetown. We will start our tour at the Guyana Shop which has all the local products produced and packaged in Guyana, before heading over to the market where we will meet some of the vendors who Chef buys from daily.

We will visit the fish market, the meat section and the haberdashery section – where one can find anything you can think of from thread to bolts of all kinds of fabric. Dry goods like rice and of course demerara sugar are abundant. A stop at the bush medicine stalls is always educational. Heading outside you can see, touch and taste a variety of local fruits and vegetables unique in this part of the world. The chef will make his purchases with your suggestions of what you would like to try and will then head home to start preparing while we continue on a tour of the city of Georgetown with an experienced guide who will give you the history, rumour and facts on Georgetown and its citizens.

During your visit to Georgetown, there are a number of interesting sites that should not be missed such as the National Museum, which contains a broad selection of our animal life portrayed in taxidermy in beautiful old glass cases, and the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, which houses a wonderful collection of artefacts and explains history and lifestyle of our indigenous peoples.

On this mix of vehicle and walking tour, enjoy the views of other historic buildings along this promenade such as the Public Library, City Hall, the Victoria Law Courts, St. Andrews Kirk, Stabroek Market – once described as a “bizarre bazaar, and St. George’s Cathedral, which is one of the world’s tallest free-standing wooden buildings.

We will visit the Botanical Gardens, home to an extensive collection of tropical flora, and we will also pay a visit to a pond either in the gardens or the National Park, to feed the endangered West Indian Manatees.

After our city tour, we will go to the Backyard Café for lunch. This, as the name suggests, is a backyard that Chef has turned into an exclusive little hidden gem of a restaurant. If you are interested, Chef will welcome you to join him as he prepares a wonderful meal prepared from the fruits and vegetables we bought in the market in the morning. Or you can just sit under the arbour and sip unique blends of juice or enjoy a cold beer, while taking in the sounds and smells of a delicious meal in the making. Once he is ready, we will start eating our way through the courses, remember to pace yourself as you will want to try it all.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

0430/0445hrs we will depart your hotel and travel eastward from Georgetown along the Atlantic coast to the Mahaica River. Here you will be joined by your guide before we continue to the river landing.

The narrow winding road to the landing runs parallel to the river and takes us through an area that has been mainly used for the cultivation of rice and other crops. This gives us a glimpse into the everyday lives of the farming community scattered along this road. Fortunately for us, the area along the river has been well preserved and provides an excellent riverfront ecosystem inhabited by flocks of egrets, herons, ibis, various marsh tyrants, and Guyana’s national bird, the Hoatzin.

Upon arrival at the river landing you may enjoy a cup of coffee or tea before heading out onto the river. This is the life line of the community and is one of the main sources of transportation, food, recreation and fresh water to irrigate the fields.

The river offers a rare chance to see the range-restricted Blood-colored Woodpecker which has been badly affected by habitat loss in the ‘Guianas’ coastal region.

This river is one of the best places to spot Guyana’s national bird, the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus Hoatzin), also known as the Stinkbird, or “Canje Pheasant”. This odd bird is an unusual species of tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forest and mangrove between the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America. It is a pheasant-sized bird about 65 cm (25 in) long, with a long neck and small head. It is brown in colour, with paler under parts and has an unfeathered blue face with maroon eyes, and its head is topped by a spiky, rufous crest. The Hoatzin is herbivorous; it eats leaves and fruit, and has an unusual digestive system with an enlarged crop which functions as a rumen. It also produces a horrible smell to scare away potential predators.

After our tour we will return to the home of our boatman where we will have breakfast before returning to Georgetown.

Optional Service (not included in package rate)
Demerara Historical River Tour

This afternoon we will take a drive through the heart of the city to the Stabroek Market area. Here we will join the afternoon commuters using the old ferry stelling to board the river taxis which are used to cross the Demerara River. The river taxis are a faster alternative route to using the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

We will slowly cruise along and across the Demerara River while your guide will give a brief history of the famous buildings along the waterfront. We then continue our trip to see the Demerara Harbour Bridge, once the longest floating bridge in the world at a total length of 1,851m long. We will cross under the bridge and tie up our boat near a mangrove that is the nightly roost for a variety of birds. As the sun sets over the river we will have a cold drink and some snacks (or cutters as we call them here in Guyana) as we enjoy flocks of brilliant Scarlet Ibis, Snail Kites, Herons, and three kinds of Egrets as they fly across the sky and settle into the mangroves for the evening.

Soon after the sun sets, we return to the ferry stelling while enjoying the city and ship lights from the river.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Embark on a profound, 6-hour journey into the heart of Guyana’s African-Guyanese heritage, tracing the inspiring story of emancipation and the establishment of freedom villages. Guided by renowned local expert and culinary master, Eon John, The Singing Chef, this tour seamlessly blends historical exploration with hands-on culinary discovery.
 
We begin by visiting two pivotal sites that commemorate the fight against slavery, The 1763 Monument, the iconic sculpture by Philip Moore, depicting Cuffy, leader of the first major slave uprising and then 1823 Rebellion Monument, where your guide will explain the rebellion and the critical role the church and abolitionists played in the final emancipation of the enslaved people.

Our journey continues along the East Coast, tracing the steps of the newly freed population, stopping at Coven John for refreshing cane juice and local snacks. Next, we visit Victoria, the first village in Guyana purchased by freed ex-slaves. You’ll visit the original hut where purchase funds were recorded, see the church bell that celebrated their land acquisition, and take an intimate walk through the community. Learn a piece of local tradition by seeing how wild black sage was used for toothbrushes. At the site of the Buxton Train Station, we learn the story of the freed female ex-slaves who stopped the train to protest high taxes. Here, you’ll meet Auntie Gloria, a third-generation herbalist and granddaughter of one of the women, Mama Fee Fee, a leader of the protesting women. Delve deeper into the region’s history with a tour of the Buxton Friendship Museum, chronicling the evolution of Buxton. Finally, we view the monument in Beterverwagting, honouring the community’s achievement in purchasing their village.
 
The tour concludes at the Secret Garden for a hands-on cultural experience. Eon John will demonstrate the preparation of authentic dishes from that era, including Cook-up (one-pot rice), Mettagee (ground provision stew), local Fried Fish, and the coconut dessert Conkee.  Afterwards, Chef Eon will lead a vibrant African drumming class, teaching you the basics of the African beat.  This 6-hour tour provides a deep understanding of the resilience, heritage, and flavours of the East Coast communities.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Pickup and transfer to Cheddi Jagan International Airport for your departing flight.