Friday, August 09, 2024

 Guyana is South America's best kept secret

The likes of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Peru often top travellers’ ‘must-visit’ lists when they head to South America. While it might lack the pulling power of South America's big hitters, Guyana has plenty to offer. Located on the northeastern coast of the continent, this English-speaking nation offers Amazonian adventures, superlative natural landscapes and a unique Caribbean culture. Here are four of the best reasons to visit, from sampling traditional dishes in the cosmopolitan capital of Georgetown to wildlife-watching in the vast and vibrant Iwokrama Rainforest.

1. Diverse natural landscapes

Guyana is known as the ‘Land of Many Waters’ in its native Amerindian language due to the numerous rivers, creeks and streams that flow throughout its length and across its breadth. Board a flight from Georgetown to the majestic Kaieteur Falls, located in Kaieteur National Park, to view the world’s largest single-drop waterfall. Its remote location — and the fact Guyana has just 300,000 tourists each year — means it’s possible to have a serene solo visit.


Rainforest covers some 80% of Guyana and, with much of it untouched, a multi-day expedition through untamed jungle is another unforgettable experience. Intrepid travellers can join various tours, such as the Rainforest Escape Tour by Wanderlust Adventures GY, to sleep in hammocks beneath the stars and stay with remote Indigenous communities who introduce guests to their local customs and delicacies. Meanwhile, the wetlands and savannah of the Rupununi region have borne a completely diverse culture: cattle ranchers have etched out a living on these plains since the late 1800s and travellers can now join vaqueros (cowboys) on roundups and attend the annual Rupununi Rodeo, held every Easter.


The river systems and savannahs in the remote Rupununi region are a haven for unique wildlife, such as giant anteaters, jaguars, pumas and capybaras.

 2. Thrilling wildlife encounters

One of the world’s most densely forested nations, this former British colony is a sanctuary for rare and unusual wildlife, including jaguars, capybaras, caimans, red howler monkeys and poison dart frogs. A typical wildlife-spotting itinerary sees travellers hop between several lodges in the nation’s remote southwest. Karanambu Lodge, located in Rupunumi, is a superb place to start, as travellers can comb the savannah for slumbering anteaters or witness orphaned river otters at feeding time at the rehabilitation centre.

Guyana is also a twitcher's dream. Some 800 bird species flit, float and forage here, from brightly coloured toucans and macaws to majestic harpy eagles. One of the best destinations for birdwatching is in the almost one-million-acre Iwokrama Rainforest. Guides know the exact trees favoured by harpy eagles — which can grow to around three-feet tall — while a dawn meander along the canopy walkway at ATTA Rainforest Lodge introduces travellers to a vast array of other species. Guides often take visitors to certain areas to witness the extravagant mating dances of the Guianan cock-of-the-rock — an endemic, tangerine-coloured bird with a punk-like quiff.

3. Rich cultural heritage

Guyanese culture is a blend of many influences, with the country home to 80,000 Indigenous peoples from nine distinct ethnic groups. These peoples have acted as stewards of the land for millennia and some now run eco-lodges in far-flung parts of the rainforest. At Rewa Eco-lodge, visitors can stay in a traditional benab (hut-like structures made of leaves and branches, supported by a framework of poles), learn how the local Rewa community brought one of the world’s largest freshwater fish species, the arapaima, back from the brink of extinction and even visit a burrow belonging to the planet’s biggest spider, the goliath bird-eater.

After exploring Guyana’s wild interior, spend a few days in the capital, Georgetown. Here, visitors can further their cultural education through Guyanese cuisine, which is influenced by dishes brought by enslaved West African people and indentured Asian labourers. Chef Delven Adams from the Backyard Cafe takes visitors to Georgetown’s Bourda Market to sample quintessential dishes, including pepperpot, a rich meat stew and seven curry — a dish of seven curries traditionally served on a water-lily leaf.

4. Eclectic events

Guyana might geographically be part of South America, but it shares the Caribbean’s love of cricket. Whether you’re a fan of the game or not, visit during the month of September for the exciting Cricket Carnival to experience flamboyant parades, mega concerts, regattas, food festivals and, of course, nail-biting cricket matches.

Another key festival in the Guyanese calendar is Mashramani, a celebration of the country’s transition to a republic from a British colony. Held on 23 February, ‘Mash’ is a party of epic proportions. Expect parades of vibrantly clad dancers shimmying to blaring calypso and steel pan music and vendors selling steaming plates of cook-up rice and chow mein. For a more sedate, but no less fascinating, insight into Guyanase culture, don’t miss November’s GuyExpo. It’s a great place to pick up quirky souvenirs, as pottery businesses rub shoulders with artisans crafting jewellery from coffee-coloured tamarind seeds and pearl-like buck beads.

Article

Thursday, February 08, 2024

VENEZUELA SITES OF INTEREST


Why should you go to Venezuela?

Glad you asked. Summer reigns year-round in Venezuela - pristine beaches, virgin rainforests, and the world’s highest waterfall wait to be discovered. Delicious tropical fruit juice accompanies every meal. People are cheery and kind-hearted. Colourful macaw birds are the capital’s collective pet.


A flock of blue and yellow macaws (Ara araurana) fly over apartment buildings in Caracas.

YURI CORTEZ/AFP or licensors

People who thrive in big cities will love Caracas, and those who fantasise about Latin America will find the colours and flavours they are looking for here.

We have a rich architectural heritage and are recognised for our vast array of ecosystems. Travellers will be dazzled by the country’s mega-diverse natural landscape.

Aerial view of the east side of Venezuelan capital, Caracas.LEO RAMIREZ/AFP

Our cuisine is also widely celebrated. Our gastronomical identity comes from the Indigenous culture in Venezuela, but it is greatly influenced by European migration during the times of colonisation and after the European wars. The country is breathtaking and there is so much to discover. So let’s continue...

When should you visit Venezuela?

We are blessed with a climate that has little variation across the year and it's characterised by two periods - a dry one, from November to April, and a rainy one, from May to October. However it is warm year-round, and beach days are possible from January till December. Free mangoes fall from the sky from April to September.

Top 10 must-see places in Venezuela

10. Blue was born from the Caracas sky

Caracas es Caracas, y lo demás es monte y culebras, “Caracas is Caracas, and the rest is bush and snakes,” the Caracas saying goes. The phrase is, of course, the result of pure capitalist snobbery, but Caracas does have a 'je ne sais quoi' about it. Venezuela’s cosmopolitan and congested capital is an exciting place to be. There is a fine restaurant and street-food scene, beautiful architecture - especially Art Deco and Bauhaus, and nature all around.

Caracas museums were all famed across the continent in the '80s for their avant-garde collections. Today they are in a shameful state, a result of bad state management. However, resourceful, private institutions have survived showcasing contemporary art, such as la Sala Mendoza in the Universidad Metropolitana, the Centro de Arte Los Galpones and Hacienda la Trinidad.

The Avila mountain, and La Guaira (the beach, only 25 minutes away), should be explored too. Make sure to allow at least four days in Venezuela’s great metropolis.

9. Margarita, the biggest island in Venezuela

Margarita is a popular place among holidaymakers. The Caribbean island has a special conjunction of mountains and sea and has developed a hotel infrastructure around a variety of beaches.

My favourite beaches in Margarita are playa Parguito and playa El Agua. Playa El Yaque is also nice, famous for its perfect year-round conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing.

At the beach, you should eat pescado frito with tostones (fried fish and plantains chips), cheap and delicate oysters (all while crossing your fingers to get a pearl), and empanadas de cazón (shark empanadas), but we’ll touch down on the food later).

8. Los Roques

Los Roques National Park is everything you could dream about a paradisiac Caribbean destination, and perhaps my favourite place in Venezuela.

The archipelago has more than 300 islands with white-sand beaches, all with marbled turquoise waters.

The island remains virtually untouched, virgin and wild because it is only accessible by private boats or small planes. 




7.Henri Pittier National Park: Cepe, Choroní y La Cienega de Ocumare

The Henri Pittier National Park is the largest national park on the Venezuelan coast. The rainforest park is fairytale-like with more than 500 bird species and tropical coastal scenery.

To get to the coast side of the park (what we’re here for), you must drive through a tropical rainforest, through a narrow road that was built in the 20s. The road itself, which crosses many water streams and waterfalls, is worth the trip.

After at least an hour and a half under the shade of huge 60-metre tall trees, you will start reaching the different bays: Ocumare de la Costa, Cata, Cuyagua, Choroni, Chuao, Cepe.

Each bay has an independent river basin, each bay is a different village. All of them together form a spectacular trifecta of mountain, river and sea.

The villages of the coast are inhabited by descendants of the African migration in Venezuela from colonial times. They have a rich and important musical tradition linked to the rhythms of Africa - the drum festivals are emblematic. 

The villages also cultivate the land where some of the best cacao in the world is grown, especially in the village of Chuao.



6. Península de Paria, the "Land of Grace"

"Land of Grace," said Christopher Columbus as he stood foot at the Peninsula de Paria back in 1498. He was depicting the divine beauty of the landscape.

The península is indeed a site of exceptional beauty: palm-covered hills slope down to the sea and create a range of long bay beaches of yellow sand, backed by groves of coconut palms. Here small farms also produce some of the best cocoa in the world.

The península de Paria is great for swimming, hiking with a view, eating fresh grilled fish and drinking agua de coco (coconut water).

You will be marvelled by unique tropical flora and fauna, notably its numerous species of birds.

5. El Llano venezolano

The territory of el Llano (the plains) descends from the eastern Andes in the Colombia-Venezuela border region and covers much of central and southwestern Venezuela.

The region is considered one of the most important wetland and freshwater ecosystems on the planet. Great extensions of plains populated by forests, savannahs, dunes dominate the landscape and offer rare vegetation and fauna, of unique and breathtaking beauty.

Los Llanos have many rivers, lagoons, and even freshwater beaches, which come in handy since it is notably hot.

The local population - the llaneros - is very hospitable. They are the original Venezuelan cowboys.



4. Morrocoy National Park

Morrocoy National Park is a protected island and marine preserve on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela.

The beaches here are, once again, spectacular, and known for their clear waters, mangroves, and virgin coral reefs.

To enjoy Morrocoy, you must go to the quays (islands) by either a private boat or a "peñero," a fishermen's boat that can be shared with other passengers. On your way out, make sure to catch a cocada (coconut smoothie) at one of the kiosks on the main road.







2. The Guiana Massif: Mount Roraima

The Guiana Massif is located south of the Orinoco River, covering the states of Bolivar and Amazonas.

It is one of the oldest continental blocks on planet Earth, so the oldest rocks of Venezuela are found here.

Mount Roraima is a tepuy, a mountain famous for its table-top shape. The summit is completely horizontal and occupies an area of more than 30 square kilometres, surrounded by waterfalls and cliffs.

Some people call it 'an island in the heights'. An expedition to Mount Roraima will last about a week, and it is enough of a reason to travel to Venezuela on its own.

1. The Amazon


Another exciting yet surprisingly less popular tourist destination in Venezuela is the Amazon.

Several companies offer different experiences and excursions. Hikers will enjoy exploring the Autana tepuy and its surroundings. Expeditions to other indigenous villages are less demanding, as well as a boat trip, or rafting in the Orinoco River.

What should you eat in Venezuela?


Our food staples include corn, rice, plantain, cassava, beans and several types of meat. Ají dulce (a sweet chilli) and papelón (unrefined whole cane sugar) are found in most traditional recipes - our cooking is all sweet, salty and spicy.

Start with Arepas. Arepas are a symbol of Venezuelan gastronomy and one of the most common pre-Hispanic foods still popular in the country. Arepas are a kind of round, flat corn cake, and the fillings are varied: typically cheese, ham, eggs, shredded beef, avocado, among others.

The best place to eat arepas is at an Arepera, a traditional restaurant specialising in making arepas. They are everywhere.

Cachapa is an incredibly delicious, sweet maize pancake usually filled with fresh cheese and/or fried pork. You can eat cachapas in most areperas too.

Empanadas -Venezuelan empanadas- are similar to arepas but fried instead of grilled. The dough is made with cornflour, and the fillings, typically cheese and shredded beef, are sealed inside.

Tostones are twice-fried plantain slices, and a common side dish for fried fish, typically eaten at the beach.

Cocada, oh the sweet Venezuelan cocada. A simple sip offers a sensory journey to the paradisiacal beaches of the Caribbean. The original cocada is made by mixing fresh coconut pulp, coconut water, milk, ice, sugar and cinnamon. This mixture is made in a blender until a slushy texture is obtained, like a smoothie.

Chicha criolla is a sweet, non-alcoholic Venezuelan drink made from rice, milk, condensed milk and cinnamon. It is thick and heavy but delicious and must be drunk very cold. Let’s call it a Venezuelan original milkshake.


Cachitos are similar to French croissants filled with ham, these are the go-to breakfast in any Venezuelan boulangerie.
Casabe is a flatbread made of bitter cassava, perfect to snack on its own or to substitute bread.

Tequeños are an elevated version of your regular cheese sticks. They are very popular, and you can get them everywhere.

Pabellón criollo is the national dish: made with white rice, shredded beef, tajadas (fried ripe plantain) and stewed black beans.

Cacao - Venezuela is the home of legendary cocoa beans. All top chocolatiers around the globe offer a 'Chuao' blend, which is argued to be some of the best cocoa in the world.


Salto Angel and the Canaima Lagoon



Don’t hesitate a second for a 3-day expedition to Angel Falls, the largest waterfall in the world in the heart of the Venezuelan jungle.

Take a road trip to Henri Pittier National Park and explore the coastal villages and their traditions.

My favourite is Choroní. Once there, it’s a good idea to drive to Chuao and Cepe. Or sail to la Cienega if you have the time, locals offer the service.

Choroni has the best infrastructure to receive tourists in the area and charming B&Bs will be thrilled to receive you.

Visit the small-scale Paria chocolate factory, and nibble on samples from one of the best chocolate makers in Venezuela.

Go Scuba diving in Los Roques

The archipelago is one of the most diverse and best-preserved coral reefs in the Caribbean, which makes it a spectacular scuba diving destination.

Take a peñero, a commercial boat, to Cayo Sombrero in Morrocoy and spend the day swimming and eating cheap oysters.

Go up to Pico Bolívar in Merida´s Cable Car. It is the highest and second longest cable car in the world reaching an altitude of 4,765 million square metres.

In el paramo, take a day hike to Laguna de Mucubají and try el Pizco Andino, a traditional soup similar to Chupe, and the Arepa andina, a variation on the Venezuelan classic.

What can I do for free?

Hiking the Avila

Hike your way up the mountain that defines the northern boundary of Caracas and that separates the city from the Caribbean sea. There are many trails, which can last from a few hours to a couple of days.

Explore Caracas’ historic city centre

The Museum of Natural History (former Prefecture of Caracas), Houses 29 and 31 on Avenida Norte (currently the Casa de las Primeras Letras Simón Rodríguez) and the Nuevo Circo de Caracas are the best places to go.

These buildings portray the architectural eclecticism dominant in the capital during the first three decades of the twentieth century.


Monday, May 01, 2023

Guyana: The bewitching country with birdwatching, oversized animals and waterfalls is now easier to reach

By Emma Featherstone

Deputy Travel Editor

May 1, 2023 12:00 am(Updated 4:13 pm)

Francis, a barefooted vaquero framed by the Kanuku Mountains, steadied his white steed and gestured towards a sparse thicket a few metres ahead. Heel-toe-heel-toe, I crept forwards. There was the slightest rustle, then it appeared: a proud brush, as thick as the tail of four foxes. Partly obscured by shrubbery, its black-grey owner presented a peep show of extraterrestrial body parts.

Minutes later, she ambled onto the open savannah and revealed all: a short mohawk running along her back; black and white stripes up her flanks; an elongated, beaky snout; mohair-trouser legs and that spiny tail that she uses as a makeshift duvet at night.

Giant anteaters are solitary animals, except when caring for their offspring. “She’ll carry a baby on her back until it’s almost as big as her,” explained Melanie McTurk, managing director of Karanambu Lodge, an eco-tourism destination in the south-western Rupununi region of Guyana.

Giant anteaters are among the animals to look out for around Karanambu (Photo: Wilderness Explorers)

Seven members of the giant anteater species, classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, roam this area. The sighting promoted an irrepressible grin: a frequent tick during my visit to the South American country.

One of the least densely populated countries on earth, with most people living on the coastal plain, up to 90 per cent of Guyana’s 83,000 square miles are covered by forest. It is dissected by four main rivers and their tributaries, and decorated with waterfalls, four mountain ranges, marsh and savannah. Sitting in the geographical formation of the Guiana Shield, it has cultural influences from Venezuela to the west and Brazil to the west and south: Brazilian vaquero, or cowboy, traditions are found in the Rupununi, for example.

With more than 800 species of bird, and a wild kingdom that includes giant river otters, giant armadillos and arapaimas (one of the world’s largest fresh water fish), it is a dream destination for keen naturalists and will convert the indifferent.

Yet nature is not Guyana’s only pull. Its mix of people – including indigenous Amerindian, East Indian, African, European and Chinese – has forged its cities, architecture and food. And Guyana is the only country in South America with English as the official language; it was once a British colony. Despite all this, British travellers make up just three per cent of Guyana’s visitor numbers. In 2022, there were 7,668 arrivals from the UK, based on data from the Guyana Tourism Authority.

That looks set to change due to a twice-weekly UK–Guyana flight operated by British Airways, which launched in March. Wilderness Explorers, a company that specialises in the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and the Caribbean, has seen an “overwhelming response” to BA’s service to Georgetown, said its general manager, Carla Vantull. Other European tourists, as well as Britons, have added to the spike in interest with requests for bookings as far ahead as 2027.

St. George’s cathedral, one of the largest wooden churches in the world (Photo: Michael Runkel/Getty)                      


Most international visitors will start in Georgetown before heading to interior attractions, including Kaieteur Falls. A single drop waterfall in the Amazon rainforest that’s about four and a half times taller than Niagara Falls, Kaieteur is typically reached by a 45-minute flight from the city. “There used to be a problem filling planes, now there are not enough seats,” said Vantull. There are plans to expand the runway to allow for 18-passenger aircraft (at the moment the planes are 12 seaters).

Kaieteur’s annual visitor numbers are equivalent to Machu Picchu’s daily footfall. That said, a flight to the falls costs around US$280 and the alternative from Georgetown is a multi-day overland trip. Visitors who can take one of these routes enjoy an experience free of poncho-selling stalls, roped off walkways or queues.

The capital is a patchwork of wooden buildings, including St. George’s Anglican cathedral and homes painted in bright shades, as well as greenery, canals and the turrets of temples and mosques. It has a Caribbean feel: exchanges are typically in creole; Guyanese players hold positions in the West Indies cricket squad; genre-blending singer Eddy Grant is Guyanese-British.

The Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Photo: Wilderness Explorers)  

My walk to Rainbow viewpoint passed over 2.2-million-year-old rock formations and veered into a section of forest where flashes of traffic-cone orange settled long enough for a guide to identify two Guianan cocks-of-the-rock. With pronounced half-moon crests, puffed chests and their tangerine plumage, the adult males possess the beauty among this bird species.

It is one of the most coveted wildlife sightings at Kaieteur; another is the golden rocket frog. I saw one hidden inside the leaf of a giant tank bromeliad. As long as the nail on my middle finger, and a dangerous shade of yellow, the frog provided a brief diversion from the power of the falls. The relentless rush of water, which is the colour of milky hot chocolate, is surrounded by dense rainforest.

Guyana’s fauna and flora offer regular waterside entertainment. Indeed, it was the urge to nurture a river-dwelling creature that turned Karanambu Lodge into a tourist destination. The protector of the giant river otter was the late Diane McTurk, aunt to Melanie’s husband, Edward. Diane’s father Edward “Tiny” McTurk established a cattle ranch and balata (rubber) collection station at the same spot in 1927. Having grown up at the ranch, before moving for education and work, Diane returned to Karanambu and began to rehabilitate otters who’d been orphaned by poachers after their parents’ pelt.

Karanambu’s animals attracted David Attenborough in the 1950s. Other well-known arrivals have included conservationist Gerald Durrell and Mick Jagger, who visited Diane’s otters. There were none at the lodge during my visit: its education efforts have led to fewer parentless pups.

A giant river otter (Photo: Mark Newman/Getty)
Plenty live in the river that’s a five-minute walk from the main house, although they remained hidden on my tour. A trip down the Rupununi and its offshots is a highlight of a stay at Karanambu. I tried to picture the giant river otters. “Everything’s about six foot in Guyana,” joked Melanie before we headed out to the motorised boats.

My guide for the evening was Kenneth Mandook, one of around 12 people employed at Karanambu, and its chief birder. Once we’d pushed off, I swivelled my gaze from left to right as he pointed out the creatures on either bank: pied lapwing, osprey; black-throated mango hummingbird; Amazon kingfisher; nighthawks. Then there was movement high up in branches on the right bank: a group of saki monkeys were climbing from tree-to-tree. We slowed to a stop and witnessed a moment of jeopardy: a youngster tumbling in the air before catching a branch. Soon after, sitting among the vast pads of the Victoria amazonica waterlily provided a quiet interlude. Mandook passed out metal beakers of Karanambu’s passion fruit rum punch.

With crisscross, veiny undersides and umbilical-cord roots, the lily pads protect a small collection of white buds each of which open three times. I willed the petals to part as the drum of raindrops and darkening sky added to the peace of the scene.


After a festival’s worth of river performances, there was a final act. Mandook’s head torch scouted for pairs of reflective spots: then one appeared in the distance. As we moved closer, a shape formed: it was the knobbly head of a black caiman, crouched on a rock.

We recounted it all that evening at the trestle table in the main house. The thatched building doubles as Melanie’s home. Here, I had a taste of Guyanese cuisine. Split pea soup, garlic cassava bread, made from a starchy root vegetable of the same name, “high water” fish that was caught that morning, fried plantain, and steamed callaloo. Ingredients were homegrown or locally sourced. Melanie, who divides her time between Karanambu and Georgetown, has continued the lodge’s tradition of hospitality.

Having spent her youth in Georgetown – back when jaguars were known to stalk through residential areas – she had a interest in wildlife before meeting her husband. Conservation is also ingrained in Amerindian cultures around the Rupununi, she added. “It’s a name for what local people had already been doing”.  Vantull, meanwhile, who grew up in Kamarang, an Amerindian village in Upper Mazaruni, said she “learnt the beauty of wildlife through tourism.”    Back in Georgetown, Carlos Allie, a guide and avian expert, prompted a gasp as each student put an eye to the telescope that he’d trained towards another colourful specimen at the city’s botanical gardens, from toucans to macaws. Urban wildlife doesn’t stop at birds: manatees lurk in the waterways.

Around 10 minutes’ drive from the Botanical Gardens, chef Delven Adams described the origins of the dishes he’d plated up at Backyard Cafe behind his home (visitors must book in advance). The scent of fish curry, with green seasoning, coconut, turmeric and garlic, rose from the table. Lunch closed with a pudding of cassava pone and local coffee.

Adams runs regular tours of Georgetown’s Bourda and Stabroek markets during which customers can sample fruits such as fig leaf banana, golden apple and saccharine slices of sapodilla. His food has featured on the National Geographic television series Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted and he’s soon to open a permanent market cafe. Punters can also try out Backyard Cafe recipes via tutorials on YouTube. “I have enquires from all over the world; people turn up at my door asking for a table,” added Adams.   He may be bringing Guyanese national pride to the online masses, but it’s best experienced in person.   Even Attenborough’s narration can’t draw out the wonder of clocking an oversized anteater shuffling onto the grassland, just a few metres from your feet, or from salted pineapple hitting your taste receptors on a humid morning in Georgetown. 

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Why you should visit Guyana

 By

Sarah Marshall

27 March 2023 • 9:59am


Kate at Pico de la Nieve 

Guyana is a great option to visit for adventure CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

Adorned with a crown of colourful feathers, the Makushi chief is a glorious embodiment of his rainforest kingdom. 

Deep in the heart of the Guiana Shield, one of the world’s last pristine tropical forests, his community have been living alongside nature for 7,000 years. It is a world that couldn’t be further from my own until he opens his mouth and – to my surprise – speaks in fluent English.

Once under British rule, Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America – making it far easier to chat about ways of life with the country’s nine multilingual indigenous tribes. 

But language is just about the only thing that is familiar: dense rainforests reverberating with thundering waterfalls and the roar of howler monkeys are far removed from North Sea shores and rolling meadows. 


Guyana's Cumbre Vieja volcano CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

Niche, offbeat and adventurous, the country is a left-field choice for British Airways, which will operate a new twice-weekly route between Gatwick and Guyana’s capital Georgetown (with a short stop in St Lucia) from Monday. Fares start at £499 return. 

“We are the biggest UK carrier to the Caribbean, so we know its destinations are hugely popular with our customers and we expect Guyana to be no exception,” says Neil Chernoff, director of networks and alliances at BA. “With more than 80 per cent forest coverage, it is a naturally beautiful country that is largely undiscovered by tourists.”

Whether it is the promise of spotting wildlife or the chance to immerse yourself in indigenous culture, there are plenty of reasons to make Guyana your next great adventure.


Feel the rush of an epic waterfall

National attractions like Kaieteur Falls tend to come with queues, ticket booths and restrictive safety railings. It has none of these. 



The world’s largest single drop waterfall – four-and-a-half times the height of Niagara but with less than one per cent of the annual visitors – remains just as nature created it. 

 Kaieteur Falls

Experience the world's largest single drop waterfall CREDIT: Kevin Schafer/Getty Images

Seen from above on a 55-minute day-trip flight from Georgetown, an emerald plateau of thick jungle abruptly caves away as the Potaro River crashes into a deep valley etched into the landscape. 

Follow a trail through rocky chasms draped with vines to walk almost to the edge of the falls, where swallows dive into the mist. In the same park, designated in 1929, look out for tiny golden frogs in the rosettes of bromeliad leaves and cock-of-the-rock birds impressing females in a lek (courtship ritual).

Experience a unique way of life

In a village originally built as a film set, Makushi couple Glendon and Jean Allicock invite tourists to learn about a culture under threat. Meet them during a stay at Surama, Guyana’s first indigenous ecolodge, with rooms designed in the style of traditional thatched benabs.


Surama Cultural Group 

Learn about Guyana’s indigenous culture at the first ecolodge CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

In an outdoor kitchen, younger members of the Surama Culture Group strain cassava through a woven matapee and roast maggots plucked from nut shells.

There is tale telling, too: Glendon, wearing a jaguar’s tooth necklace, shares the story of how his stepfather tackled the predator with a machete, while Jean explains how local shamans are initiated by spending several months in the forest living on hummingbirds. 


Get involved with community conservation

In the past, it took Rewa villagers three days to paddle to the nearest town and collect their post. But the arrival of a motorboat has made it easier to access this eco-minded community at the confluence of the Rewa and Rupununi Rivers, who have established their own lodge.

A nearby pool, popular with catch-and-release anglers, contains the world’s highest number of arapaima: an enormous freshwater fish that is able to live for 24 hours out of water. Paddle along the river, through lily pads the size of dinner plates, and look for bubbles on the surface. 


Giant lily pads at Rewa

Wildlife spotting has never been so beautiful, surrounded by lily pads the size of dinner plates CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

Back on land, follow rough trails in the forest to find the goliath birdeater –the largest spider in the world by mass and size – or climb nearby Awarmie Mountain for a view of the valley. To connect with more than community life, wander through the camp to reach Rewa’s village square, where – surprisingly – public wifi is available. 

See the sights in a quirky capital

A South American city with a creole culture, Georgetown – Guyana’s coastal capital – is a compelling mix of dilapidated European architecture, quirky museums, wild parks, a cricket ground and stalls selling fiery Caribbean food. 

The Gothic-style St George’s Cathedral, built in the late 19th century with a native hardwood called greenheart, is one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings. 

Among other remnants of Dutch and British rule is a contentious statue of Queen Victoria, whose head was blown off during anti-colonial protests in the 1950s. Sent to Britain for repair, she now stands in front of the high court but is still missing her nose. 


St. George's Anglican Cathedral

With a mix of influences in design and culture, the coastal capital Georgetown is well worth a visit CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

One essential stop on a city tour is Guyana National Park, where it is possible to hand-feed bunches of grass to tame resident West Indian manatees. And if you don’t have time to travel deep into the jungle, the city’s botanical gardens feature more than 100 species of bird, including the blood-coloured woodpecker, white-bellied piculet and festive parrots.

Feast on fiery cuisine

Guyana’s cuisine features, among other things, zingy spices and unusual rainforest ingredients – and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay claims the country has “some of the most exciting food on the planet”. 

During his visit for National Geographic TV show Uncharted, he cooked with local chef Delven Adams, who runs tours of Georgetown market. He then cooks the ingredients he has collected back at his friendly Backyard Café – literally built in his back garden. 

Even if Guyana’s national dish – pepperpot – is not on the menu, Adams can advise on the best places to try it. The fiery beef stew is slow-cooked for several days. (According to local folklore, one chef had his on the go for 75 years.)


Pepperpot

This traditional Guyanese dish of stewed meat flavored with cinnamon, hot peppers, and Cassareep CREDIT: Getty Images/Johnny Mad

Unsurprisingly, given its proximity to the Caribbean, rum is the tipple of choice here. Set on the east bank of the Demerara River, just outside town, the Demerara Distillery makes award-winning El Dorado aged rums using vintage stills. Visit the heritage museum and taste rums in the Barrel Bar, constructed from old oak casks.

Discover brilliant birdlife

With more than 840 bird species recorded in the country, this is an avian Arcadia. Some of the best sightings can be enjoyed from the 500ft-high Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, deep in the Guiana Shield. 

The walkway comprises a series of suspension bridges, connected by several decks, running through the canopy of the Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve – a protected area of almost a million acres of pristine rainforest that has become a base for scientific research. Tours set off at 5am, with the aim of spotting species such as the green aracari, scarlet macaw, Guianan toucanet and channel-billed toucan. 


Cock of the rock bird

If you're interest in bird-watching, there are tours run by those in the know that might even have you spotting a jaguar CREDIT: Sarah Marshall

Back at ground level, there is always a chance of running into red-rumped agoutis, tapirs and elusive jaguars (this is one of the best places in Guyana to see them), especially if staying overnight at the nearby Atta Rainforest Lodge, staffed by Makushi Amerindians and Guyanese naturalists. 

For most birders, a key sighting is the harpy eagle: a powerful predator capable of snatching sloths with its claws. Experienced Guyanese naturalist and photographer Leon Moore knows where the most accessible nests can be observed; he leads small group tours to Iwokrama and beyond.

Article

Monday, March 27, 2023

GUYANA

Monday March 27 2023, 12.01am,

 Jamie Lafferty - The Sunday Times


Despite being the only English-speaking country in South America, Guyana has long been a mystery for most British travellers. Blessed with extraordinary wildlife and one of the purest remaining wildernesses on the continent, it has largely been ignored by everyone aside from committed birders looking to spot some of the 800 or so species found within its border.

Now, however, this former British colony is a little bit closer, thanks to the launch of a new British Airways flight to the capital, Georgetown, providing the first direct link with Europe.


1. Kaieteur Falls



Ironically, interest in Guyana has been spurred by the discovery of oil off its Atlantic coast in 2015. But for travellers the attraction will lie less in its fossil fuels than its extraordinary natural beauty, cascading waterfalls and blossoming eco-tourism. A visit here is a journey into the wild. Here are the highlights.

See a thundering cascade and dazzling wildlife

Unarguably one of the most picturesque waterfalls in the world, Kaieteur is the nation’s icon and the planet’s largest single-drop waterfall by volume. It may not match Angel Falls in Venezuela for height, but it’s still 225m tall, and whereas its nominal rival is a mere trickle in the jungle this is a thundering, exhilarating cascade. With its own airstrip and national park, it’s also surprisingly accessible thanks to a short (if often bumpy) flight.

There are three separate viewpoints and, at the time of writing, still very little in the way of restrictions — vertigo sufferers may find the lack of safety rails a little daunting, but photographers will be delighted by the dizzying access.

The mist from the falls in rainy season breathes life into the surrounding valley, providing enough moisture for golden rocket frogs to live their entire lives inside giant tank bromeliads, many of which hang perilously over the cliffs facing the falls. Elsewhere, one of the most popular hiking routes passes a courting location for the absurdly flamboyant Guianan cock-of-the-rock, a bright orange bird that looks as though it’s dressed to provide security at a punk gig. 

2. Surama Eco-Lodge



Learn from indigenous people

Guyana’s oldest eco-lodge is right in the heart of the country, where the jungle has started to thin out towards baked savannah. The Surama Eco Lodge has many elements you’d expect — easy access to nature, sustainably constructed buildings — and some great tours into the wilderness, where you can expect encounters with giant anteaters, scarlet macaws and, if you’re especially fortunate, the mighty harpy eagle.

The lodge is owned and run by local Makushi people, one of the nine distinct indigenous groups in the country. As well as meeting community members at the property, you can also make a visit to the Surama cultural village — originally built as a film set it’s now used by the indigenous people for demonstrations and lectures about their fast-fading way of life and language. Among the classes there’s hammock making and the baking of cassava bread, as well as the chance to try a local hooch known as “fly”. The cultural show at the end — a mix of folkloric songs and poems — has toured internationally and been performed for visiting royals.

3. Georgetown


Explore the food scene and the two rivers

For a long time travelling through the capital felt like a necessary evil en route to discovering the more beautiful and natural parts of the country. As visitor numbers have grown, however, this British-built city has improved, with a growing number of bars and restaurants catering to an increasingly international crowd.

If you want to learn something about the culinary history of Guyana, the Backyard Café is a must. Its owner and chef, Delven Adams, leads tours of the central market before taking you back to his family-run restaurant for an expertly prepared meal made with the produce that he has just acquired, as well as a lengthy talk on the country’s cuisine and dishes, such as coconut bread, and baked fish with mango salsa (fb.com/backyardcafegy).

For accommodation, more international brands are arriving each year, but for a sense of Guyana’s colonial-era architecture try the Cara Lodge, which dates from the days of the British Empire. 

The city and surrounding area is best explored through an organised tour taking in the Guyana National Museum, with its hulking full-scale model of a giant sloth, and sunset trips up the Demerara and Essequibo rivers — at day’s end thousands of birds, including spectacular scarlet ibises, come to roost by the slow-moving waters. If you’ve a little extra time, more elaborate boat trips include visits to the Sloth Island nature reserve, where you’re likely to find some incredibly lazy residents.


4. Rewa Eco-Lodge


Find giant otters and prehistoric fish in the jungle

Rewa is one of those lodges buried so deep in the jungle that wildlife interactions will be unavoidable. Prizes include the near-mythic arapaima, a colossal prehistoric fish that breathes at the surface, giving it a huge advantage when the dry season arrives. Sports fishermen come from around the world to catch (and release) these giants.

Fans of creepy-crawlies will not go wanting — a short trip from the lodge, guides have marked hiding spots for the impressive Goliath bird-eating tarantula, which may not actually eat birds, but which is nonetheless the world’s heaviest spider.

In the deepest depths sunlight won’t penetrate the foliage, but the lodge’s expert guides are still able to help spot birds and primates in the canopy. If that feels at all claustrophobic then the good news is that time is also spent out on the Rewa and Rupununi rivers, speeding along on skiffs with a cooling breeze. There’s plenty more wildlife along the riverbanks, including giant otters and dozens of kingfishers, as well as cayman sunning themselves on sandbars.

One of the most popular excursions stops at one of these river beaches (making sure it’s clear of Crocodilia first) to have a barbecue dinner while the sun sets over the jungle. Racing you back after nightfall, the guides will then use spotlights to find yet more wildlife.

 The captivating South American country with a new direct flight (thetimes.co.uk)

Friday, August 14, 2020

The Guianas: 'Lost World' rediscovered

guianas kaieteur falls

(CNN) — Taking time off from his Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Arthur Conan Doyle penned a tale about a remote corner of South America where dinosaurs and other colossal creatures stilled roamed the earth.

Most readers thought "The Lost World" was entirely fiction. But Conan Doyle's far-fetched saga was inspired by reports that explorers were bringing back from three small European colonies that border Brazil at the top end of South America: British Guiana, Dutch Guiana and French Guiana.

Nowadays they're the independent nations of Guyana and Suriname, and the French territory of Guyane (French Guiana).

For most of the past century -- since "The Lost World" was published in 1912 -- they've been little more than geographical trivia. Cricket legend Clive Lloyd hails from Guyana, and Guyane is famed for its Ariane rocket launches. But for the most part, the region has long flown beneath the radar of global awareness.

However, all three are finally stepping out from the shadows as their natural, historical and cultural wonders are discovered by travelers questing new worlds to explore.

While there may not be dinosaurs, the Amazon rainforest that covers around 80% of the three countries does harbor very large wildlife: giant river otters and giant anteaters, anacondas that can reach 28 feet (8.5 meters) in length, spiders as big as your hand, and a huge carnivorous river fish called the arapaima that makes piranhas seem like puppy dogs.

Giant anteaters roam the Rupununi savannah in Guyana.

The region also boasts an incredible cultural melting pot.

"Guyana" or "Guiana" is an Amerindian word that means "Land of Many Waters." But given how history unfolded, it could just was easily mean land of many peoples or languages.

With English spoken in Guyana, Dutch the lingua franca of Suriname and French the mother tongue in Guyane, they are the only countries in South America were Spanish or Portuguese are not the official language.

After two centuries as a Dutch colony, Guyana was handed over to Britain in 1814 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The Dutch managed to retain control of an adjacent colony that centered around the Suriname River. Apparently it was 17th-century Italians who first settled the Guyane coast, but it was the French who soon claimed a territory that would one day harbor their most notorious prison.

Guyana gained its independence in 1966, Suriname in 1975, while Guyane morphed from French colony to overseas department in 1946 (and later voted against independence from France). But the die had already been cast in terms of their cultural identity and ethnic variety.

The colonial empires imported slaves and indentured servants to work the plantations, people from as far away as Java, India and West Africa. Together with the indigenous Amerindians and descendants of European settlers, they comprise one of the world's most diverse populations. And by extension, one of the most varied culinary destinations.

As a lifelong fan of Conan Doyle -- and the Jurassic Park stories that his writing inspired -- I decided to discover South America's lost world for myself.

Guyana Forest. 

There  are only four places left on the planet with pristine, primary rainforest -- New Guinea, central Africa, part of the Brazilian Amazon and here in Guyana," British adventure guide Ian Craddock tells me over drinks in Georgetown, the coastal capital city.

The next morning I'm on a small plane headed into that huge green wilderness.

First stop: Kaieteur Falls. Although largely unknown outside Guyana, it's actually the world's largest single-drop waterfall -- 741 feet (226 meters) without interruption. Twice as tall as Victoria Falls and more than four times higher than Niagara.

There's a double rainbow over the falls as I peer into the gorge from the edge of a lofty rock ledge near the national park lodge and landing strip. I'm not usually acrophobic, but it's an awful long way down. Away from the falls, the jungle is filled with marvelous creatures like the golden tree frog and the cock-of-the-rock bird with its bright red feathers.

Guyana's Amazon region isn't just trees. There are also vast tropical savannahs like the Rupununi, my next stop in the journey south. An early morning drive from Waikin Lodge ends with my first sighting of a giant anteater, a massive creature with immense claws that's said to be the only animal that can take on (and defeat) a jaguar.

Reaching Yupukari, an indigenous settlement on the southern edge of the Rupununi, I rendezvous with Ashley Holland, a veteran wildlife guide who's leading a small group of us up the Mapari River.

There's plenty to see along the way: black caiman (an alligator relative) snoozing on the sandy banks, giant river otters giving us a quick look-see before disappearing into the depths again, and three-foot (one-meter) electric eels that allegedly emit enough juice to electrocute a person. (Holland says that isn't quite true).

We spend four nights sleeping in hammocks and bathing in the river at Holland's remote -- but surprisingly comfortable -- jungle camp in the upper reaches of the Mapari watershed. Days are spent on jungle hikes or slowly cruising the river in search of wildlife.

Our most astounding finds are a fist-sized Goliath bird-eating spider (world's largest arachnid), a huge Gladiator tree frog, a pair of tapirs (South America's largest mammal) swimming across the river right in front of our boat, and a very rare sighting of the world's most powerful raptor -- a mother harpy eagle and her fluffy feathered chick.

Heading down the river and back to civilization, I think to myself maybe there are no dinosaurs, but this is close as I'm ever going to come to a real-life Jurassic Park.

Suriname: Coat of many cultures

From Georgetown it's about a two-hour flight to Paramaribo, Suriname's bustling little capital. And because we're landing at the old aerodrome near the city center rather than the new international airport 33 miles (54 kilometers) out of town, clearing customs and immigration takes all of five minutes.

I've arranged for guide Desmond Budhan to meet me on arrival, but rather than head straight for my hotel overlooking the Paramaribo River, Budhan -- who describes himself as a third generation Hindustani-Surinamese -- wants to show me straight away how diverse his hometown is.

We pay our respects at an ornate Hindu temple, drive down a street with ethnic Chinese shops adorned with songbirds in wooden cages, and wind up at the Javanese Market, where locals clad in traditional Indonesian fashion are haggling over batik fabric or munching barbecued satay slathered in peanut sauce. I've gotta keep reminding myself that I'm not in Asia. 

Historic Fort Zeelandia was the start of Suriname's capital,

Suriname's melting pot derives from the Dutch having a global empire comprising an incredible range of religions, languages and ethnic groups, a colonial realm that once included present-day nations such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Many of those who wound up in Suriname were either forcibly relocated from other parts of the Dutch empire or voluntarily immigrated to this remote South American shore in search of better lives than back home.

The Dutch also have a legacy, an inner city filled with 17th and 18th-century colonial buildings that now house museums, restaurants and handicraft shops.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002, the old town revolves around Fort Zeelandia, an amazingly well-preserved Dutch citadel with exhibits on Suriname history, art and ethnic groups.

Compact and easy to get around on foot, I spent several days wandering old Paramaribo. Wherever I roamed, the city's coat of many cultures was on display.

At Neveh Shalom Synagogue I walked barefoot across the sandy floor of a shrine built in the 1720s by Sephardim fleeing the Inquisition in Europe. Along a new promenade in the Palm Garden, I met Amerindians selling traditional foods, handicrafts and holistic cosmetics made from ingredients found in the Suriname Amazon.    

The Suriname-Guyane frontier lies about a two-hour drive east of Paramaribo through a region populated by the Marron people -- the descendants of African slaves who escaped the Dutch plantations and fled into the jungle. 
Produce sellers create a makeshift market located on the shore in Saint-Laurent du Maroni, Guyane. Jody Amiet/AFP/Getty Images

Guyane: Escaping an infamous past

At the end of the road in Suriname is Albina, a sleepy river port where ferries depart for the French territory on the other side of the water. Climbing into an outboard-powered dugout canoe, I cruised over to Saint-Laurent du Maroni, Guyane's second largest city.

Just like that I'm in the Eurozone -- many of the cars are Peugeots and everyone is speaking French. The steeple of a red brick Catholic church rises above the old town. I find a great little Vietnamese restaurant for lunch and contemplate what this laid-back town is most known for: its infamous Camp de la Transportation.

France began shipping political prisoners to French Guiana during the revolution of the 1790s. By the late 1800s, the bulk of deportees were men and women found guilty of murder and other serious crimes.

However, the prison camps never occupied more than a small portion of the colony. French Guiana also had its sawmills, gold mines and tropical plantations.

Camp de la Transportation in Saint-Laurent du Maroni was an infamous prison. Joe Yogerst

Devil's Island, the offshore portion of the penal colony, gets all the props. But the sprawling camp in Maroni is where the most devilish deeds took place. It was here that prisoners were inducted into the French penal colony system, where they were often incarcerated for years or even decades, and where many were dispatched via the guillotine.

Fluent in French, Dutch, English and Marron patois, Gilbert Samson guided me around the prison, many of the cells still outfitted with rusty iron shackles and the gray coral-stone walls scarred by graffiti made by long-ago inmates. One of the grassy quads is flanked by death row and the spot where the camp guillotine once stood.

Samson shows me a solitary confinement cell (No. 47) with the name "Papillon" is scratched in the stone floor. That was the nickname of renowned convict Henri Charrière, sentenced to life and hard labor at the prison colony in the early 1930s when he was convicted of murder.

He staged numerous daring escapes -- by sea and by jungle -- and later described his trials and tribulations in a best-selling book that was made into two movies.

Whether or not this particular cell is where the legendary escapee-author was actually jailed is beside the point: the hideous events portrayed in his autobiography really did take place in an around Saint-Laurent du Maroni.

Criticized for its extreme brutality and inhumane conditions, the penal colony closed in 1946. Less than two decades later, Guyane became the site of Europe's version of Cape Canaveral. Nowadays, the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou with its Ariane launches is the territory's number one tourist attraction. How ironic that those rockets blast off into another largely mysterious place -- outer space -- every bit as fascinating as the lost world of the three Guianas.

( Please contact us for our 3 Guianas tour package

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