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

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)