Guyana is the continent's best-kept secret. On this adventurous safari you will navigate through Guyana's unspoilt and wild rainforests, witness the impressive Kaieteur Falls and explore the wildlife-rich savannah, all alongside a chance to visit colourful and culture-rich Georgetown.
This lesser-known country is ideal for those looking for something a little different, you will find no better place for an authentic and raw adventure than here. A remaining haven for some of the rarest animals in South America; expect plentiful tapirs, giant anaconda, metres-long caiman, a plethora of bird species, large troops of river otters, giant anteaters and with luck — jaguars.
Day 1 - Arrive Guyana - Georgetown
Upon arrival in Cheddi Jagan International Airport you will be met by our local representatives and transferred to your hotel in Georgetown, where you can relax, recuperate from your flight and look forward to your imminent adventures.
Day 2 - Kaieteur Falls
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.
Day 3 - Georgetown – Interior Guyana
Board a scheduled flight for your journey to the interior and transfer to the Iwokrama River Lodge. Explore the trails around the lodge with an Iwokrama Guide, home to many bird species including some Guiana Shield endemics and the forest is also the habitat for many mammals.
Day 4 - Interior Guyana
Making an early start, we’ll embark on the Essequibo River and circumnavigate nearby Indian House Island, before returning to the lodge for breakfast. Leave the lodge by boat, for the hike to Turtle Mountain. As the afternoon cools you set out on a boat trip to visit Kurupukari Falls.
Day 5 - Transfer to Iwokrama Reserve
Explore the trails or just have a look for the resident Caiman, Sankar, near the landing before breakfast and departure. Wildlife is often seen along the dirt road, such as Agouti, Tayra, Tapir, Black Curassow and even the elusive Jaguar.
Day 6 - Iwokrama Reserve
Before dawn, we will head to the canopy walkway where we can birdwatch easily and from this treetop vantage. 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.
Day 7 - Iwokrama Reserve – Surama
After breakfast, transfer by vehicle through the Iwokrama rainforest to Corkwood. Continue the journey to the community of Surama. Your guides will then paddle you on the Burro Burro River for opportunities to observe Giant River Otters, Tapir, Tira, Spider Monkeys and more.
Day 8 - Surama Nature Hike and transfer to Rock View
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. Transfer from Surama to Rock View Lodge at Annai, an oasis in the savannah.
As a guest, you have the unique opportunity to support and participate in an ongoing field study of the Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger), the largest member of the alligator family and an endangered species. You are invited to accompany the indigenous guides and researchers as they search for and capture Black Caiman on the river. Guests will observe the capture from a separate boat but will be offered the opportunity to assist in data collection. Caimans are weighed, measured and tagged before being released back into the river. The research has already discovered interesting information on caimans’ nests that was previously unknown.
Day 9 - Rock View - Savannah
At dawn, take a hike in the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains on the Panorama Trail. Travel south by road from Rock View Lodge to Ginep Landing where we will take a boat trip on the Rupununi River to Karanambu Lodge, an excellent opportunity to look for Giant Otters.
Day 10 - Savannah Exploration
This morning we may make an early start to reach an area of rolling grasslands, which is home to a population of Giant Anteaters. With luck, we shall locate one of these six-foot long animals excavating its breakfast from one of the red termite mounds that stud the savannah.
Day 11 - Transfer to Caiman Field Station
Explore the Rupununi River in search of wild Giant River Otters, Black Caiman and Arapaima, making a boat journey along quiet stretches of the river. Return to the lodge for breakfast before transferring upriver by motorised boat to the nearby Amerindian village of Yupukari.
Accommodation is in simple but large, comfortable rooms with ensuite bathrooms. There is a lovely sitting room inside and open deck perfect for enjoying afternoon drinks at sunset and breezy veranda slung with hammocks. Profits from the lodge support a public library, computers and internet for the village school and community.
Day 12 - Flight back to Georgetown
After breakfast transfer by vehicle to the border town of Lethem where you will board a scheduled flight to Georgetown. Enjoy a guided tour of Georgetown, the chief port, capital and largest city of Guyana situated on the right bank of the Demerara River Estuary.
This hotel is one of the oldest and grandest structures in the city and is conveniently located in the heart of Georgetown on a quiet residential street. Once a magnificent home this has been turned into a hotel which offers the tradition and nostalgia of a bygone era with a congenial family atmosphere. All the rooms at the hotel vary in size, atmosphere and reflect Victorian elegance and charm.
Read more...Day 13 - Depart Georgetown
This morning after breakfast, you will be transferred back to the international airport for your onward flight home.
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.
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