Guyana

A former British colony with expansive rainforest and the awe-inspiring Kaieteur Waterfalls.

Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America, reflecting its colonial past when the Dutch and the British ruled and established sugar cane plantations and mined for gold and other minerals to export to Europe. The country gained independence in 1966 and today the country has a mix of descendants from the people colonial past as well as ethnic groups from India and Africa. Guyana has strong cultural links with the Caribbean which you will experience all along the Atlantic coast. 

Only 750,000 people live in Guyana, 10% in the capital city Georgetown, population located on the North Atlantic coast. Here you will enjoy much British colonial architecture, including the tall, Gothic-style St. George's Anglican Cathedral. There is a clock tower near Stabroek Market, a good place to buy local goods. The Guyana National Museum traces the country's history and the Bourda is host to cricket matches. There is also a lovely botanical garden.

Guyana's main attractions are stunning wonders of nature, the most awe-inspiring being the Kaieteur Waterfalls, one of the world's largest single drop waterfalls, reached by a local flight from Georgetown.

The Amazon rainforest which covers over 80% of the country has much for the visitor to enjoy, with a good choice of comfortable lodges available from which to explore the Amazon. By kayak or on foot with your local naturalist guides searching for caiman, jaguar, many species of monkey, sloths, tapir, exotic birdlife including toucans and much more.