Still little-known, Guyana’s virgin rainforest and wide savannahs, criss-crossed by myriad rivers and cascading waterfalls, teems with tropical wild life that rivals the best anywhere in the world. With just three-quarters of a million people in a land the size of Great Britain, most of the interior is uninhabited except for a scattering of indigenous Amerindian villages and a few small towns. Because of its British colonial past, the language is English and it has very strong links with the Caribbean.
The Iwokrama forest is rapidly gaining an international reputation for its healthy jaguar populations, these seemingly untroubled by the appearance of curious humans. No promises, but many have been lucky! Indeed Iwokrama and the Rupununi River harbour much of the most spectacular Neotoprical fauna in a very small area. Large macaws are still wonderfully common, and we should be treated to daily flights of Blue and Yellow, Red and Green and Scarlet Macaws. We’ve a good chance of seeing Tapirs and certainly Black Spider Monkeys, and on the Rupununi savannahs we’ll find Giant Anteaters. The birdlife throughout the tour is exceptional, there are so many highlights: Ornate Hawk-eagle, Black Curassow, Red-fan Parrot, Guianan Puffbird, Pompadour Cotinga, Crimson, Purple-throated and Purple-necked Fruit-crows, Crimson Topaz, Green Oropendula, Blue-cheeked and Orange-winged Parrots, Gray-winged Trumpeter, Turquoise Tanager, Crested Oropendola, Great and Paradise Jacamars, Guianan Toucanet, Green and Black-necked Aracaris, Blue-cheeked Amazon, Spix’s & Marail Guans, and we’ll even visit a Harpy Eagle nest! We’ll stay at the Karanambu Ranch, home of Diane McTurk, widely known for her work on rehabilitating orphaned Giant River Otters. Here, late in the afternoon we will travel by boat to look for wild Giant River Otters and as dusk falls we’ll see the giant Victoria Regis Waterlily flowers start to open …
No tour to Guyana would be complete without a visit to the magnificent Kaieteur Falls, one of the world’s natural wonders. The river flows over a sandstone conglomerate tableland into a deep gorge – a drop of 822 feet or 5 times the height of Niagara Falls. Here the tiny Golden Frog spends its entire life inside extraordinary Tank Bromeliads, whilst the exotic Guianan Cock-of-the-rock has a lek close by where with luck we’ll be obtain some cracking photographs.
Dates and Prices
4th March - 21st March 2024 (18 days)
* doesn't apply if you're willing to share and a room-mate can be arranged
Birds, Butterflies, Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Landscapes and Culture.
Minimum is 5 and the maximum is 9.
All flights. All accommodation, transport and meals in Guyana. Services of your leaders. Please note: drinks, tips, and items of a personal nature including insurance, are not included.
We start with two nights at the delightful Cara Lodge, converted from two of the oldest buildings in Georgetown into one of the country’s most well-known hotels. After visiting Kaieteur Falls we’ll fly to the to the Rewa Eco-Lodge, somewhat rustic, but comfortable enough. After three nights here we move to Iwokrama Forest and the Essequibo River. Here we are staying at three lodges. We start with a night at the Rock View Lodge before we take a boat trip up the Essequibo River to the Iwokrama Lodge where we’ll stay on the banks of that great river for 3 nights. Still in the Iwokrama we’ve two nights at the Atta Rainforest Lodge which has a 150m long canopy walkway set 30m up in the trees before returning to the Rock View Lodge for a night. Next is the Karanambu Ranch where Diane McTurk will be our host for a three night stay before we return to Georgetown and our last night of the tour which will again be at the Cara Lodge. All rooms on this tour have en suite facilities.
Quite easy. No more than three or four miles on any one day and always at a slow pace, well suited to photographers.
UK return flights are from London Heathrow to Georgetown via Trinidad. Other indirect routes from regional UK Airports* are available.
*These routes may incur a supplement.
Warm to hot throughout and quite humid. Occasional heavy showers.
Contact us to check if there is availability for the number of places you require. Click on the ‘Book this Tour’ button on this page to be taken to the online booking form or contact us and we will send one to you which you can complete and send back to us. You will receive confirmation of your place, and then a detailed information pack will be dispatched to you about twelve weeks before departure. This will contain up-to-date health information.
