Best Things To Do in Suriname

A UNESCO World Heritage old town unlike anywhere else in South America — wooden Dutch colonial mansions, a synagogue and mosque standing side by side on the same street, and a cultural mix of Javanese, Hindustani, Creole, Maroon, and Dutch influences that makes Paramaribo feel like nowhere else on the continent.

A 1.6-million-hectare UNESCO World Heritage rainforest reserve — one of the largest pristine tropical forest areas left on earth, protecting jaguar, giant armadillo, and eight species of primate. Access is via the Voltzberg dome hike or the Raleighvallen research station on the Coppename River.

The most accessible rainforest reserve from Paramaribo (about 2.5 hours by road), set on a plateau above the vast Brokopondo reservoir — one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, dotted with the drowned tree trunks of a flooded forest. Waterfall trails and howler monkey troops make it an easy first taste of the interior.

A remote river-mouth reserve near the French Guiana border and one of the most important leatherback turtle nesting beaches in the world, reached by a scenic boat trip up the Marowijne River through Amerindian villages.

Descendants of escaped enslaved Africans who built independent societies deep in the rainforest, the Saramaccaner and Ndyuka Maroon communities along the Upper Suriname River retain distinct language, wood-carving traditions, and river culture found nowhere else on earth.