Wild Guyana

On land you have big cats like the jaguar and  ocelot, monkeys, including red howlers who fill the pre-dawn forest with prehistoric screams; giant anteaters, and the world's largest rodent. But we were told the most menacing is the white-lipped peccary, a stinky, noisy wild boar that travels in herds of up to 200.

Besides mammals, there are the smaller, more bothersome creatures including—but not limited to—snakes (from the highly venomous labaria to obscenely large anacondas), scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes, bot flies, caterpillars (even they aren’t safe), and ants.

Water threats include caimans, freshwater crocodiles reaching 15 feet; electric eels discharging 500 volts; piranha; and tiny candiru, barbed parasites that plant in urethras of those who pee in the river.

photo by www.fotonatura.com

excerpts from story by Kirk Smock

It wasn’t until we were part way up the unnamed 3,000-foot peak in Guyana’s Iwokrama Mountain range that I was suddenly stricken by the need to dance. It was a foolish-looking number that involved flailing your arms, stomping your feet, and slapping yourself silly. I performed it with such gusto—slap, slap, hop—that Jon sarcastically asked, “What’s the matter, ants in your pants?”

I inserted an impressive spin and said “I’m doing the ant dance, and the ants, thanks for asking, are in my shirt, not my pants.” I looked down and saw hundreds of the scurrying insects determined to defend their nests and told him it can be infectious. Sure enough, Jon was soon moving to the same unheard jungle beat.

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Darkness comes suddenly in the equatorial jungle of Guyana.  Normally, you’re in bed shortly after the sun goes down, but our first night at Turtle Mountain found us venturing back on the river, high-powered torch in hand, in search of jungle nightlife. 

It wasn’t long before Lawrence stood in the bow, holding a four-foot Cook's Tree Boa he had caught. Later we hovered over a caiman frozen in our light, staring at the eerie red eyes, razor teeth, and long body sunk in mud and covered by gnarled vines, the years between present and prehistoric were but a blip.

With rainforest carpeting 80 percent of Guyana, one of the world’s four remaining large tracts of undisturbed tropical rainforests and the Amazon Basin meet in a breathtaking collision of nature.

photo by Cheryl Hart

Text by Kirk Smock of the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative, a joint project of the Guyana Tourism Authority and the USAID / Guyana Support and Trade Initiative project

Guyana's Rupununi Savannahs are an ecotourism playground. The 5,000 square-mile area encompasses grasslands, wetlands, rainforest-covered mountains, and numerous freshwater river systems. The Rupununi is also home to a rich biodiversity, including 1,500 different plant species, 400 species of fish, 120 species of snakes, lizards and frogs, 105 mammal species, and 500 species of birds.

Several lodges are well established, including Rock View Lodge, Karanambu Ranch, Dadanawa Ranch and Surama village (in addition to Iwokrama Centre to the north), and each offer a unique experience.

photo by Cheryl Hart

Multi-Day Guyana Wildlife Itineraries

To help you with planning your Guyana wildlife and nature experience, here are suggested multi-day trips that will take you to the best wildlife and nature sites in Guyana.

Wild Guyana - 14 Nights/15 Days
See Guyana’s wild side with excellent opportunities to see Giant River Otter, Black Caiman, Giant Anteater, hundreds of birds and maybe even a Jaguar. Get up into the canopy at the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway and view the forest through the eyes of the indigenous people.... Read full Wild Guyana itinerary

Kaieteur Overland Birding Adventure - 4 Nights/5 Days
A great adventure with hiking and boating through the remote heart of Guyana. Travel up the Potaro River through the Kaieteur Gorge, before climbing the mountain to the mouth of Kaieteur Falls. Be one of the few who experiences Kaieteur at sunset when thousands of swifts roost behind the falls.... Read full Kaieteur Overland Birding Adventure itinerary

Location
Guyana is located on the northeast corner of South America between latitude 1 & 9 N and longitude 56 & 62 W. It borders Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the south, Suriname to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.

Geography
Guyana is 216,000 square kilometers in area (83,000 square miles). The country has four distinct geographical areas: the coastal belt, the forested interior, the savannah zone, and the sandy zone. More than 80% of the land area is still forested, and only 3% is cultivated.  The most valuable mineral deposits are bauxite, gold and diamonds. The main rivers are the Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo.

Language
The official language is English, often spoken with a Caribbean Creolese dialect. Other spoken languages include several Amerindian dialects and Portuguese.