Suriname

Once they escaped from slavery on the old Dutch plantations, the ancestors of today’s Maroons successfully founded communities along the Upper Surinaam River where they escaped notice and contact by Western civilization for centuries. Their remote location allowed their ancient traditions to thrive without interference by modern trends, leaving us with a fascinating glimpse into a 17th century West African societies transplanted in the 21st century tropical rainforest.

A host of outdoor recreational facilities have – at long last – come to this remote corner of South America. Guests will encounter many remarkable things while hiking, swimming, biking, kayaking, and zip-lining through the rain forest… but one of those things will never be a crowd. Our carefully selected crew of english-speaking guides will see to your safety and comfort, and help you learn about local history, culture, and nature along the way. Cap your experience in rustic, historical Paramaribo for fine dining, shopping, and multiethnic hospitality.

The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 and features numerous examples of wooden and brick Dutch-inspired architecture unlike anything else found in South America. Hundreds of years of changing colonial control in the region are epitomized by the small but hardened fortress at Zeelandia, originally built by the French, expanded by the British and eventually completed by the Dutch in 1667. Strong Indonesian and South Asian cultural influences abound at every turn. You’ll even see a Jewish and Hindu Temples lying immediately adjacent to a Christian chuch and a modern Mosque.

Suriname, formerly Dutch Guiana, is located on the Caribbean coast of South America between Guyana and French Guyana. Suriname is covered by large areas of biological diversity, tropical forest with some areas of savanna. Suriname has a small population of about 400,000 people. The official language is Dutch, but many other languages are also spoken. Most Surinamese, about 85%, live in the coastal area, and almost all of them in Paramaribo. The forest is occupied by Amerindians and descendants of African slaves – the Maroons – who live scattered along its major rivers. The northern coastal plain is farmed, mined and logged, and the area along most rivers is heavily used for subsistence agriculture in the interior. The Dutch forced independence upon Suriname in 1975, but the bonds between Suriname and the Netherlands remain strong. The Netherlands, rather than any neighbouring country, is still Suriname’s largest trading partner.

Wilderness Explorers opens the door to the last, least-visited corners of South America and the Caribbean. Since 1994 our award-winning company has offered quality adventure tours including trekking, jungle and river expeditions, riding, biking, bird watching, caiman capture programs, swimming with otters, searching for jaguar, camping in the rainforest in hammocks, exploring mountains, waterfalls, diving and whale-watching in the Caribbean.