Guyana Jungle Survival

Arrive at Cheddi Jagan International Airport and transfer to Georgetown for an overnight stay at Cara Lodge. Built in the 1840s and originally the home of Georgetown’s first Lord Mayor, this historic colonial manor hosts notable guests, including King Edward VIII and Mick Jagger, offering a blend of heritage, nostalgia, and modern comfort in a family atmosphere.

You are picked up early this morning for your internal flight to Lethem and onward to Surama village by vehicle. Located in a savannah deep in the rainforest, this village is where explorer Charles Waterton famously sought the secrets of Curare poison in 1812. The local Makushi inhabitants maintain their traditional practices and provide a warm welcome as you settle into the eco-lodge. After lunch, the afternoon focuses on essential survival skills, including collecting forest food and fuel, as well as constructing traps for fish and animals from natural materials. Overnight at the eco-lodge.

Following breakfast at dawn, you depart Surama Eco-Lodge to begin your outdoor survival training. Learn how to construct your own shelter, hunt, catch fish, and locate freshwater and food sources such as nuts and wild fruit. Your Amerindian guide shows you how to build a fire without matches using traditional materials. You also venture out at night to practice hunting and fishing methods and construct a wabini (elevated platform) to observe the nocturnal wildlife. Spend the night in your own shelter at the survival training camp.

This morning, enjoy breakfast in the survival camp before breaking camp to board a boat on the Burro Burro River. If the nest is active, you visit a site belonging to the Harpy Eagle, a massive bird of prey often called the “flying wolf” that finds a rare refuge in the Guyanese wild. After your time on the water, you return to the landing and continue to the Atta Rainforest Lodge. Along the route, you stop at Corkwood to walk a short trail through the rainforest, where you look for the vibrant Guianan Cock-of-the-rock and learn about the medicinal uses of local plants from your guides.

Upon reaching the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, you traverse four suspension bridges and three platforms reaching heights of over 30 meters. This vantage point provides clear views of canopy species that are difficult to see from the forest floor, such as howler monkeys and spider monkeys. You spend the evening at Atta Rainforest Lodge, where you can watch for the Crimson Fruitcrow and habituated Black Curassows in the lodge clearing. The lodge gardens, filled with heliconias, offer frequent sightings of over ten different hummingbird species. Your stay includes comfortable private rooms with ensuite bathrooms and traditional Amerindian hospitality.

Note: Harpy Eagle sightings are dependent on the activity levels of the specific nest at the time of your visit.

You return to the canopy before sunrise to experience the full symphony of the dawn chorus from your treetop vantage point. This early hour offers the best opportunity to spot Red Howler and Black Spider Monkeys active in the branches. You explore the lodge trails for further birdwatching and wildlife viewing, where many tree species are marked for those interested in botany. The surrounding forest is home to diverse insects, amphibians, and primates, while deer, tapir, and agouti are frequent visitors to the lodge grounds.

After breakfast at the lodge, you transfer to the Fair View airstrip for your regional flight. You fly to Mahdia Airport and continue over the expansive tropical rainforest to Eugene F. Correia International Airport. Upon arrival, you transfer to Georgetown for an overnight stay at Cara Lodge.

Note: The regional flight involves a transit period of 3 to 5 hours at Mahdia Airport in an open-sided hangar with seating. Optional flight upgrades or road transfers via Lethem are available upon request.

Early this morning, start the day with a guided tour of Georgetown, beginning at the Seawalls before moving into the city center. You explore historic sites, including the Stabroek Market, the Public Library, City Hall, and St. George’s Cathedral, one of the world’s tallest free-standing wooden buildings. The tour includes visits to the National Museum for a look at local taxidermy and the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology to learn about Amerindian history. You continue to the Botanical Gardens and Zoo, a rescue center for tropical wildlife, and visit a local pond to feed endangered West Indian Manatees.

Later, you transfer to Eugene F. Correia International Airport for a flight over the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers to Kaieteur Falls. At 741 feet, five times the height of Niagara Falls, it is the world’s highest single-drop waterfall. You explore the unique micro-environment around the falls, looking for giant Tank Bromeliads, the tiny Golden Frog, and the Guianan Cock-of-the-rock. With luck, you may spot Kaieteur Swifts nesting under the vast rock shelf. You return to Georgetown for the evening.

Tour Options:
Orinduik Falls
The Orinduik Falls is where the Ireng River thunders over steps and terraces of solid jasper, a semi-precious stone.  With a backdrop of the rolling grass-covered hills of the Pakaraima Mountains, this is truly one of the most beautiful locations in Guyana’s hinterland. The Ireng River forms the border between Brazil and Guyana.  In contrast to Kaieteur, Orinduik is ideally suited for swimming in natural Jacuzzi’s as the falls tumble down the steps of Jasper.
       
*Flights to Kaieteur and Orinduik Falls are operated on chartered aircraft, and all flights have a minimum of 12 passengers. In most cases, flights are full, especially if scheduled for a weekend.  However, in the rare case that we cannot meet the required numbers, we will reschedule the trip to another day during your stay, if this is possible. 

Add on to your Guyana travel an extension south to visit the Rupununi Savannah, or return home.