Suriname

Suriname is the smallest country in South America and the only one where Dutch is the official language, a legacy of Dutch rule that ended in 1975. Around 90 percent of it is rainforest on the Guiana Shield, and nearly everyone lives on the narrow coastal strip. The population is unusually mixed, with Sranan Tongo as the common tongue.

Known for Dutch colonial Paramaribo, roti and pom, Maroon river communities, near-total forest cover and leatherback turtle nesting.

Highlights

  • Historic Inner City of Paramaribo, Paramaribo District: The colonial core of the capital, listed by UNESCO in 2002 for timber buildings that combine Dutch layout and detailing with local materials. It takes in Fort Zeelandia and a wooden cathedral among the largest in the Americas.
  • Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Sipaliwini District: A 1.6-million-hectare reserve of undisturbed rainforest covering about a tenth of the country, created in 1998 and UNESCO-listed in 2000. It protects the granite dome of Voltzberg, with no roads and almost no inhabitants.
  • Galibi Nature Reserve, Marowijne District: Beaches at the mouth of the Marowijne River that form one of the largest leatherback turtle nesting sites in the western Atlantic. The reserve dates from 1969 and is reached by boat from Albina.
  • Jodensavanne, Para District: The ruins of a Sephardic Jewish plantation settlement on the Suriname River, including the brick shell of the Beracha ve Shalom synagogue of 1685 and two cemeteries. It was one of the earliest self-governing Jewish communities in the Americas.

Places in Suriname

Getting around

The state operator NVB runs more than sixty bus routes across eight districts — Paramaribo, Wanica, Para, Saramacca, Sipaliwini, Brokopondo, Marowijne and Nickerie — and boat services in Marowijne, Commewijne and Brokopondo. Licensed private buses run alongside it under permits covering 05:00 to 21:00. NVB carries people by road and water using hired vehicles and vessels rather than a fleet of its own.