Things to Do in Central Suriname Nature Reserve

Raleigh Falls canoe approach

The three-hour paddle up the Coppename River ends at a thundering 50-metre cascade. Cool spray flies over the bow. Blue morpho butterflies flicker through the mist. The rocks vibrate with water pressure. You'll camp on a sandbank where the night air tastes of minerals and distant blooming orchids.

Voltzberg granite dome sunrise climb

A 03:30 start through palm-thick forest gets you to the bare rock face for first light. Hand-over-hand on fixed ropes, you emerge above the canopy. Scarlet macaws wheel below. The forest exhales warm, sweet vapour. The stone itself is sun-hot by 08:00. Bring cloth to sit on while you scan the treetops for spider monkeys.

Night spotlighting for caiman

After dinner the guides kill the generator. You glide downstream in silence. Torch beams catch ruby eyeshine just above the waterline. The boat smells of kerosene and damp wood. Frogs ping-pong from both banks. When the guide scoops a juvenile caiman aboard you feel its cool armour thrash once before release.

Foengoe Island old airstrip walk

The abandoned WWII gravel strip is now a meadow of soft moss. Golden rocket frogs chirp. Walk it at dusk and you'll see giant anteater prints pressed into the laterite like prehistoric stamps. The island camp kitchen serves cassava beer that tastes sour-sweet and makes your tongue slightly numb.

Kasikasima tepui day trek

A five-hour slog through ankle-deep mud ends at a table-top mountain. Bromeliads store cold rainwater you can drink. The summit wind carries the curry-like scent of nearby moambe palms. The view rolls out an endless green carpet unbroken by roads. You'll hear the low hum of distant harpy eagles riding thermals below you.

Raleighvallen Wilderness Camp - generator-off at 21:00, hammocks slung under thatch, frogs so loud you'll need earplugs

Foengoe Island Tukeit Camp - basic plank huts, shared bucket shower smelling of cedar smoke

Kasikasima Base Camp - mosquito-proof tents on platforms, cold river rinse for washing

Airstrip Riverside Hammocks - no walls, just tarps, best star-viewing but dew soaks bags by dawn

Voltzberg Jungle Lodge - slightly raised beds, solar bulb fades fast, howler monkeys wake you at 04:45

Paramaribo stopover guesthouses - use if flights cancel. Small pastel houses on Grunbergstraat, fans rattling all night