Things to Do in Raleighvallen Nature Reserve

Canoe up to Voltzberg granite dome at sunrise

You'll push off in a cedar-wood dugout while the river still smells of night-cool minerals. Paddle past spider monkeys that shake branches and shower you with dew. The granite face rises 240 m through the canopy. From the top you see nothing but unbroken green and hear the distant roar of the Raleigh Falls mixing with macaw screeches.

Raleigh Falls two-day drift and camp

Start above the rapids and float downstream on an old balata-rubber boat. Feel the spray turn into warm mist as the river squeezes between grey boulders. Camp on a white-sand beach where the only soundtrack is water thunder and the crackle of your own campfire grilling freshly caught piranha.

Night walk on the Fern Trail

Headlamps pick out wolf spiders glowing emerald. You smell crushed citronella ferns under boot and hear the soft wing-clap of a potoo overhead. The guide lets you handle a velvet-black millipede that smells faintly of almond. Then lights go off so you feel the warm breath of the forest against your cheeks.

Paddle the creeks to see giant otter families

A narrow igarapé opens off the main river. Water the colour of iced coffee slides under overhanging palms. You'll hear loud chirps before you see them. Three-metre otters surface with fish wriggling in their jaws, whiskers silver in the filtered sun. The whole family whistles like squeaky hinges.

Climb to the granite plateaus of Tafelberg table mountain

The trail starts in cinnamon-smelling savanna woodland, then hits bare rock hot enough to sting palms. From the rim you look west over unbroken canopy towards Guyana. Buzzards circle below you and the wind carries a faint smell of orchids rooting in cliff cracks.

Foengoe Island rustic lodge - solar power, river-breeze hammocks, family-style rice dinners

Raleigh Falls Jungle Camp - safari tents on stilts, you fall asleep to the sound of the rapids

Atjoni guesthouse - simple concrete rooms for pre-dawn canoe departures, roosters included

Tukushi River Resort upstream - slightly fancier cabanas with screened porches, fewer sandflies

Paramaribo stop-over near Heiligenweg - colonial wooden houses turned backpacker dorms

Plantation Resort at Afobaka road junction - pool and cold beers if you need civilisation before heading back