Suriname

Suriname - interactive overview map

Wikipedia article about Suriname

 

Main attractions

The most interesting feature of many attractions and landmarks in Suriname is the following: they still are waiting to be discovered. It is also possible that amazing monuments are known by specialists - but not known and not accessible to general tourists.

90 – 95% of the area of country is covered with forest and natural savannah and most of this habitat is virgin. Patches of natural savannah are especially interesting - these are refugia of the last ice age when this area was not that much forested.

Country is hilly, with impressive cliff formations and table-top mountains – thus there is good reason to believe that unique habitats, caves and other interesting geological formations still are waiting to be disscovered here. There might be expected also interesting archaeological finds.

Waterfalls

The waterfalls of Suriname are overshadowed by the stupendous giant falls in nearby Guyana and Venezuela. Country though is very rich with picturesque, wide and powerful falls.

• Blanche Marie Falls – Sipaliwini, Nickerie River. Beautiful, impressive rapids and falls extending over a 100 m length.
• Wonotobo Falls (Governor Lights Fall) – Sipaliwini, Corantyn River. Scenic and powerful, approximately 8 – 10 m high waterfall.

Rock domes and tepuis

In Suriname are located the easternmost tepuis – impressive rock plateaus with steep, often vertical sides. Tepuis are very interesting from geological and biological point of view and here might be expected new, exciting discoveries. From visual, geological and biological point of view very interesting are also granite domes – enormous, rounded cliff knobs rising high above the surrounding jungle.

• Devil’s Egg – Sipaliwini. Giant rock balanced on the top of high granite spire.
• Tafelberg – Sipaliwini. Easternmost tepui. Mountain is rising up to 1030 m above the sea level, 800 m above the surrounding plain. Area of plateau – 150 km².
• Van Stockumberg Dome – Sipaliwini. Granite dome, one of the most easternmost inselbergs of Guayana Shield. Rises some 260 m above the surroundings. Covered with "muri-muri" xerophytic vegetation, mainly bromelias, unusual epilytic (growing on stones) orchids.
• Voltzberg – Sipaliwini. Granite dome, one of the most easternmost inselbergs of Guayana Shield. Rises 150 m above the surroundings, comparatively easy to climb, although a climb in this enormous cliff still is dangerous. Summit covered with the sparse "muri-muri" vegetation, slopes are bare.

Architecture monuments

Large part of the few architecture monuments of Suriname are located in the capital of the country – Paramaribo. There are though many peculiar historical wooden buildings in coastal regions of Suriname.

• 

  House in Paramaribo.
  Wikimedia Commons, user Mark Ashmann. CC BY-SA 3.0

  Historical centre of Paramaribo – Paramaribo District. Well preserved Dutch tropical colonial town. Preserved the 300 years old "chessboard" planning structure and numerous valuable historical wooden buildings. Architecture demonstrates the fusion of Dutch urban architecture and local traditions.
• Presidential Palace – Paramaribo District. Built in Neoclassicism style in 1730, with public park - Palmentuin.

Archaeological monuments

Nowadays there is known comparatively little about the archaeology of Suriname. Among the most interesting monuments should be mentioned:

• Pondocreek ditch – (eastern Suriname). Hill crossed by an artificial dig – 300 m long, 5 m wide and more than 3 m deep. Most likely done for ceremonial purposes 1,200 years ago.
• Sipaliwini Savannah petroglyph rock – Sipaliwini. Large standing stone covered with petroglyphs. The only known petroglyph site in Suriname far from rivers or creeks.
• Stone rows of Sipaliwini Savannah – Sipaliwini. East-west oriented rows of smaller granite boulders on granite outcrops.
• Voltzberg petroglyphs – Sipaliwini. Petroglyphs at small creek near Voltzberg.
• Werepai cave petroglyphs – (Werehpai) Sipaliwini, very south, at the Brasilian border, near Kwamalasumutu. 350 petroglyphs, created in 3,000 – 2,200 BC.