Macushi Life

Surama

From Atta Camp Lodge in Iwokrama (at the start of Day 5 of ‘Essence of Guyana’) you instead travel by road to stay in the Macushi village of Surama set in five square miles of natural savanna ringed by the forested Pakaraima Mountains. On arrival in Surama you are welcomed by a member of the village council. A local guide will escort you for a short walk on trails to experience the forest and its wildlife. As the afternoon cools your guide takes you on an informal tour of the village, stopping by the local school, medical centre and church and some of the village houses. A particular joy of travelling to Guyana is that your hosts speak English so you can talk directly with them as equals.

If you enjoy walking, today we suggest a full day hike of up to about 10 miles with your guide from the village. As you walk and talk you can learn about the Macushi’s way of life. You pass a lake where many herons roost, and can choose to hike up a small hill where there is a lek of Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock and an impressive stand of endemic Green Heart trees with mighty buttress roots. Their wood is tremendously hard and strong and was used for the boats of Antarctic explorers Amundsen and Shackleton to resist the force of the polar ice.

With an early start for the best nature viewing and to take advantage of the cool morning air you walk with your guide across the savanna to hike up Surama Mountain. Breakfast is served at a look out point with wide views across the savanna to the Pakaraima Mountains. You return for lunch and a siesta then walk across the savanna and through the rainforest to the banks of the Burro Burro River. After dinner by the camp fire you spend the night in a sheltered hammock camp in the jungle. Fully protected and enveloped in its folds of material, a hammock is a surprisingly comfortable and dream-inducing way to sleep, with the sounds of the night-time jungle in the background.

to Karanambu

This morning your guides paddle you by boat on the Burro Burro for opportunities to see giant otters, tapir, tayra and spider monkeys, returning to Surama for lunch. In the afternoon travel by 4WD to Ginep Landing to rejoin the ‘Essence of Guyana’ itinerary for the journey along the Rupununi River to Karanambu Ranch.