Suriname – formerly Dutch Guiana – is located on the Caribbean coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana. It is a heavily forested country covered by large areas of biological diversity. Most of Suriname’s small population speaks Dutch and lives in the coastal area in and around the capital city. Suriname’s interior forest is occupied by very small populations of Amerindians and descendants of African slaves – the Maroons – who live scattered along its major rivers.
Paramaribo is a UNESCO World Heritage City recognized as an exceptional example of European architecture fused with indigenous South American influences. Indeed, the adventure traveller setting foot in Suriname is immediately delighted by countless fine (and occasionally crumbling) examples of that tropical Dutch colonial architecture, not to mention the spectacle of a Hindu temple, a Jewish snyogogue, a Christian church, and an ornate mosque sitting immediately adjacent to each other in the city centre. Set several days aside to explore various 17th century fortresses and colonial relics that surround “Parbo”, including Nieuw Amsterdam , Fort Zeelandia, and one of the Western Hemisphere’s first Jewish settlements, Jodensavanne.