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    • Fly from London to Georgetown, arriving late afternoon. We stay in a comfortable lodge close to the Botanical Gardens.
    • Accommodation: Georgetown, 1-night on full board basis.
    • This morning we transfer to Ogle Airport for a scheduled light aircraft flight over hundreds of kilometres of unbroken tropical rainforest to Iwokrama River Lodge and Research Station. We land at the village of Fairview in the Iwokrama Rainforest, and it is then a short drive to our lodge.
    • Late afternoon is ours to explore the extensive trail systems which allow good access into the forest. Rainforest mammals, though never conspicuous, are well represented at Iwokrama, and the area is also home to many bird species.
    • Tonight at dinner we will learn a bit about the important conservation and research-driven mission that sustains the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development. After dark, we’ll set out on the river to see some of the river’s nocturnal species. 
    • Accommodation: Iwokrama River Lodge, 2-nights on full board basis
    • Making an early start we will embark on a boat down the Essequibo River, giving us a chance for dawn song on the river. We will listen for tinamous, look for band-rumped swift, white-banded and black-collared swallows before returning to the lodge for breakfast.
    • After breakfast we leave the River Lodge for a journey to Turtle Mountain. Starting with a peaceful and scenic half hour boat ride to the base of the mountain, we will look out for all manner of wildlife, hoping for a host of birds, sloth, capybara, caiman and arapaima, the largest freshwater fish. We may also be rewarded with sightings of monkeys such as red howlers, wedge-capped capuchins and black spiders. An exhilarating climb to the 290 metre Turtle Mountain summit takes about two hours but the breathtaking views are more than worth the effort.
    • We return to our lodge for lunch before setting out on a visit to Kurupukari Falls to see Amerindian petroglyphs. After nightfall we will meander along the river by boat looking for tree boas, tree frogs and if lucky maybe some mammals.
    • We transfer before dawn along a road through the heart of the Iwokrama Forest where there is a good chance of seeing an elusive jaguar. The area also supports an interesting range of birds including rufous-crowned elaenia, black manakin and red-shouldered tanager.
    • Our journey continues onto the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway where we can watch birds from platforms 30 metres up in the canopy. A host of crown specialists may come within our view depending on which trees are in fruit at the time, and we can sometimes see red howler monkeys and black spider monkeys from the tree tops.
    • Our base here is situated 500 metres from the canopy walkway itself. In the surrounding area of the lodge is one of the best places to see another of Guyana’s sought-after species – the crimson fruitcrow – which feeds in the nearby trees. The clearing is also a reliable place to see black curassow. 
    • Accommodation: Atta Rainforest Lodge, 2-nights on full board basis
    • We enjoy a final morning of birdwatching on the canopy walkway, or from the nearby jungle trails, before transferring in a four-wheel drive vehicle through the rainforest in Iwokrama.
    • We then continue onwards to the Amerindian village of Surama which is situated in a small savannah deep in the rainforest and surrounded by forest clad hills. Surama’s inhabitants are mainly from the Macushi tribe and still observe many of the traditional practices of their forebears. 
    • We take a short walk along a trail to look for the Guianan cock-of-the-rock, before continuing to the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, where we explore the four suspension bridges connected to three platforms. 
    • We walk through the forest to Surama Mountain after lunch for incredible views overlooking the village and the savannah up to the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains.  A delicious supper is cooked for us by local women.
    • Accommodation: Surama Eco-lodge, 1-night on full board basis
    • This morning, we take a five kilometre walk across the savannah and through the rainforest until we reach Burro Burro River. We travel along the Burro Burro River, with opportunities to observe giant river otter, tapir, tayra, spider monkey and many more. 
    • Leaving Surama by four-wheel drive vehicle, we travel to Ginep where we board our small motorized boat and navigate slowly on the Rupununi River keeping an eye out for jabirus nesting along the river, king vulture, crestless curassow and many other birds, before eventually arriving at our next lodge, previously the home of Diane McTurk, widely known for her work rehabilitating orphaned giant river otters.
    • Our birdwatching here will be largely in woodland patches or gallery forest along the river where we hope to find such species as spotted puffbird, striped woodcreeper and capuchinbird. A wooded swamp near the ranch is the site of a surprisingly large colony of boat-billed herons when water levels are appropriate. While out in boats we may see capped and little blue herons, great and snowy egrets, purple gallinule and pied lapwing. The river and airstrip provide habitat for no fewer than eight species of nightjars.
    • Accommodation: Karanambu Lodge, 3-nights on full board basis
    • Birdwatching from daybreak to nightfall (or later), we will devote the entire day to exploring Karanambu and its varied habitats, travelling by boat to certain localities up and downstream, and by four-wheel drive vehicle to forest patches. 
    • We will explore the maze of lagoons along the Rupununi River with our hosts, in search of giant river otters, scanning the treetops for family parties of red howler monkeys and the exposed riverbanks for capybara and black caiman.  We shall visit lakes and ponds crammed with jabirus, egrets, herons and other water birds, and blanketed by the enormous pads of the Victoria amazonica water lily, Guyana’s national flower. 
    • Early morning birding the savannah will be a high priority here with white-tailed hawks, fork-tailed flycatchers, grassland sparrows and yellowish pipits a good possibility and the chance of sharp-tailed ibises, eastern meadowlarks and double-striped thick-knee. The major contender will be seeing giant anteater if we are lucky and early enough. 
    • After breakfast we say our goodbyes and transfer by road to the Lethem airstrip for a scheduled flight back to Ogle Airport, Georgetown. After lunch in Georgetown, we transfer to a boat for a trip along the Demerara River to the Amerindian reserve of Santa, stopping at the Amerindian village of Santa Mission, of the Arawak and Carib tribes.
    • It is a then 15 minute boat ride to Arrowpoint Nature Resort, the surroundings of which offer a variety of habitats. We will enjoy an orientation walk on arrival with further exploration after lunch and a siesta.
    • Accommodation: Arrowpoint Nature Resort, 2-nights on full board basis
    • This morning we take large motorised canoes out onto the creek to look for the amazing crimson topaz, a hummingbird which may be hawking insects above our boats – a fabulous way to start the day. Other birds we hope to encounter include point-tailed palmcreeper, sungrebe, sunbittern and more hummingbirds, including black-throated mango and green-tailed goldenthroat.
    • We continue birdwatching in the late afternoon, watching for flocks of red-bellied macaws crossing the sky en route to their roosts, and perhaps seeing an evening gathering of euphonias and other tanagers in low trees of the clearing. Sapphire-rumped parrotlets also occasionally roost in the area. 
    • Transfer from Arrowpoint to Georgetown for the overnight flight home.
  1. Day 13 Arrive UK

All prices are per person and include:

  • Services of the naturalist leader
  • Flights
  • Transfers
  • Accommodation
  • All meals
  • Guided activities

Accommodation

In Georgetown we stay in a comfortable lodge lose to the Botanical Gardens. Near the coast accommodation is in lodges in pristine forest settings.

In the southern jungles we stay in comfortable quarters in ranches close to varied, and interesting, savannah habitats.

Meals

All main meals are included.

Birds

Guyana’s rich and varied habitats teem with birds, making this tour the perfect introduction to birdwatching in South America. Amongst the many highlights of our tour, we search the forest for lekking sites of the spectacular Guianan cocks-of-the-rocks.

  • Blood-coloured woodpecker
  • strong-billed treecreeper
  • White-winged potoo
  • Rufous-winged ground cuckoo

Additionally, we investigate mori scrub for an interesting birds, including rufuous-crowned elaenia and red-shouldered tanager.

Mammals

Our tour takes us through habitats that are home to fascinating animals. If we are lucky we may encounter the impressive black spider monkey or a banded tamandua, or even see the elusive jaguar.

  • Red howler
  • Giant river otter
  • Brazilian tapir
  • Agouti

Scenery

On our tour we visit coastal plain, rare sand-belt forest habitats, pristine rainforests and the Rupununi savannah close to the Brazilian border. We travel on two great rivers, the Demerara and the Essequoibo, to spectacular waterfalls and investigate freshwater marshes. A canopy walkway grants a different perspective on watching jungle birds.

Boat trips

Our tour includes a number of boat trips and transportation. We listen for the dawn chorus on an early morning boat trip down the Essequibo River, and later take a scenic half hour boat ride to the base of Turtle Mountain, and evening boat cruises looking for tree boas and tree frogs. We also travel along the Rupununi River, en route to Karannambu Lodge, keeping an eye open for birds, amongst them jabirus and crestless curassow. Whilst at Karanambu we explore the river and its lagoons, looking for a variety of heron species and pied lapwing. Amongst our river excursions at Arrowpoint Nature Resort we have the opportunity to take our kayaks.

Flights

Price includes return scheduled flights London – Georgetown – London, and domestic charter flights as indicated in the itinerary.

Ground transport

Ground transportation is by minibus, with driver.

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