by Katerina Nikolas

Created on: January 19, 2010   Last Updated: February 01, 2010

Adventurous travellers yearning for the sight of unique plants, birds and rarely seen animals, should head to Guyana, the land of many waters. The country is a veritable wilderness, with most of its area covered in lush rain forests sheltering thousands of indigenous fauna.

Situated at the northern tip of South America, Guyana houses a population of 750,000. With English as the official language, the people are well-known for their friendliness. Steeped in rich culture, the old colonial town of Georgetown in the north, administers the natural resources of the land. Diamonds and gold are mined while sugarcane grows.

Guyana is not suitable for those who scream at the sight of a spider, although it’s unlikely that an intrepid Eco tourist will actually come across the Goliath bird-eating spider (the largest tarantula in the world) lurking in the forests. Guyana is also the natural home to the anaconda, the world's heaviest snake, which both humans and jaguars make good prey for. The giant anteater, the largest in the world, eating a staggering 30,000 ants in one day, is a natural inhabitant. The forests are full of some unique creatures such as howler and saki monkeys, leaf cutter ants and a jumping spider. Lush, breathtaking waterfalls flow into rivers where armored catfish, wimple pirnahs, hatchetfish, and black caiman alligators swim.

One solitary forest predator which faces extinction is the jaguar, the national animal, famous for piercing the skulls of its prey. The national bird of Guyana is the hoatzin, a rather strange looking creature which cleverly exudes a dreadful smell to deter predators.The harpy eagle, one of the most powerful eagles to exist, is an endangered species. It likes to prey on monkeys and sloths and is to be spotted within Guyana.

The Rupununi Savannah is an interlaced plain of forest and neotropical grassland, between Brazil and the Rupununi river in the south. The savanna covers an area of 40,000 sq. miles, with local Amerindian villages amidst the plains. The Amerindian people are descended from indigenous Guyanans and tend to live in tribal communities.  The Karanambu Ranch, which covers an area of 125sq miles of the savanna land, is a working cattle ranch raising organic meat. Cowboys, known locally as vaqueros, work the land. The ranch itself supports and sustains both endangered and vulnerable animal species.

There is a part-time rehabilitation center for abandoned river otters, which is run by Diane McTurk, whose work with giant river otters is famed. Baby otters are often raised there to give them a chance to return to their natural habitat of the river. Amidst the ranch there is also the Karanambu Lodge, a small resort encouraging Eco tourism. From the hospitable environs of the Lodge there is the privilege of seeing giant otters, giant anteaters and the black caiman. The whole area is bursting with wildlife and the sounds of nature. Guided trips can be arranged to see the giant termite mounds which spring from the savannas. Explore the area by boat, land rover or on foot, to bird watch and fish. Visits can be arranged to local Amerindian villages. In the wet season, boating through the flooded forests is available.

Guyana is still an undeveloped country of natural beauty, largely unexplored, a place of solitude. If the thought of seeing the unique creatures of the wild whets your appetite for a taste of the country and its visual delights,  then take the chance to see a land still as it was centuries ago, untamed, magnificent, raw nature in a timeless place.

Learn more about this author, Katerina Nikolas.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.