THE FACTS
Location: Guyana, S. America
Start point: Georgetown
Best time to visit: October-July
Activities: Trekking, fishing, learning how to live in the jungle, climbing, abseiling, taking boats up jungle rivers…
Tribe: Makushi Amerindians
Duration: 15 days
Guideline Price: From £1,300 (US$ 2,340)
ITINERARY IN BRIEF
Day 1: Meet your guide in Georgetown and stay in a local hotel.
Day 2: Spend some time in Georgetown and get your kit ready for an overnight bus ride into the heart of Guyana. We choose to travel overnight as it is much cooler. Transfer to 4x4 vehicles and engine boats to take you to the community of Rewa.
Days 3-4: Learn about all the kit you need for the jungle, how to use it and how to pack it to keep it dry! Have some basic lessons about living in the jungle, what to expect and get introduced to some of the local inhabitants…and not the human kind either! You will be staying in the community’s eco-lodge.
Days 5-7: Spend time fishing for piranha on the Rewa River, learn more about the jungle and get some climbing and abseiling practice in on the nearby rock face. You will be in the eco-lodge and also practicing your new-found jungle skills with a night or so in your own jungle camp!
Days 8-13: Spend the next six days trekking in the area of Makarapan Mountain. You will be crossing rivers in the aim of doing a large circular trek around the Mountain. We will hope to cover as much ground as possible whilst discovering new and very cool things such as waterfalls and petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings). Makarapan covers a large area so we can decide on the spot how far and where we want to go. It is home to Jaguars, Harpy Eagles, Tapir and a whole host of other jungle wildlife. Our Amerindian guides will hopefully catch us some bush meant to accompany jungle rations!
This trek is so flexible we can see what everyone wants to do, either walk every day or chill out near a particularly beautiful waterfall. After the trek, we head back to Rewa to wah off the trail, eat some fresh food, have a beer and swap stories of the amazing trek just completed.
Day 14: Take the boats back down the river and then fly to Kaieteur Falls: the largest single drop waterfall in the world. As well as a fly-by, you will walk with a guide to different vantage points and areas of interest around the falls. You will see the tiny Golden Frog which lives in the Giant Bromeliads at the top of the falls, each one 160 times more potent than Cocaine. You may also get chance to see the rare ‘Cock of the Rock’ bird, the male of which is bright orange in colour. And of course there will be plenty of chances to see the Falls from different places, including up close; close enough to touch the water even. Spend your last night in Georgetown.
Day 15: Please arrange your departure for today.
“Taking a bus deep into the heart of the rainforest, followed by many hours in a boat along the Rupununi River getting us to the remote Amerindian community of Rewa. Gear sorted and basic training about living in the jungle. Fishing for piranha and practicing climbing and abseiling skills on nearby rock faces - just the beginning before trekking with the Amerindians around Makarapan Mountain.”
LOOK FORWARD TO
• Spotting Caimen, Macaws, Monkeys and Toucans
• Trek around Makarapan Mountain and take time to swim in the coolest waterfalls or abseil rocks!
• Learn how to live off the pristine rainforest as the Amerindians do
• Visit the highest single drop waterfall in the world: Kaieteur Falls
GETTING AROUND
We will be using a bus, boats, 4x4 vehicles, feet, and light aircraft to get around. Don’t worry about the overnight bus ride into the jungle – we will have plenty of stops for snacks, drinks, meals and the like; you will be more comfortable travelling overnight when it is cooler.
EATING AND SLEEPING
In Georgetown, you will stay in a local hotel (no meals will be provided here but we will advise you on the best places to eat). In Rewa you will be in the community eco-lodge with basic facilities and jungle camps. Food will be provided and cooked for you here, all served in the central benab. Whilst on trek you will have jungle rations which you will need to carry and cook yourselves…it is very satisfying lighting your own fire and coming up with jungle banquets! During trek you will be sleeping in hammocks and getting as close to nature as possible.
