Suriname – Where Amsterdam Meets The Wild Wild West

The majority of Suriname consist of a thick tropical rain forest with long rivers which form the extensions of the Amazon. Everything in Suriname goes at a very slow pace which makes yourself quite relaxed as well, unless you’re trying to arrange something 😉

Facts

Capital: Paramaribo
Language: Dutch
Currency: Surinamese Dollar (1 € ≅ 8 SRD)
Population: 545.000
Size: 163.821 km² (4 times Holland)
Daylight saving time: No
Visas: Visa on arrival for most European citizens, others visa required before entry
Best time to visit: Feb – April & Aug – Dec (dry season)
Visited: 2016 (5-day stopover)

Paramaribo

I flew from Curaçao to the capital of Suriname, Paramaribo. Well actually you fly to Zanderij which is quite far away from Paramaribo; roughly an hour drive. Check out Le Grand Baldew for cheap airport transfers. The taxi driver drove me to my hotel; during the ride he warned me to be careful at this place. I didn’t understand why until I reached the hotel. There was a big disco underneath the hotel which was filled with Brazilian women slash adult workers. I figured that the hotel rooms were not only used by people who want to take a ‘rest’. I had to go through the disco with my backpack to reach the reception. I checked in and fell asleep on my bed. The sound of wild ‘animals’ woke me up during the night on a regular basis.

Left: Onafhankelijkheidsplein (Square of Independence) – Right: Palmentuin (Palm tree garden) – Below: Wooden church in Paramaribo

I met a fun Dutch girl the next morning during breakfast (who was as surprised as me about the hotel) and we decided to explore Suriname together. Paramaribo is filled with Dutch colonial-era architecture, but it feels like that those buildings were placed here 60 years ago and no renovation or maintenance has been done since. The majority of the houses are made of wood, so a link to the Wild Wild West is easily made. Paramaribo also has one of the biggest wooden churches in the world.

A mosque in Paramaribo.

Local market.

An interesting sight in Paramaribo is the Keizerstraat. Here you will see a mosque and synagogue placed next to each other (see top banner). I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world such an interesting sight where 2 religions merge together so peacefully. Other sights not to be missed are the Presidential Palace, Fort Zeelandia and the Palmentuin.

The Presidential Palace in Paramaribo

The best Roti in town!

The most famous food from Suriname is the Roti and I love it! It consists of potato, chicken, egg, vegetable and a pancake. Head to Roti Shop Joosje for the best Roti in Paramaribo!

Brownsberg

Trips to the rain forest are easily arranged from Paramaribo, but they are not cheap and the tours don’t run every day. This is mainly due to the fact that there’s not a lot of tourism in Suriname. Dutch people form the biggest part of the tourism group. We speak the same language and there’s a lot of history between Holland and Suriname. All the trips are listed in Euro’s instead of their local currency, Surinamese Dollar. Both currencies can be withdrawn in Paramaribo.

Brownsberg National Park.

We took a trip to Brownsberg National Park. It’s a beautiful nature park with heaps of hiking trails, waterfalls, wild life, stunning views and giant trees. It felt good to do some hiking again after spending my last weeks mainly on beaches in the Caribbean.

Beautiful waterfall in Brownsberg National Park.

The view from one of the hilltops in Brownsberg.

The weather wasn’t great and we were soaken wet from the many rainfalls, but it just makes the rain forest even more amazing!

Commewijne

The district of Commewijne lies on the opposite side of the Suriname river and is easily reached from Paramaribo by ferry. The best way to explore this area is by what the Dutch do best; by bike 🙂

Local transport in Commewijne.

A real Dutchman can’t live without his bike, lol!

We took our bikes across the river and explored the beautiful plantations, churches, mosques and peaceful way of living.

A nice green mosque in Commewijne.

Commewijne has many old wooden houses.

You will find many great Dutch snacks in Paramaribo as well; I was a very happy boy to be able to eat my favorite ‘oliebol’ in the middle of the sweaty streets of Paramaribo!