Theme: Jungle/Amerindian

Duration: 4 days

Kwamalasamutu, Iwana Samu and Werehpai

Kwamalasamutu

The most southern destination of Suriname is situated near the indigenous village Kwamalasamutu. This village, consisting of 12 different tribes is characterized by the genuine hospitality of the inhabitants, the traditional indigenous culture and the beautiful and pristine surroundings and an open-hearted granman (community chief).
In Kwamalasamutu, you can listen to ancient old stories, myths, legends and tales, told by elderly villagers who know the art of story telling extremely well. In addition, you can take part in a spectacular crash course traditional ‘Bow & Arrow shooting” in the village, enjoy enchanting music coming from a unique combination of a turtle shell and a flute made from a deer bone or you can simply choose a refreshing dip in the sparkling river water.
In Kwamalasamutu you will also find a ‘shaman’ clinic where you can get examined by a real indigenous shaman and where you can get the right medicinal herbs, taken from the rainforest, for all types of ailments. The village has an exotic market where you can purchase local souvenirs, colorful traditional costumes, exceptional decorations, fish caught in the river, various self-cultivated vegetables, fruit from the jungle and locally made musical instruments.

Iwana Samu Rainforest Lodge

The trip, by boat, from Kwamalasamutu to the Iwana Samu Rainforest Lodge is approximately 15 minutes. The trip itself to the Lodge is already an adventure. The boats made from hollowed out tree trunks are extremely suited for boat traffic on the rivers in the interior. You almost ‘glide’ over the water and you will be amazed how the indigenous boatmen handle their vessels across the rapids with utmost precision.
The Iwana Samu Rainforest Lodge is situated on a higher plateau. Therefore, all rooms have a view on the river and over the emerald green jungle in which the lodging is situated.
Each room has private toilet, a modern shower, a veranda with two chairs and two single beds with mosquito nets. According to the international norms for building interior lodges, an open space is left between the roof of the lodge and the room, where the wind blows through so that the temperature in the room is pleasant all day long. The Lodge offers a recreation area where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served and where guests also have the opportunity, between meals, to tie a hammock to relax and enjoy the serene peacefulness of the rainforest. In the evening hours, you can join a campfire where you can enjoy a delicious drink while you listen to singing or story telling of the people from the village.

Werehpai

From the Iwana Samu Rainforest Lodge, the trip by boat is approximately 20 minutes to the starting point of the trail leading to the mysterious Werehpai Caves. The jungle hike is sturdy and requires a good physical condition. After roughly two hours, you hike straight through the untouched rainforest. You pass over idyllic brooks and pitch-black creeks and you have the chance to spot rare birds and other types of animals as you climb and descend over the uneven rough soil of the tropical jungle. But all efforts are richly rewarded. At the end of the jungle hike a mysterious secret, well over 5,000 years old, awaits you. Here you will find the Werehpai Caves. The walls of these caves, in fact a formation of gigantic piled up rocks, are strewn with numerous mysterious rock-carvings (petrography), no where else found in the Amazon region in these large numbers. Werehpai may therefore be regarded as one of the most unique places on earth. The archeological research into the true meaning of the rock-carvings is still fully underway. But those who study the petrography closely will undoubtedly be enchanted by the overwhelming mysticism of an ancient-old culture that has indisputably left its marks…in the Werehpai Caves.

Download de Kwamalasamutu flyer here