Suriname

All about blue | Round trip

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 155 (January/February 2019)

Is any colour more distinctive of the Caribbean? Take a tour of the region through our many hues and shades of blue

Dean’s Blue Hole, the Bahamas The limestone landscape of Long Island is dotted with caves and sinkholes, eroded over many centuries — the latter forming distinctive “blue holes,” flooded with fresh or sea water, almost perfectly circular, and eerily deep. Most impressive of all is Dean’s Blue Hole, in a bay west of Clarence Town, with a depth measured at 663 feet — the perfect location for the celebrated Vertical Blue freediving competition, running annually since 2008. Photo by Shane Pinder / Alamy Stock Photo

Word of mouth (Nov/Dec 2017)

By Philip Sander, Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Nixon Nelson | Issue 148 (November/December 2017)

Why Jean-Michael Basquiat is a posthumous art star, how the Sunset Festival in Trinidad is changing Caribbean dance music, and where to end 2017 with a truly big bang: Paramaribo

Paramaribo, Suriname | Layover

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 146 (July/August 2017)

Newcomers to Suriname’s capital are often surprised by its cosmopolitan charms — which you can enjoy on even a brief visit

Born blue: Suriname’s blue poison dart frog

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 145 (May/June 2017)

Suriname’s blue poison dart frog is a living treasure of the rainforest

Suriname: one country, four continents

By Philip Sander | Issue 140 (July/August 2016)

Imagine a country with a palm-fringed Atlantic coast and an interior of Amazon rainforest, where the cultures of West Africa, India, Java, and Europe meet and mingle, where it seems you can experience four continents in as many days. Come to Suriname and see the whole world

Eid-ul-Fitr: the end of the fast

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 134 (July/August 2015)

At the end of the month of Ramadan, Muslims in Suriname celebrate the joyful festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, like their fellows in Guyana and Trinidad

Sapto Sopawiro: man of shadows

By Chandra van Binnendijk | Issue 132 (March/April 2015)

The ancient shadow-puppet theatre of Java, known as wayang, was brought to Suriname in the nineteenth century — and survives thanks to the efforts of dalang Sapto Sopawiro. Chandra van Binnendijk meets the master

Earthy delights

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 128 (July/August 2014)

The Caribbean’s public gardens are places to enjoy the pleasures of nature — and centres for research and conservation as well

Paramaribo: rolling in the deep

By Jonathan Ali | Issue 108 (March/April 2011)

After strolling through the charming city of Paramaribo, Jonathan Ali takes on the Suriname River as it flows through the rainforest

Suriname’s rainforest: journey to the back of beyond

By Andy Isaacson | Issue 99 (September/October 2009)

Suriname’s vast, virgin rainforests are being carefully preserved. But a few hardy visitors venture into the heart of this wilderness

The Central Suriname Nature Reserve from the Voltzberg Dome. Photograph by Andy Isaacson

Suriname: kingdom of the silk cotton tree

By James Fuller | Issue 86 (July/August 2007)

James Fuller treks to the heart of Suriname, and finally understands how rainforests got their name

Dutch colonial architecture on Paramaribo`s historic Waterkant (waterfront). Photograph by James Fuller

A Sip of Suriname

By Mark Meredith | Issue 58 (November/December 2002)

Mark Meredith goes on a whirlwind tour of BWIA’s newest Caribbean destination

Welcome to Suriname

By Simon Lee | Issue 56 (July/August 2002)

BWIA’s newest destination is a crossroads for a staggering array of cultures, including African, Dutch, Amerindian, Indonesian and Indian, and an eco-traveller’s delight. Simon Lee provides the introductions

Arya Dewarker Hindu Temple, Paramaribo. Photograph by Mark Meredith

Back and fort

By Caribbean Beat | Issue 127 (May/June 2014)

The Caribbean’s history of wars and colonisation has left an extraordinary legacy of military architecture, some of it nearly five centuries old. Recognised today as historic sites, these forts and naval bases are a reminder of the often bloody past that shaped our present