Boutique hotels in Guyana

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and one of its least visited. Ninety percent of the country is forest, and its great draws are wildlife and wide-open space: jaguars, giant river otters, harpy eagles and the giant anteater, set in rainforest, savanna and black-water rivers. Comfort is simple and in remote places, a night in a community lodge is the whole point.

Georgetown and the coast

The capital is a Caribbean-flavored city of white wooden colonial buildings, a green botanical garden and a street-market energy. A couple of historic hotels and a few modern ones make good bases before and after the interior. West of the capital, Lake Mainstay has a lakeside resort, and Shell Beach on the northwest coast is a nesting site for four species of sea turtle.

Rainforest and waterfalls

Kaieteur Falls, a single drop of 226 meters in Kaieteur National Park, is usually seen on a day flight from Georgetown. The Iwokrama Forest Reserve has a river lodge and a canopy walkway, and nearby Surama is a Makushi village that runs its own eco-lodge.

The Rupununi

The savannas in the south-west are cattle country, with working ranches, river lodges known for giant otters and horseback trails. Lethem, on the Brazilian border, is the regional hub.

When to go

The main dry seasons run February to April and September to November. Roads in the interior can be impassable in the wettest months, and many trips rely on small planes.