Savannah + Rainforest Experience

Let’s go on SaFoRi!

In Africa they have Safari...but we offer you SaFoRi.

A SaFoRi is a 10- 12 day immersion in the essential Rupununi: Savannah, Forest and River, with minimal time spent on travel between sights, and maximum time immersed in 3 distinct tropical habitats. 

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The Rupununi is comprised of many habitats including natural savannahs, lush rainforest, mountains, rivers, and oxbow lakes.

SaFoRi is ideal for those wishing to:

  • see as much wildlife as possible

  • experience a variety of habitats

  • participate in local culture

  • minimize time spent between destinations

  • save transportation costs

The opportunity of a visit to the Guyana hinterland is threefold: wildlife, pristine habitat diversity and indigenous culture. Our SaFoRi offers all three without wasting your precious time and money sitting in a vehicle or boat transferring between lodges. On SaFoRi you are fully immersed in three wilderness habitats, looking for wildlife with our expert indigenous guides. 

 

Savannah (Caiman House)

The savannahs are where you find indigenous communities. Our base will be at Caiman House, an award-winning, community-owned ecolodge in the heart of Yupukari Village, where it is co-located with the programs it sustains: the Yupukari Public Library, the Black Caiman Research Project, the River Turtle Conservation Project, and the social enterprise Wabbani, which is preserving craft traditions via a home décor business.

At Caiman House you have the opportunity to:

  • Participate in the nocturnal Black Caiman catch-and-release program with our local research  crew.

  • Go on savannah tours in search of giant anteaters, savannah birds and wildlife.

  • River tours on the Rupununi river in search for giant river otters, black caiman, monkeys and riverine birds.

  • Visit nearby oxbow lakes covered in Victoria Amazonica lilies.

  • Hikes on local trails through the savannahs and gallery forests birding or in search of wildlife. 

  •  Explore El Dorado, Walter Raleigh’s fabled destination, and other local sites where European explorers and indigenous traders first intersected, at the nexus of the Amazon and Essequibo River watershed.

  • Sunset and evening tours overlooking the sweeping savannahs and lake Amuku followed by sundowners and spectacular stargazing.

  •  Learn basketry, cotton weaving and clay-forming with local artizans.

  • Village tours and interaction with local community members. 

For more information about Activities and accommodation at Caiman House please click the link. 

Forest (Mapari Wilderness Camp)

After 4 nights at Caiman House, we stroll down to Yupukari Landing, where boats are waiting to carry us to Mapari Wilderness Camp, deep in lush rainforest. The Kanuku Mountains, rich, pristine, and remote are blanketed in tropical rainforest, are internationally recognized for their incredible biodiversity. In 2011, the Kanukus were declared a protected area. 

Mapari Wilderness Camp, overlooking a clear water creek, is not your typical lodge, its a remote and rarely visited place where wildlife present themselves around every turn. The hammock camp overlooks a small waterfall and a natural bathing pool. If you have a passion for birdwatching, wildlife photography, remote landscapes, unspoiled rain forests and rivers, and you love wildlife and wild places, Mapari Wilderness Camp is the perfect retreat.

At Mapari Wilderness Camp you have the opportunity to:

  • experience the complete opposite of the savannah habitat.

  •  adventurous yet comfortable campsite with hammock-sleeping, campfire-eating, and the sounds of the forest.

  • visit a Harpy Eagle nesting site.

  • see goliath Bird-eating spiders

  • Fantastic forest birding

  • Clearwater creek and waterfall, natural bathing and swimming pool.

  • River drifts morning and afternoon to see and approach the extraordinary diverse wildlife.

  • night drifts spotlighting along the creek looking for wildlife.

  • Pristine tropical rainforest surrounded by mountains. 

  • nature walks and hikes on forest trails/forest interpretation.

  • fishing

 

River

The Rupununi River and its oxbow lakes provide a natural highway connecting the savannah and forest of the Kanuku Mountains. Rivers support endless diversity in wildlife species and is a unique and beautiful way to observe and experience nature.

  • birdwatching from the boats and looking for wildlife such as giant river otters, black caiman, and monkeys. quiet night drifts with a spotlight

  • quiet night drifts with a spotlight

  • visits to oxbow lakes with victoria amazonica lilies

 

Itinerary (can be custom built):

Day 1 Pickup from Lethem transfer to Caiman House.

Day 2-4   Stay at Caiman House and partake in the activities.

Day 5 Depart Caiman House and transfer by boat to the Mapari Wilderness Camp.

Day 6-8 Mapari Wilderness Camp.

Day 9 Return to Caiman House and overnight.

Day 10 Depart to Lethem onto Georgetown.

Day 11 Day tour to Kaieteur Falls