Welcome to
Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve

An early morning tour is highly recommended to circumnavigate this small island. You will hear the jungle come alive with the sounds of red howler monkeys and scores of birds. The area around the island is also a nesting site for giant river turtles during the dry season.

Fairview is the only Indigenous community located inside the vicinity of the Iwokrama forest. It was once the hub of cattle rearing and balata trading. The village is home to approximately 200 families of Makushi Indigenous Peoples who are happy to take visitors around the village and to their butterfly farm.

Use Fairview Village as the base to explore a number of sights close by.

• Only a ten-minute walk or a short boat ride from Fairview lies the Kurupukari Waterfall. On the same trip, one can also see the 6000-year-old petroglyphs, which were made by the current resident’s ancestors. The petroglyphs are essentially line drawings chiselled on rock face that depict daily life. There are some other sights close by too.
• Stanley Lake is surrounded by dense forests, and is home to howler monkeys, jaguars and other iconic animals of the Iwokrama forest. The waters are soothing to the eyes as well as offer re wards of spotting giant river otters, giant river turtles and arapaimas.
• It is said that the cool blue waters of the Toro Falls once sustained the ancient Makushi people when they first came to Iwokrama. The 30-foot falls lie south of Fairview Village and offer an idyllic location to take a is dip into after hiking the nature trails.

The 950 foot high mountain gets its name from a lake of the same name that lies at the base. A boat ride to the trailhead and an invigorating 90-minute hike rewards with expansive, cliff-side views of swathes of green all around. Expect unique bird life, small mammals, and pristine rainforest along the hike.

The comfortable, well-appointed, and conveniently located Atta Rainforest Lodge make it a regular stopover on the Linden-Lethem Road. The highlight of this property is the canopy walkway. The 154-meter state-of-the-art canopy walk offers a unique experience of being eye level with the birds. A series of suspension bridges and decks up to 30 meters off of the ground allow an alternative view of the treetops and their fascinating occupants.

Avid trekkers will love this 12.5 kilometre rigorous and oftentimes steep hike set in the wilderness dotted with creeks, waterfalls and thick vegetation. At an elevation of 3000 feet atop the mountain, trekkers will experience the cooling breeze and stellar views. This complete jungle immersion allows close proximity to wild animals and birds and is ideal for any nature lover.

The Essequibo, Burro Burro and Siparuni Rivers that run through the Iwokrama Forest Reserve are hot spots for sport fishing enthusiasts. The peacock bass, piraiba, lukanani and banana fish are the most popular in the region, though visitors need to adhere to catch and release fly fishing.

The field station found at the Iwokrama River Lodge is a good base to hire naturalist guides and go on walking trails or boat rides to spot capybaras, arapaima, anacondas, sloth bears, harpy eagles, giant river otters, even a jaguar if you’re lucky. They even have their own resident black caiman, Sankar, hanging around to greet you as you approach the lodge. The nocturnal trips to spot the ‘creatures of the night’ are even more exciting in the thick forests when the sounds of the jungle look more menacing, and caiman eyes shine like diamonds in the water. Iwokrama has also been identified as one of the best birding destinations of the world. 471 bird species that have been recorded in the Iwokrama forest. Birders come with long checklists, often with antbirds, woodcreepers, trogons, parrots and macaws on top of the lists.