Suriname

Surinam is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Marowijne River, French Guiana and Brazil. In the northern part of the country are coastal lowlands covered with mangrove swamps. Further inland runs a narrow strip of savannah land. To the south, the land becomes hilly and then mountainous, covered with dense tropical forest, and cut by numerous rivers and streams. Paramaribo, the 17th-century capital, is graced with attractive Dutch, French, Spanish and British colonial architecture. The nearby restored Fort Zeelandia houses the Surinam Museum. Nearly 80 per cent of the country is covered with tropical rainforest and there are a number of nature reserves, including the Raleighvallen/Voltzberg Nature Park and Brownsberg Nature Park. Some offer accommodation in lodges. Indonesian dishes are recommended, usually rijsttafel with rice (boiled or fried) and a number of spicy meat and vegetable side dishes, nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) and bami goreng (Indonesian fried noodles). In general it is best to stick to the hotels unless accompanied by locals who know the reputations of other nightspots.