The city is built on a grid, with broad boulevards lined with palm trees. Parts of the city are quite nice, with elegant old buildings raised on stilts and many flowering trees. The striking wooden architecture is reminiscent of Guyana's centuries as first a Dutch, and then a British colony. The heart of Georgetown is the ward of Stabroek, on the east bank of the Demerara. From here the city grew outwards in a grid pattern laid out by the Dutch during the 19th and 20th centuries, and this is where the municipal and national governments have their headquarters.

At the district’s heart is the covered Stabroek Market, a massive, bizarre bazaar built partly over the busy river.  From the vicinity of Stabroek, Main Street runs north to the Atlantic, lined by many of the city’s finest buildings: the High Courts, City Hall, the residences of the president and the prime minister. In front of the courts stands a statue of Queen Victoria, a tribute to Guyana's British ancestry. Located a few yards up the promenade from City Hall is the pride of Georgetown: a glorious view of St George’s Cathedral.

From Georgetown most visitors set out for the interior by boat, cheap flightson light aircraft or 4x4, to encounter the extraordinary natural heritage of Guyana. This is the capital of the country, as well as the only large city, so all roads, such as they are, lead to Georgetown.

• guyana-tourism.com Guyana Tourism Authority
• exploreguyana.com Tourism & Hospitality Association
• guyanaguide.com
• Mountains of Guyana by guyana-tourism.com
• 
   

lemeridien-pegasus.com Le Meridien Pegasus Guyana, Georgetown,

 

Great location-right next to the Demarara river and an interesting 20 minute walk to Stabroek Market. Expensive rooms but reasonably priced, tasty meals...warm and wonderful...a five star hotel!

Hotel Ariantze Sidewalk Cafe n Jazz

176 Middle Street, South Cummingsburg
Georgetown, Guyana.
Tel: +592 226 5363/227 0152/225 4634
Fax: +592 227 0210
In the heart of the city of Georgetown, just walking distance from many of Guyana’s main historical buildings, commercial and shopping centres.

"The Bourbon restaurant offers intimate evening dining, superlative food, and impeccable service. And everyone comes to the Sidewalk Café for lunch, for tasty Guyanese dishes served buffet style; on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, it turns into Georgetown’s only jazz club."

• Restaurants by guyana-tourism.com [official site w/ google assist]
• Restaurants in Georgetown by virtualTourist
• Restaurants in Georgetown by wikitravel.org

• Starbroek Market You can find everything you need and don't need in the little stalls which back right onto the river, allowing  the easy transport of goods from small boats. This is also where you can catch a speedboat ferry across to the west bank of the Demerara.
• National Museum of Guyana
• Botanical Gardens - grounds had been used as botanical gardens since 1895 & The Zoo (GuyanaZoo.org.gy) is officially Guyana Zoological Park. Laid out in the Victorian style with an avenue of towering royal palms, a bandstand, and a series of ponds which are home to a family of manatees
• Parliament Buildings, City hall, the Victorian Law courts and many heritage sites. Many of the buildings are wooden with unique architecture dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, and Main Street provides several excellent examples of old colonial homes
• Seawall 280-mile-long dyke runs east from the mouth of the Demerara, protecting the city and other coastal settlements from the Atlantic at high tide
• Guyanese Heritage Museum
• Walter_Roth_Museum_of_Anthropology by wikipedia The mission is to collect, exhibit and conserve artifacts relating to the ancient cultures of Guyana and to conduct anthropological research
• Umana Yama, the meeting place for Foreign Ministers, built by our own native Guyanese, the Wai Wai tribe of Amerindians.
  nationaltrust.gov.gy/ 
• Splashmins Fun Park and Resort splashmins.com
  48 High Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown

The Guyana coast is a low-lying tangle of mangroves and Demerara sugar cane plantations connected by canals.

Port Kaituma is located in northwestern Guyana and is less than ten miles away from the infamous Jonestown. The population in this area is about 5,100 people.

Shell Beach: situated at the mouth of the Waini River is a 90 mile stretch of beach along the Northwestern Sea Coast of Guyana. The near shore waters of Shell Beach have extraordinary biological productivity, which is fostered by both the giant estuary of the Essequibo River to the southeast and the even larger Orinoco Delta to the northwest. The extensive and still intact mangrove coastlines provide excellent nursery habitat for numerous fish species, mud skipper and shrimp populations. Just inland are extensive mudflats and mangrove forests, best explored by canoe, home to manatees, river dolphins, parrots, toucans, and many kinds of waterfowl.

Bartica

Bartica is a small, busy town at the confluence of the Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni Rivers, - the gateway to the mining areas of the north-west. Several nature resorts are located near the town, and the ruins of the Dutch fort Kyk-over-Al are a short boat-trip away. The central town of Bartica is about one square mile -  it has seven Avenues and nine Streets. The name Bartica is from an Amerindian word meaning RED EARTH, suggested from the colour of the soil. Baganara is the biggest island among the three hundred and sixty-five islands in the Essequibo river. Five miles South of Bartica, it is the getaway to the unspoilt rainforest of Guyana and the junction where the great Essequibo and Mazaruni Rivers meet. GETTING THERE: Bartica is accessible by road and the Essequibo river. Regular boat services are made to Bartica from Georgetown , Essequibo coast and islands via Parika. Travelling from Georgetown Stabroek Market - Take a number No 32 bus to Parika (US $1, Time 45 minutes) then a speed boat (about US $5.50, time one hour.) There is another choice of a cheaper , slower ferry that costs (US $3, five hours). This ferry departs Parika on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 8 AM. by plane from Georgetown:

Places to Stay: Bartica

Baracara Island Resort

baganara.com/  Baganara Island Resort Pre-eminent among the three hundred and sixty-five islands in the mighty Essequibo is this wonderful little paradise, with one hundred and eighty-seven acres of lush green foliage and colourful tropical flowers.  GETTING THERE: a 20 minute flight directly to the island from Georgetown, or a picturesque trip of a one hour drive along the coast and one by boat from the mouth of the Essequibo. Most elegant by far is the Baganara Island Resort - highly-polished floors, highly-polished tables and highly-polished staff. And there's the "beach" with sand brought in by the ton. On a hot tropical day, there's nothing to disturb the peace but a passing boat and a passing rain shower. Just 10 minutes away by jetboat is a little bit of the Cotswolds in South America. Shanklands Rainforest Resort has gingerbread cottages on a hillside by the river. There are rainforest trails but also mod cons like electricity and running water and a native Amerindian staff to pamper you The lost resort at guardian.co.uk/article/2001/aug/

Places to Stay: Essequibo Coast

lakemainstayresort.biz Lake Mainstay on the Essequibo Coast, just inland from Anna Regina. With it's own airstrip, it's a 20 minute flight from Georgetown. A cluster of comfortable air-conditioned cottages on the lake shore, it can accommodate more visitors than the other resorts, and has facilities to handle a conference or incentive trip

Places to Stay: Amidst nature close to Georgetown

Timberhead Rainforest Resort [3 lodges] On the banks of the Pokerero Creek, built in 1991 by Amerindians from nearby Santa Mission. Swim, canoe, or fish in the black-water creek, or walk the well-marked trails. Over 200 bird species have been spotted in the vicinity. GETTING THERE: Just 15 miles as the crow flies from Georgetown. Owned by Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, and the office to organise trips to the resort is based in the lobby of the hotel

Emerald Tower [7 Cabins] Situated on 167.5 acres of leased land from the Government of Guyana, the Resort is in the rich natural wonder that is the Madewini Jungle. The winding creek has a seven hundred foot long white sand beach. Getting There: By vehicle (50 minutes from Georgetown) A drive from the city to the East Bank of the Demerara River, over rolling Soesdyke-Linden Hills and through a winding sleepy forest bring one to Emerald Tower Rainforest Lodge. "The food was superb,everyone was very helpfull and kind.We felt very comfortable hoteltowerguyana.com/emeraldtower.htm

Kaieteur was discovered in 1870 by C. Barrington Brown, who also discovered Orinduik and Kuribrong Falls. The name Kaieteur is an Amerindian word, and the falls should properly be called Kai-Tuk.
Flying over the dramatic Kaieteur Falls in the heart of the rain forest is truly memorable. The entire Kaieteur National Park area is located within one of the largest and most bio-diverse rainforests in the world

See the Tank Bromeliads, in which the tiny Golden frog spends its entire life and the rarely seen Guiana Cock-of-the-rock nests close by. The lucky visitor may also see the famous flights of the Kaieteur Swifts or Makonaima Birds which nest under the vast shelf of rock hidden behind the eternal curtain of falling water.

GETTING THERE:  By air, it is an hour's flight from Georgetown, the Capital of Guyana. The weather can be very poor at Kaieteur Falls and flights can be delayed several hours, so bring enough food with you. But, eventually they will pick you up again.
By land there is a popular adventurous wilderness trek that requires 3 to 5 days to complete. The  trek is through the almighty Kaieteur Gorge, with its steep mountain walls, dense vegetation and white sand beaches. Camping is basic, with hammocks strung up alongside the river and bathing in the Potaro’s fast-flowing waters.

The Orinduik Falls is where the Ireng River thunders over steps and terraces of solid jasper, a semi precious stone. With a backdrop of the rolling grass covered hills of the Pakaraima Mountains, this is truly one of the most beautiful locations in Guyana's hinterland.
 

• wiki/Iwokrama_International_Centre
  for_Rain_Forest_Conservation_ and_Development
• Iwokrama_Forest
• iwokramacanopywalkway.com/   a series of suspension bridges and decks of up to 30 metres in height and 154 metres in length provide a lookout point for the Maipa mountain range and a chance to observe rock with petroglyphs