The Purpleheart Tour 4 Days / 3 Nights

You will leave early from Georgetown via your choice of transportation to the Iwokrama River Lodge. Options include a 4×4 vehicle for an 8-hour adventurous drive to the River Lodge through a historic mining town into dense rainforest. Alternatively, you can travel through one of the local Guyana airlines, which will provide unparalleled views of the rainforest on your hour flight to the Iwokrama Forest. Arrive just in time to relax before lunch and get settled into your room. After lunch explore one of the nearby wildlife trails near the River Lodge with an experienced Iwokrama Guide. You will see the Mora, Soft Wallaba and Wamara trees and may be able to view the Screaming Piha, the Grey Chinned Hermit, Gray Antbird, Chestnut Woodpecker, the Gray-winged Trumpeter, and the Black-necked Aracari. After a relaxing dinner, join us for a cruise on the Essequibo River through the black of night, maybe lit only by a pale moon. Your guide shines the spotlight and there it is… the red-eye glare of the Black Caiman! Frequently and closely seen lying on the riverbank, the world’s largest of the alligator family grows to 6 metres (20 ft.) long. A boat ride at night may also introduce you to other nocturnal creatures such as Tree Boas, Pacas, Nightjars, and Hula tree frogs.

A trip to Iwokrama is not complete without a hike to the summit of Turtle Mountain for a stunning view of the jungle vista. After breakfast, the journey starts with a peaceful and scenic half hour boat ride where you arrive at the base of the mountain. The trek to the 290m Turtle Mountain summit is mildly challenging and takes about 1 ½ – 2 hours but the breathtaking views are more than worth the effort. Turtle Mountain provides a gorgeous view of the top of the rainforest canopy. Along the way Harpy Eagle has been seen and you may also see the Greater Yellowheaded Vulture, King Vulture, Gray-headed, Double-toothed, and Plumbeous Kites and Black-faced Hawk. The trails may reveal Little Chachalaca, Marail Guan, Black Currassow, Squirrel and Black-bellied Cuckoos, Blue-crowned Mot Mot, Colalred Puffbird, Pygmy, Antwrens and many more! You may also be rewarded with sightings of monkeys such as Red Howlers, Wedge-capped Capuchins and Black Spiders. After your hike you can spend the rest of your day and evening exploring the network of Trails around the Turtle Mountain Camp with your experienced guide. The area offers excellent opportunities for viewing Squirrel and Howler monkeys, Peccaries, Arapaima, and occasionally Giant River Otters. You will spend the night at the new Turtle Mountain Camp, a comprehensive facility for visitors who wish to stay in the heart of the rainforest. The camp is located at the foot of Turtle Mountain near Paddle Rock Creek, a refuge for Brazilian Tapirs, occasional Peccaries, agoutis, and Pacas.

After breakfast at the Turtle Mountain Camp visit the Kurupukari Falls to see the Amerindian petroglyphs. These stunning works of art are estimated to be over 6,000 years old and are best seen during low-water season. After a refreshing lunch in the Fred Allicock Building you will depart for Iwokrama’s Famous Canopy Walkway. The 154 metre (505 ft.) state-of-the-art Iwokrama Canopy Walkway offers a totally unique experience in the region and envelopes you in the jungle’s mid-level canopy through a series of suspension bridges and decks from heights of up to 30 metres (98 ft.). You’ll have the chance to see birds like the Green Aracari, Scarlet Macaw, Guiana Toucanette or Channel-bill Toucan. Red Howler Monkeys may also be observed. Check out the epiphytes such orchids and bromeliads and look for the amazing parasitic Ficus plant as it engulfs another tree. There is also the Greenheart Tree, the Waramadan (endemic in Guyana only to the Iwokrama Forest) and the poisonous Aromata! As you return late afternoon to the River Lodge, you may catch a glimpse of the elusive Jaguar, South America’s largest cat. Spend a relaxing evening enjoying dinner overlooking the scenic vistas of the Essequibo River.

 At dawn you can take an early morning boat trip round Indian House Island. Keep an eye out for the butterflies, snakes and macaws as they come out to have “breakfast” on the edge of the island. This early morning trip also gives you a chance to hear the dawn songs of the five species of Tinamou, Marbled Wood-Quail, Band-rumped Swift, Whitebanded and Black-collared Swallows, and many more! After breakfast you will leave the River Lodge and have the option to either depart heading north for your journey back to Georgetown, or to visit other interesting tourist sites in the Rupununi area.