Guyana

See our gap year, career break and extreme expeditions to Guyana.

Culture

The majority of the population in Guyana lives along the coast and, like the environment, its culture is amazingly diverse. While almost 80% of the population is of Afro-Caribbean or East-Indian descent, there are approximatley 9 remaining indigenous Amerindian tribes in the central and southern savannah regions. What makes this country even more interesting is that it is the only English speaking country in South America.

Local culture and beliefs have created a respect for this environment that they so depend upon. It is this attitude that has until recently protected both savannah and rainforest and all their other inhabitants. Newer generations, however, have started putting pressure on the environment with damaging logging and dredging activities. Trekforce can take you to this spectacular land to complete a worthwhile and sustainable project in Amazonia.

Wildlife 

The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and spans 5 countries in South America, including Guyana. The wealth of life that it contains is almost beyond comprehension - scientists believe that the canopy alone may contain over half of the world's species, many of which remain as yet unknown. Indeed, new species of insect, flora and fauna are regularly discovered.

More than 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed, however, through activities such as cattle ranching, logging, mining, and subsistence agriculture. At the current rate of destruction it is estimated that the remaining forests could be completely destroyed in less than 40 years.

Geography

Smaller than Britain but home to a huge host of plant and animal life, Guyana is a country of extremes. It is located on the northern coast of South America right on the equator, forms part of the Amazon Basin, and is almost entirely covered by the Amazon rainforest. Those that venture to this spectacular country may be rewarded by an encounter with the Esquibo river that is so wide at its mouth that islands bigger than Barbados can be found in its centre, or the spectacular Kaiteur Falls. Accessible only by aircraft, this natural phenomenon is 5 times higher than Niagara Falls, making it the largest single-drop waterfall in the world.