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 Heliconia is one of the many special flowers of Suriname
Suriname is located on the Atlantic Ocean, on the northern coast of tropical South America, and is bounded by Guyana, French-Guyana and Brasil. The exact location is between the 2 degrees and 6 degrees north width, and 54 degrees and 58 degrees west length. The republic is 163,270 square kilometres large and has 430,000 inhabitants of which 240,000 live in the capital city.
Suriname forms the Guyana-shield together with the earlier named countries (including the northwest of Brazil) and a part of Venezuela. This shield is a rock from the prehistoric times and is bounded by two large rivers in South-america, the Orinoco in Venezuela and the Amazon in Brasil.
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Nature
| Flora | In Surinam there are approximately 5,000 different kinds of plants, which is quite exceptional for a country with this surface and without high mountains. The unique flora of Suriname includes orchids, cactuses, palms and grasses. Orchids are growing high in the trees of the rainforest and therefore their beauty can only rarely be admired. However, these days the orchids can also be found in people's gardens. | | The most known Surinamese flower is the fajalobie which means 'passionate love'. The red fajalobie (there are also yellow, orange and white kinds) is popular because of its beautiful fierce colors. You can watch it grow and blossom almost everywhere near people's houses.
Rice is one of the most important grass kinds of the country, although the majority of the Surinam population owns this product at their own ground a lot remains left for the export to for instance to the Netherlands.
The rain forest is quite important for the interior inhabitants, because it gives them materials and resources. With the wood, they build houses and boats. For this reason it is very important that all visitors pay attention to this, so that these unique cultures can be preserved. | | Fauna | Suriname has a lot of insects (for instance snails, centipedes and spiders), amfibians and reptiles (such as the alligators, the rattle snake, the anaconda, the lizard, the iguana and the boa constrictor). You can see these insects, amfibians and reptiles throughout the entire country. The other kinds of animals can only be found in the tropical rain forest. The most known animals which can be found in Surinam are the giant turtles, which lay their eggs each year at the beach of Galibi. Furthermore, the Brazilian giant otter can be found in the Coesewijne river. | | National Parks | Far away from the crowded city, 130 kilomter south from Paramaribo, you can find Brownsberg Nature Reserve. Brownsberg is easy to reach and you can have a great time in this tropical rainforest. The atmosphere of a schooltrip is how to describe the place. Surinam has more National and Nature parks. They are part of the 'Central Surinam Nature Game Reserve'. |
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 Brownsberg waterfall, Suriname
Suriname has a tropical rainforest climate, with minimum temperatures above 18 degrees Celsius throughout the whole year. The humidity grade is high with an average of 80%. The coolest moment of the day is around 6 am (when the temperature is 23 degrees Celsius) and the hottest time is between 12pm and 2pm (when the temperature is about 32 degrees Celsius).
It is mainly the rain that determines the character of the seasons. The most rain falls from April till August. The coast and the inland have almost the same climate. However, the rainfall is heavier in the inlands.
September and October are generally the driest months. January is the coolest month with temperatures around 26.2 degrees Celsius, and September and October are the warmest months with temperatures of 28.2 degrees Celsius.
The best period to visit Suriname is between January and March when it is a bit cooler, and from August to October if you like warm weather. In these months there is not much rain, so you can really enjoy Suriname this time of the year! |
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