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Tourism
in Suriname
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The Country has great tourisim potential in its
nature. Among other things, it offers a virgin tropical rain forest, with rich
flora and fauna. Villages of the Amerindians and Maroons in the interior are
very interesting sights for tourists.
The Central Suriname Nature Reserve(1998) is one
of the largest nature reserves, and quite possibly the single most pristine
tropical forest protected area on Earth.
Suriname
can be reached by plane from Amsterdam (The
Netherlands), Curacao (Dutch Antilles), Miami (Florida, USA),
Port of Spain (Trinidad), Cayenne
(French Guiana) and sporadically from some cities in Brasil (e.g. Belem). Reservations for
these flights should be made as early as possible since they are quite popular.
All international flights arrive at the Johan
Adolf Pengel
Airport, which is situated
approximately 45 kilometres south of Paramaribo.
Suriname
can be reached by car from Guyana
as well as from French Guyana.
Border Formalities
A visa is required for entry into Suriname. For
more information about how to obtain a visa, please contact your local embassy.
Do not forget to take two identical copies of passport photographs with you to Suriname. They
are necessary for the registration process.
Language
The official language of Suriname is
Dutch. A reasonable number of people also speak English. Surinamese children
are taught English in primary school starting in the seventh grade. There are
many other languages spoken in Suriname
by people whose ancestors came from other parts of the world, including India, Africa, Indonesia
and China.
The lingua franca in Suriname
is Sranan Tongo. This is a creole language spoken by almost everyone. The
second stanza of the Surinamese national anthem is in Sranan Tongo.
LAST UPDATED : October 2008