Suriname Travel Guide: Self-Guided City Walks

Suriname is a South American country of rivers, rainforest and remarkable cultural diversity. More than 90 percent of its territory is covered by rainforest, while most of the population lives in the cultivated northern lowlands around Paramaribo. A trip here offers the chance to explore a multicultural society shaped by Indigenous communities, colonial history, migration and independence. Neywo has a free audio guide for Suriname, covering 29 narrated places in one city through two walking tours, with narration in 11 languages.

What to see and do in Suriname

Explore Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the centre of urban life in Suriname and the country’s main city to explore. Its history reflects the different forces that shaped the country: Indigenous settlement, Dutch and English colonial rule, plantation development, slavery, indentured labour and independence.

Neywo’s city guide covers 29 narrated places in Paramaribo, including Fort Zeelandia, Readytex Art Gallery, the Suriname River and Paramaribo District. To discover the city with a guide that follows its streets and landmarks, visit the Paramaribo page.

Learn about Suriname’s colonial and plantation history

European powers contested Suriname before Dutch and English settlers established plantation colonies along the fertile river plains. Under Dutch rule, sugar plantations depended on African slave labour, and hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to Suriname during the transatlantic slave trade.

The abolition of slavery did not end the system of forced and unequal labour. Afterward, indentured workers were recruited largely from British India and the Dutch East Indies. Their descendants, together with descendants of enslaved Africans and Indigenous communities, are part of the diverse society that exists in Suriname today.

Follow the country’s rivers and rainforest

Rivers have always been central to Suriname’s geography and history. The country lies on South America’s northern coast, with its population concentrated in the north and rainforest covering most of the territory. The contrast between the cultivated lowlands, the urban life of Paramaribo and the extensive rainforest is one of the defining features of the country.

The Suriname River is among the places covered by Neywo in Paramaribo, offering a way to connect the city’s present-day landscape with the waterways that have shaped the country.

Experience Suriname’s multicultural society

No single ethnic group makes up a majority of Suriname’s population. The country’s people include descendants of enslaved Africans, indentured labourers brought from Asia and Indigenous peoples. These different histories remain visible in family backgrounds, public celebrations, languages and religious life.

Dutch is the official language and is used in government, education, business and the media. Suriname is the only independent country outside Europe where Dutch has this role. In everyday life, people also use Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole language that is widely spoken as a shared language. English is widely spoken and understood as well.

Religious life is similarly varied. Suriname has proportionally large Muslim and Hindu populations for the Americas, alongside Christian communities. This combination of languages, faiths and family histories gives the country a distinctive character that visitors can hear as well as see.

Discover celebrations that remember migration

Several public celebrations commemorate the arrival of immigrant communities. Prawas Din, also called Indian arrival day, remembers the first ships that brought Indian immigrants to Suriname. Javanese and Chinese arrival days similarly recall the arrival of these communities.

At the turn of the year, Suriname celebrates Oud jaar, also known as Owru Yari. At midnight, long ribbons of firecrackers called pagaras are detonated. These celebrations connect contemporary Suriname with the journeys and communities that helped shape its society.

Understand the road to independence

Suriname became independent on 25 November 1975, following negotiations with the Netherlands. The Dutch connection remains visible in the official language and in cultural ties, but independence is an important part of the country’s modern history.

Suriname’s story is not only one of colonial rule and independence. It is also the story of many communities building one shared country, with their different languages, religions and historical experiences continuing to shape public life.

Explore Suriname with Neywo

Download Neywo’s free Suriname audio guide and explore Paramaribo through two walking tours covering 29 narrated places. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, so you can discover Suriname while walking independently through its capital.