Capital: Georgetown

Language: English

Currency: Guyanese Dollar

Guyana, first colonised by the Dutch, is the only South American nation besides the Malvinas Islands, in which English is the official language. Guyanese Creole, a dialect based on English, is spoken by the population as a first language.

It is worth visiting the Kaieteur National Park, which has one of the highest levels of endemic species found in South America and the Kaieteur Falls, which are the most spectacular feature of the park. The Island Shell Beach and the Anglican Cathedral of St. Georges are also not to be missed in any tourist itinerary.

Geography

Bordered between Suriname and Venezuela and nearly 214,000 square kilometres in size, Guyana is part of the Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.

Culture

Considered a Caribbean nation, the culture here is quite similar to the West Indies but reflects Amerindian, Nepalese, Indian, Chinese, African, and many Western European cultural influences.

Gastronomy

With such a strong diversity of influence, there is a wide variety of cuisine to try here. Salara (known as red bread) is highly recommended, but one of the most popular dishes is this thick soup based on coconuts and dumplings, typically eaten with fried fish or chicken, but you could just as easily eat the famous crab and okra dishes here.