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Suriname is situated in the north of South America. It borders French Guiana in the east, Brasil in the south, Guyana in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the north, and has an area of 163,265 square kilometres (63,064 square miles). The country contains many rivers and some mountains (highest point 1280 metres). The larger part of the country consists of uncultivated rain forest.

Nearly all 386,372 inhabitants of Suriname (1990 count) live within a 30 km wide coastal region. The capital Paramaribo lies about 20km south of the coast at the west bank of the Suriname river. It has 150,000 inhabitants.

Suriname has a tropical climate, with daily temperatures varying between 23 and 31 Centigrades. The year can be roughly divided in two rain seasons (April-August and November-February) and two dry seasons (February-April and August-November).

History

The first Dutch expeditions to the Guiana region took place in 1597–98, and the first Dutch colony, on Essequibo Island in present-day Guyana, was founded in 1616. The Dutch West India Company was founded in 1621 to exploit the territory. The Dutch hold on the east coast was interrupted by English and French attacks and by a slave insurrection (1762–63). The Treaty of Breda gave all English territory in Guiana to the Dutch, but in 1815 the Congress of Vienna awarded the area that is now Guyana to Britain while reaffirming the Dutch hold on Dutch Guiana (present-day Suriname). The Netherlands granted Dutch Guiana a parliament in 1866.

In 1954, Suriname officially became an internally autonomous part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and in 1975 it became independent. Just prior to independence, some 100,000 Surinamese, mainly of Asian descent, migrated to the Netherlands. In 1980 the government was ousted by a military coup led by Sgt. Major Desire Bouterse, and the soldiers' civilian allies were installed in office. Bouterse assumed complete control from 1982 to 1987.

A variety of insurgent guerrilla groups formed in the mid-1980s and did considerable damage to the country's infrastructure and major industries. Democracy was restored in 1988 and guerrilla activity decreased. President Rameswak Shankar, however, was ousted from office in a Dec., 1990, military coup led by Bouterse, who again installed his political allies. New elections (1991) gave his opponents, the four-party New Front for Democracy (NFD) coalition, control of parliament, and NFD leader Ronald Venetiaan became president. He implemented free-market reforms, but inflation soared and the economy continued to contract.

Bouterse resigned as army chief in 1992 amid corruption charges. In 1996, however, a former aide to Bouterse, Jules Wijdenbosch of the National Democratic party (NDP), won the presidency. Bouterse served as an adviser to Wijdenbosch's government until Apr., 1999; three months later he was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands of drug trafficking. Venetiaan's New Front won a resounding victory in the May, 2000, parliamentary elections, and the former president was reelected to the office in Aug., 2000.

Suriname is divided in ten districts:

Brokopondo is a district of Suriname. Its capital city is Brokopondo. The district has a population of 8,340 and an area of 7,364km². Brokopondo district is the site of a large reservoirs near Afobakka (built between 1961 and 1964) that allows for large scale agriculture projects. The district has several waterfalls, including the Irene Falls and Leo Falls. In the rainforest of Brokopondo, there are large reserves where a diverse variety of wildlife exist. Recently, gold has been discovered in the Brokopondo district, and this has lead to many new settlers arriving in the district from both other parts of Suriname and from the rest of the world.

Commewijne is a district of Suriname, located on the right bank of the Suriname River. Commewijne's capital city is Nieuw Amsterdam. The district has a population of 25,200 and an area of 2,353km². One of the most populated of Suriname's districts, Commewijne relies primarily on agriculture for its income, with plantations dating back to the first Dutch colonisation of the area in the 1600s. Along with numerous small colonial forts, Nieuw Amsterdam is the home of a large fortress built to protect the Commewijne area during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

Coronie is situated on the coast. Coronie's capital city is Totness. The district has a population of 3,480 and an area of 3,902km². Coronie, as with most of Suriname, relies mostly upon agriculture for both its income and its food supply. The coastal environment means that many coconut and rice plantations exist.

Marowijne located on the eastern border with French Guiana. Marowijne's capital city is Albina. Marowijne's population is 20,250 and the district has an area of 4,627km². During the early 1900s, bauxite was discovered in Marowijne district, leading to a boom in mining that significantly enriched the entire country. The district also has a large tourism industry. Marowijne is also home to many Maroon palenques. The Maroons are descendants of slaves who escaped from their Dutch masters centuries ago, particularly slaves who escaped from Suriname's huge plantations during the 1700s.

Nickerie is a district on the western coast. Nickerie's capital city is Nieuw Nickerie, the second largest city in the country. Nickerie has a population of 41,080 and an area of 5,353km². Relations between Suriname and neighbouring Guyana have always been tense, and border disputes in the south of the country (with occaisonal sporadic fighting) mean that ports of entry to Guyana from Suriname are few. One such port is in Nickerie, a ferry that sails between Springlands and the district of Nickerie. Much rice is grown in Nickerie.

Para is a district in the north. Para's capital city is Onverwacht. Para has a population of 15,120 and an area of 5,393km². The district is the mining and forestry centre of Suriname, with many large bauxite mining operations operating. The ruins of the city of Jodensavanne are in Para district. Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition established Jodensavanne in the 17th century, but it was destroyed in 1832 by a fire. Ironically, Jodensavanne was an internment camp for suspected Nazi supporters in Suriname during the Second World War. Para is also home to a spring that supposedly has medicinal properties.

Paramaribo is the capital of Suriname and the main port. It is an attractive city with many colonial buildings although quite a few of them look a bit run down. Fort Zeelandia now houses the Suriname Museum. The fort is in a good condition and is well worth a visit. Furthermore there are a few interesting buildings of a religious nature. There is the St.Peter & st. Paul Cathedral, two synagogues, one of the biggest mosques in the Carribean and some hindu temples in the Koningstraat- which means your out of luck if you are a Buddhist.

The Palmentuin and the Cultuurtuin are nice parks where you can spend a few hours relaxing.

Saramacca is a district in the north. Saramacca's capital city is Groningen. Saramacca has a population of 13,600 and an area of 3,636km². The district has traditionally been the site of dozens of small, family owned farming communities, and it has only been recently that large agricultural projects have begun to emerge, primarily geared to the production of bananas and rice. Saramacca district is named for the Saramacca Amerindians. The district is known for its birds, with ornithologists and birdwatchers coming from all over the world to study and admire Saramacca's toucans, parrots and cocks-of-the-rock. Saramacca, usually spelled saramaka is also the name of a group of Maroons who established communities along the saramacca river during the XVIII century and are now present in Suriname and in French Guiana, and of their language which is a creole language with a dominantly English origin.

Sipaliwini is a district of Suriname, in the south of the country. Sipaliwini does not have a regional capital, because it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. Sipaliwini has a population of 29,210 and an area of 130,567km². The district is larger than the other 9 districts of Suriname put together, however, most of the Sipaliwini is unused (it was specifically stated when the district was formed that it would encompass the unused land in Suriname's south) except for the north and the west. It is thought by archaeologists that hunter-gatherers lived in what is today Sipaliwini district during the Paleolithic period. The region was largely left alone during the colonial period, as the Dutch that controlled Suriname were fearful of the Portuguese in Brazil, and it was not until the 20th century that development projects began. Sipaliwini district has seen occaisonal fighting between Guyanese and Surinamese troops over border disputes in the west.

Wanica is a district of Suriname, in the northeast. Wanica's capital city is Lelydorp. Wanica has a population of 76,320 and an area of 442km². With a high population density, Wanica is one of Suriname's most populated and most urbanised districts. The district's capital, originally called Kofi-Djompo, was renamed in 1905 for Dutch architect Cornelis Lely, who was responsible for many large construction projects in the Netherlands.

Culture

Suriname's ethnic mix is reflected in the religious allegiances of its people. The most important Christian denominations are Roman Catholic and Moravian Brethren, but many Christian groups also practice traditional African beliefs such as obeah and winti. About 80% of the East Indian population are Hindu.

Although Dutch is the official language, the vernacular Sranan (also known as Surinaams), an English-based creole, is widely spoken. Hindi, Javanese, Chinese, Djuka and Saramaccan (both English-based creoles) and various Amerindian languages are also spoken.

The development of a strong national arts scene has been hampered by the fact that many of the country's intelligentsia live abroad (mostly in the Netherlands), partly because of greater economic opportunities and partly because of military repression. However, gamelan offers an insight into the cultural life of the Indonesian community; sculpture and carvings express the values of the Amerindian and Bush Negro populations.

Suriname's food is an exotic mix of East Indian, Indian, Creole and Chinese cuisines; the cheapest eateries are warungs, Javanese food stalls serving fried noodle and rice dishes.

Little Paradise Botanical garden
worth a visit a botanical garden about 22 kilometres south of Paramaribo. we have just started to receive visitors sinds november 2005 and people love the garden and the guided tour about medicinal, nutricinal and ornamental values of the plants and trees. look at www.lpbotanicalgarden.com