Arriving in to the capital Paramaribo, we are met by our guide or KE representative who will arrange our transfer to the group hotel. After checking in, we are free to unwind and relax from the long flight. The historic inner city was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2002, thanks to a unique fusion of Dutch architecture and indigenous wood construction techniques and materials. Little has changed over the centuries and the white-painted wooden edifices still dominate the skyline thanks to a lack of high-rise development. The city has a fascinating history, settled first by the Dutch in 1613 yet gradually abandoned over the course of the following 50 years. It was revived by English settlers before being retaken by the Dutch during the Anglo-Dutch war of 1667. In 1975, Suriname eventually achieved independence from the Dutch and Paramaribo became the capital of a new sovereign country.

Our adventure starts in earnest this morning, driving for around 3 hours through jungle and savannah habitats to reach Atjoni, a bustling river port serving remote Maroon communities hidden upriver. Boarding a motorised canoe, our skilled guides navigate their way up the dark and sinuous Upper Suriname River. Our senses are soon enveloped by the rainforest as we leave civilisation behind. Our eco-lodge is situated in an exceptionally remote and tranquil oasis in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. The lodge enjoys easy access to one of the few portions of the Suriname River where it is safe to cool off in the tannin-rich waters. Our cabins are comfortably equipped and you may wish to do nothing more than spend an hour or so resting in your hammock overlooking the river, serenaded by the forest chorus. Later, we will take a nocturnal canoe paddle to spot caiman lurking on the water's edge.

Today we have the rare privilege of visiting a Maroon village, supported by the Danpaati Lodge. The Maroons were originally enslaved African slaves who managed to escape deep into the jungle from their harsh existence working in the plantation fields. They cohabited with the indigenous people they encountered and Maroon tribes began to emerge. We are able to observe many African customs and rites, including healing traditions using medicinal herbs, and learn how African and European languages developed into an idiosyncratic Creole tongue. Sensitive to the nature of these communities, visits are kept brief and in small groups. After lunch, we visit the Saamaka Museum where we learn how the Maroon managed to survive and thrive in the jungle. Our guide will take us for an afternoon walk into the rainforest to identify some of the endemic plants that are used for food and medicine. There is the option of relaxing at the lodge and enjoying a massage should you wish to pamper yourself. Following dinner, we are entertained with a traditional cultural performance, the stories and historical contexts interpreted by our guide.

In the morning we still have some time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings before departing back downriver to Atjoni and onwards to Paramaribo. In the early evening, we take a special dolphin-spotting tour aboard a boat at sunset. Drinks and snacks will be served as the captain searches the surrounding waters for dolphins. They are often spotted swimming playfully with the boat in pods of up to 20. We sail on to Plantation Johan and Margaretha. Here, in the grounds of this former plantation village, we can try freshly-made local snacks like barra, baka bana or eggroll. Towards the end of the experience, we watch the sunset over the Commewijne River before boarding our boat and heading back to Paramaribo.

Today we have a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Paramaribo. The old city centre is filled with interesting buildings and monuments including Fort Zeelandia, the Presidential Palace and Independence Square. We cross the Commewijne River to the eastern area of Paramaribo where former plantations lie, long abandoned. Chief amongst them is Plantation Peperpot, where it is still possible to wander around old plantation buildings and worker barracks, now home to an abundance of birdlife. Amongst the remains of the plantation is an old coffee factory where we can learn about the traditional production process. After Peperpot, we visit the museum of Marienburg, another former plantation, where we will be treated to a traditional Indonesian lunch. Reflecting the history of the Dutch empire, it isn't uncommon to find Indonesian food, such as satay or rijsttafel on the menu. The tour continues exploring fortified buildings before returning to Paramaribo.

We start early, driving eastwards along the roughly-surfaced coastal road to the border town of Albina. Crossing the River Maroni, enter French Guiana at the port of Saint Laurent du Maroni. French Guiana is an Overseas Department of France so, technically, you have entered the EU upon landing here. Evidence of a European lifestyle is immediately evident: every car seems to be a late-model Mercedes, Volkswagen or Peugeot; the roads are in near perfect condition and you pay for your espresso with Euros. Echoing the paradoxes and contradictions of this region, French Guiana is one of the wealthiest corners of South America thanks in part to the presence of the Center Spatiale Guyanaise, primary launch site for the European Space Agency. Launch schedules are a closely-held secret so our schedule today may be amended at short notice. It is possible to take a tour of the facilities, allowing us to visit the launch sites for the Ariane, Vega and Soyuz rockets. The tours are in French but will be translated by our guide. Afterwards, we will check into our hotel in cosmopolitan Kourou.

The Iles du Salut, also known as the Salvation Islands, lie seven miles off the coast of French Guiana and make for a compelling adventure. These small, volcanic islands played a central role in French history when as far back as 1792 they were utilised as a transit point; first for explorers, then slaves and later for political prisoners. We board a motorised catamaran and set sail towards our first stop, Ile Saint Joseph. Exploring Ile Saint Joseph is all the more poignant, knowing this was the island chosen for the solitary confinement cells. The evidence of nature slowly and relentlessly reclaiming its territory here is really quite remarkable: tree roots grow from cell doors, snaking around to enter adjacent cells. Ile Royale is home to the oldest buildings on the islands, featuring an old church, administration buildings and officers' quarters. Today it plays a role in the European Space Agency launch programme as an optical and infra-red rocket tracking site. The Ile du Diable (Devil's Island) is inaccessible to visitors due to dangerous shoreline conditions. This is the island where the prison's best-known occupant, Alfred Dreyfus, was famously incarcerated. Upon our return to the mainland, we transfer to Cayenne and spend the evening exploring the vibrant city at leisure. The capital is a bewildering meeting point of the Caribbean, South America and Europe. Streets are lined with colonial wrought-iron balconies and faded, sun-bleached louvers clad the walls. Here you can choose from an incredible range of cuisines; Brazilian, French, Creole and Vietnamese restaurants all vie for your attention.

This morning we have some time to explore further the atmospheric streets of Cayenne, before setting off for the border with Suriname. We will stop at Iracoubo to stand in awe before the stunning frescos inside Saint Joseph's church. The entire inside of the church was ornately hand-painted, over the course of six years, by a convict called Huguet whilst serving a sentence at a nearby penal colony. At Saint Laurent du Maroni, we pay a brief visit to the well-preserved Camp de la Transportation. The facility once processed exhausted inbound convicts from all corners of the French Empire before allocating them to various penal facilities in the country. One of the most famous inmates was Henri Charriere. Known more famously as Papillon, immortalised by Steve McQueen in the eponymous film, his moniker can still be seen carved into a wall in his former cell. We cross the river border into Suriname by pirogue and continue to Paramaribo where we settle into our hotel.

This morning we have an early flight to Georgetown, Guyana. After settling into our hotel we are joined by renowned chef, Delven Adams, for a unique guided tour of the food markets of Georgetown. Seafood stalls display their sparkling fresh produce and we see endless varieties of rice, dried pulses and demerara sugar in all its forms, from dark brown molasses to golden crystals. African prints and textiles add glorious pops of colour and peddlers sell homemade remedies and concoctions for every ailment that ever existed. We visit fruit and vegetable stalls featuring the best of Guyana's rich produce. Try several different varieties of bananas, or sample more unfamiliar seaside grapes, sapodillas, dunks, jamoon or gineps. Beware the wiri wiri pepper; these little chillies look just like red cherries but pack a punch similar to the scotch bonnet or habanero! Delven will make his purchases and then return to his kitchen to prepare a gourmet lunch whilst we continue our guided tour. The foundations of Georgetown were laid down by Dutch settlers, originally as a fort to guard the entrance to the Demerara River Estuary and the surrounding plantations. Painted wooden buildings grandly line the streets of the capitol, surrounding St. George's Cathedral, one of the world's tallest freestanding wooden buildings. After a busy morning we arrive at the Backyard Café for lunch. Our host, Delven, has turned this spot into a little exclusive gem of a restaurant and uses open fires and smokers to cook dishes including his famous garlic fish. Kick back with a cold beer and soak up the atmosphere under the arbour in style as Delven works his magic. After our gastronomic experience, we walk off our indulgences through the bustling Stabroek Market and take a river taxi to gain an alternative view of Georgetown's waterfront on the Demerara River.

There is an optional early morning birding tour of the Georgetown's Botanical Gardens. Here, we can observe an astonishing variety of birdlife, much of which is unique to this corner of the South American continent. It is possible to see blood-coloured woodpecker, snail kite, grey hawk, pearl kite, carib grackle and red-bellied macaw amongst the smaller yellow-chinned spinetail, black-crested antshrike, silver-beaked tanager or buff-breasted wren. The spectacular flight to Kaieteur Falls takes us over the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers and across hundreds and hundreds of miles of unbroken rainforest. The extraordinary Kaieteur Falls are the world's highest free-falling waterfalls and it is from the air that we first set eyes upon their majesty and splendour. The waters of Kaieteur flow across a high table of land before thundering down into a deep gorge, well over 200m below. Even the highest single drop at Niagara Falls is five times smaller. We land nearby and can walk extremely close this natural spectacle. This unique environment supports diverse flora such as tank bromeliads, within which the tiny golden frog resides. The rarely-seen Guianan cock-of-the-rock is known to roost close by and can be spotted by those with a keen eye. We may even see the famous flights of Kaieteur swifts which nest under the vast rock shelves hidden behind the curtain of falling water. After soaking up the splendour and atmosphere here, we fly back to Georgetown.

We take a flight over uninhabited and untamed jungle, to land at a remote jungle airstrip in the heart of the Iwokrama Forest. On arrival, we take a boat to get to the foot of Turtle Mountain and follow the path winding its way up through the forest before breaking out at the summit, at 360m. The panoramic views across the jungle canopy are breath-taking and well worth the effort. With luck, we may spot a harpy eagle or a king vulture flying past. It is also a great location for observing spider monkeys play or listening to the red howler monkey's guttural roar. If any of us find this idea too strenuous, we can take a boat trip through the maze of flooded forest and oxbow pools known collectively as Stanley Lakes, searching for giant river otters and black caiman. After lunch at a nearby eco-lodge, we transfer by 4x4 vehicles through the rainforest, stopping off along the way to observe wildlife. This rough road is the only North-South connection in Guyana, eventually terminating at the Brazilian border. Traffic is very rare and as such wildlife is often seen along the roadside, including agouti, tayra, puma, tapir and black curassow. The forest here is famous for its healthy jaguar population and it is on this journey we are afforded the best chance of spotting this elusive predator. Arriving at our eco-lodge accommodation, we ascend the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, consisting of suspension bridges and platforms 30m above the ground for an intimate perspective on this elevated habitat. Our eco-lodge has open-sided communal areas which gives us an immersive rainforest backdrop for our evening time.

We welcome dawn on an early morning canopy walk. From our treetop vantage point, we watch bewildering numbers of birds rise up into the sky, commuting from their roost to their feeding areas. Spider monkeys and howler monkeys leap from branch to branch around us, crashing through the branches and leaves. By the time we have returned to the lodge for breakfast, we will be full-to-bursting with memories of exotic birds, stunning insects and playful primates.

Apart from the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway itself you can enjoy wildlife and birdwatching walks on the trails around the area. For those interested in botany many of the trails have the key tree species marked. Many bird species, stunning insects, noisy amphibians, and playful primates make the surrounding forest their home. Deer, Tapir and agouti are also regular visitors to the lodge. Serious birders will want to search the undergrowth for the rarely seen Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo.

As darkness falls on the canopy walkway, you may see the White-winged Potoo. Night walks are also possible and something interesting or new always seems to pop on to the scene including one of the six different cats to be found along the transnational road near the lodge.

We drive towards Surama, making a stop at Corkwood. Here, we visit a lek site where with luck we can observe the dazzling Guianan cock-of-the-rock mal. Surama is an indigenous settlement located on the edge of the rainforest, where it meets the savannah and foothills of the looming Pakaraima Mountains. We can observe many ancestral and traditional practices and learn how the indigenous community harness the natural resources that surround them. We receive a warm welcome at the locally run eco-lodge and stretch out our legs on a trail walk in the surrounding forest.

As the heat of afternoon sun ebbs, we take a three-mile walk across the savannah and through the rainforest to the Burro Burro River. This is the best time to observe bird and wildlife along the trail. Your guides will then paddle you on the river for opportunities to observe Giant River Otters, Tapir, Tayra, Spider Monkeys and many more species.

We return to our eco-lodge, where this evening we enjoy an educational walk to observe wildlife and experience the mystique of the forest after dark.

Rise before dawn for a walk across the savannah and then climb up Surama Mountain for incredible views across the village and savannah to the Pakaraima Mountains. This is not a technical climb but can be arduous, especially after rain, and not for everyone. Your guides will happily offer alternative activities if you prefer not to do this climb.

We transfer to the Rupununi airstrip for our scheduled flight back to Georgetown and relative civilisation. We can look down at this seemingly impenetrable and wild territory, knowing we have uncovered some of its magnificent secrets on this remarkable adventure. In the evening, we have the option of a special meal to celebrate our return from the rainforest. At the Backyard Café we can sample Chef Delven Adam's take on a Guyanese tradition: the seven curry, a staple at all Indo-Guyanese weddings and religious events. It is served in a freshly picked lotus lily leaf with rice and seven different curries. Traditionally, the curries are all vegetarian. Most commonly served are pumpkin, bagee (spinach), catahar (breadnut), potato/channa (chick peas), boulanger (eggplant), eddoe and dhal. You hold the leaf with the curries in one hand, and use your other to eat the food. Definitely a challenge to eat gracefully, but so much fun and delicious!

Transfer to Georgetown Airport for flight home.