The Amazon Rainforest

Rainforest cloaks over ninety percent of French Guiana, making it one of the most densely forested and least-populated lands on earth, and a magnificent slice of the great Amazonian wilderness. Beyond the coastal strip stretches an immense, roadless expanse of pristine tropical jungle, threaded by winding rivers and home to an extraordinary wealth of wildlife: jaguars, tapirs, giant otters, monkeys, sloths, brilliant macaws and morpho butterflies, and countless plants. Much of it is protected within one of the largest national parks in the European Union. Explored by dugout canoe, river lodge and forest trail with local and Amerindian guides, this vast, teeming and beautifully preserved rainforest offers a profound immersion in the living heart of the Amazon.

The landscape

• The pristine jungle - the vast, roadless Amazonian forest.
• The wildlife - the jaguars, monkeys, macaws and giant otters.
• The rivers - the winding waterways explored by canoe.
• The forest lodges - the immersive river and jungle stays.

When to go

July to November, the drier season, is generally the best time for forest travel and wildlife watching, when rivers are more manageable and trails firmer; the equatorial rainforest is warm, humid and green year-round. Guided expeditions by river are the way to experience the interior.

Practical notes

The interior is genuinely wild and roadless, reached only by river and guided expeditions with basic lodges, so exploring it is an adventure requiring time, planning and tolerance of heat, humidity and insects. As a vast, pristine and teeming slice of the Amazon rainforest, one of the wildest and best-preserved on earth, though, French Guiana's jungle offers a profound and unforgettable immersion in nature.

Nearby

The capital Cayenne and the rivers of the interior are the gateways.