Fort Nassau

Fort Nassau was founded in the 1620s on the Berbice river and was the capital of the Dutch colony of Berbice until it was burned during the uprising of 1763 and afterwards abandoned in favour of New Amsterdam. What survives is foundations, brickwork, graves and the outline of the settlement in the forest that has grown over the site. It takes a boat trip and a guide to find, and there is nothing built there now.

What you actually see

• The foundations - brick and stone remains of the fort and settlement.
• The graves - burials from the colonial period among the ruins.
• The forest - regrown woodland covering the whole site.
• The Berbice river - the river the settlement was built to command.

When to go

September to April is drier and easier for the boat trip and the walking. The wet seasons raise the river and make the ground worse. Vegetation is thickest after the rains.

Honest expectations

The site is heavily overgrown and hard to read without a guide who knows it. Boat hire from New Amsterdam is the main cost and takes about two hours each way. There are no facilities and no interpretation.

Nearby

New Amsterdam is downriver, and the Berbice runs south into the interior.