Leguan Island

Leguan is a low island about seventeen kilometres long in the mouth of the Essequibo, entirely flat and laid out on the Dutch pattern of dams, canals and sluices that made this coast farmable in the eighteenth century. Rice and coconut are grown, cattle graze the back dams, and the road round the island passes old sluice gates, colonial-era churches and the remains of sugar estates. There are few cars and the pace is slow.

What you actually see

• The Dutch drainage - dams, canals and sluices from the eighteenth-century layout.
• The rice and coconut - the island's working agriculture.
• The old churches - colonial-era buildings along the island road.
• The ferry crossing - the run across the Essequibo mouth from Parika.

When to go

September to April is drier and the most comfortable. The ferry runs to a limited schedule and the last boat back matters. The wet seasons make the back roads muddy.

Honest expectations

There is little in the way of visitor facilities and almost no accommodation. The ferry schedule is limited and missing the last boat means staying. Getting around the island needs a hired bicycle or a lift.

Nearby

Wakenaam is the neighbouring island, and Parika is on the mainland.