Blanche Marie Falls

Blanche Marie is a set of wide rapids and low falls where the Nickerie river drops through the forest in western Suriname, more a broad staircase of white water than a single fall, with pools between the ledges that can be swum. A simple lodge sits beside them. The district commissioner of Nickerie, Corstiaan van Drimmelen, came upon the falls in 1897 and named them after his wife. The drive out passes through the Bakhuis hills and takes several hours on unsealed road with forest on both sides the whole way.

What's there

• The wide rapids - the river dropping in a broad staircase of white water.
• The pools - basins between the ledges deep enough to swim.
• The forest drive - hours of unsealed road through the Bakhuis country.
• The lodge - the simple accommodation beside the water.

When to go

The dry seasons, February to April and August to November, are best for the road. High water in the rains makes the rapids more dramatic but the road worse. Flow drops noticeably late in the dry season.

Before you go

The road out is long, unsealed and hard on vehicles. Facilities are a basic lodge and nothing else. It is a fall in name more than in fact - the drop is modest.

Nearby

Nieuw Nickerie is north, and Kabalebo is south-west.

Key facts