Braamspunt

Braamspunt is a bare sandspit at the mouth of the Suriname river that the sea builds and takes away again, and between March and July leatherback and green turtles haul out on it to nest, close enough to Paramaribo that it is the easiest nesting beach in the country to reach. The spit is eroding fast and has lost much of its length in recent years. There is nothing on it.

What you actually see

• The nesting turtles - leatherbacks and greens coming ashore from March to July.
• The bare spit - sand with no vegetation and nothing built on it.
• The river mouth - the Suriname meeting the Atlantic alongside.
• The erosion - a spit visibly shorter than it was a few years ago.

When to go

March to July is the nesting season and the reason to go; nights are when the turtles come. Outside that the spit is empty. The sea is muddy brown year round.

Honest expectations

Turtle watching must follow the rules on lights and distance and there is no guarantee of a sighting on any night. There are no facilities at all and visits are overnight camping or a late boat back. Erosion has reduced the site considerably.

Nearby

Fort Nieuw Amsterdam is upstream, and Paramaribo is southwest.