Tafelberg

Tafelberg is a sandstone table mountain in the middle of Suriname, the easternmost of the tepuis of the Guiana Shield, rising to around a thousand metres with cliffs around its edge and a savanna and scrub plateau on top that carries plants found nowhere else. It sits inside the Central Suriname Nature Reserve. Getting there means flying to a bush strip and walking, arranged as an expedition rather than a tour.

The landscape

• The table top - the flat plateau of savanna and scrub above the cliffs.
• The tepui form - the easternmost of the Guiana Shield table mountains.
• The endemic plants - species that grow only on this summit.
• The cliffs - the rock walls closing the plateau on all sides.

When to go

The dry seasons, February to April and August to November, are the practical windows. Cloud covers the plateau frequently. Wet season access is effectively impossible.

Practical notes

This is an expedition, not a trip: charter flight, guides, porters and full self-sufficiency arranged well in advance and rarely run. There is no infrastructure whatsoever. Cost is high and departures are few.

Nearby

Raleighvallen is north, and Julianatop is southwest.

Key facts