Travel across two dramatically different sides of Guyana’s Rupununi on an 8-day wildlife tour combining open savannah, community-led conservation, wilderness rivers and remote tropical rainforest.
Experience two dramatically different sides of Guyana’s Rupununi on one wildlife journey.
This Rupununi wildlife tour begins among the open savannah, wetlands and gallery forests surrounding the Makushi community of Yupukari before travelling upriver into remote tropical rainforest.
Begin at Caiman House, searching the savannah for giant anteaters, exploring wetlands and oxbow lakes, and joining community-led caiman research on the Rupununi River.
From there, travel by river towards Mapari Wilderness Camp for five nights deep in the rainforest. Days here are deliberately flexible and shaped around wildlife activity, weather and your interests.
Go birding with local guides, search for mammals, explore forest trails after dark for reptiles and amphibians, fish remote creeks, hike through the rainforest or simply slow down beside Mapari Creek.
One journey. Two completely different sides of wild Guyana.
This tour runs on request rather than on fixed departure dates. Tell us your preferred dates and group size and we’ll work with you to confirm availability and help plan your trip.
Bookings are confirmed in writing and subject to The Wild Tales Terms & Conditions.
Few wildlife tours in Guyana combine such contrasting environments in a single journey. From the open savannah and wetlands around Yupukari to the remote rainforest of Mapari, this trip brings together wildlife, community-led conservation, river travel and specialist local guiding, with enough flexibility to follow the species and experiences that interest you most.
Wildlife is at the heart of this Rupununi journey. Search the savannah for giant anteaters, join community-led caiman research after dark, travel deep into the rainforest, and explore Mapari by boat and on foot with specialist local guides.
“What I love about this journey is how quickly the Rupununi changes around you. One morning you’re crossing open savannah looking for giant anteaters; later you’re travelling upriver into dense rainforest. At Mapari, we don’t force every guest into the same programme. If you love birds, we spend more time birding. If you’re interested in snakes, fishing, mammals or longer forest walks, we shape the days around that. It’s a flexible wildlife journey and one of the best ways I know to experience just how diverse the Rupununi really is.”
Owner & Expedition Leader
From the savannahs around Yupukari to the remote rainforest at Mapari, your trip includes accommodation, meals, river and road transport, wildlife activities and specialist local guiding throughout the journey.
CAIMAN, CONSERVATION & YUPUKARI
Meet your transfer in Lethem and travel approximately two hours to Caiman House in the Makushi community of Yupukari.
After lunch, explore the village and learn about community initiatives including local conservation and craft projects.
Later, travel onto the Rupununi River to visit an oxbow lake known for giant Victoria amazonica water lilies while searching for birds, monkeys, giant river otters and other wildlife.
After dark, return to the river with Yupukari’s caiman research team. Observe their conservation work and, when conditions allow, assist as wild caiman are captured, measured, weighed, tagged and released.
Lunch and dinner included · Caiman House
GIANT ANTEATERS & JOURNEY INTO THE RAINFOREST
Start before breakfast with a 4×4 excursion across the Rupununi savannah in search of giant anteaters, burrowing owls and other grassland wildlife.
After breakfast, board the boats and begin the journey upriver towards Mapari. Watch the landscape change as open savannah and gallery forest gradually give way to increasingly remote tropical rainforest.
Arrive at Mapari Wilderness Camp during the afternoon, settle into camp and begin exploring your new surroundings.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included · Mapari Wilderness Camp
EXPLORE MAPARI WILDERNESS
The next four days are deliberately flexible.
Mapari Wilderness Camp sits beside Mapari Creek at the base of Mapari Falls, surrounded by rainforest trails and waterways. Morning, afternoon and night excursions are adapted around wildlife activity, weather and your interests.
Search for birds and mammals with specialist guides, walk forest trails, explore after dark for frogs, snakes and other nocturnal wildlife, fish remote waterways, hike to viewpoints or visit Mapari Falls for a swim.
When known Harpy Eagle sites are active, observation may also become one of the objectives of your stay.
Or simply slow down, enjoy camp and watch the rainforest around you.
Three meals daily · Mapari Wilderness Camp
ARAPAIMA & RETURN TO YUPUKARI
Enjoy a final morning in the rainforest before beginning the journey back down the Rupununi River towards Yupukari.
Conditions permitting, stop for a short forest walk to an oxbow lake known for arapaima, where these enormous freshwater fish may sometimes be seen surfacing and rolling.
Continue downriver and arrive back at Caiman House during the late afternoon.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included · Caiman House
Return to Lethem
After breakfast, depart Caiman House by road for the return journey to Lethem.
Your transfer can be coordinated around your domestic flight to Georgetown or onward travel elsewhere in the Rupununi.
The experience concludes upon arrival in Lethem.
Breakfast included
Everything you need to know before booking your adventure
Everything you need to know before booking your adventure
Everything you need to know before booking your adventure
Everything you need to know before booking your adventure
Yes. Many of our shorter and private tours can be arranged without transportation from Georgetown included.
This can be a good option if you are already travelling independently in Guyana, have your own vehicle or transportation arrangements, or simply want greater freedom when planning your journey.
In these cases, we can arrange for you to meet your guide at the community, lodge or agreed starting point rather than travelling together from Georgetown.
If you prefer us to arrange more of the journey, this can often be incorporated as well. The idea behind these tours is to give you greater flexibility in how your adventure fits into the rest of your travels in Guyana.
We have tours suitable for a very broad range of travellers, from experienced adventurers to people visiting the rainforest for the first time.
Unlike our more demanding expeditions, many of these experiences can be adjusted around your interests, available time, physical ability, and preferred level of comfort.
This doesn’t mean every tour is suitable for every person. Some still involve hiking, camping, boats, or time in remote environments. Tell us what you are looking for, and we can help you choose, or adapt, an experience that is appropriate for you.
Yes. Many of our Tours in Guyana are particularly well suited to families and private groups.
Travelling privately gives us much more flexibility to balance adventure with comfort. Depending on the family, we can adjust walking distances, activities, accommodation, camping, and the overall pace of the trip.
Children can experience the rainforest, wildlife, rivers, and indigenous communities without the family necessarily having to commit to the physical demands of one of our full expeditions.
If you are travelling with children, tell us their ages and a little about your family’s previous travel and outdoor experience. We can then help create the right balance between adventure, learning, comfort, and fun.
It varies considerably.
Some of our tours are relatively comfortable and involve short walks, boat travel, wildlife watching and stays in communities or lodges. Others can include longer hikes, jungle camping, fishing, or more physically demanding activities.
One of the advantages of our private tours is that we can often adjust the itinerary around your abilities. If you want to explore Guyana but don’t want a strenuous expedition, that does not mean you have to miss out on the interior.
Each tour explains its expected difficulty, and if you are uncertain, contact us and we can help you find an experience that matches how adventurous, or comfortable, you want your trip to be.
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Our team knows these jungles inside and out. We’re happy to help you find the perfect adventure based on your interests, fitness level, and timeframe. Every journey is unique—let’s craft yours together.
To request more information about this trip, fill in the form below and we will send you a PDF version. We look forward to hearing from you.
