Hiking Mount Kasikasima In Suriname: My Experience

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I simply received again from mountaineering Mount Kasikasima in Suriname! It’s a enjoyable expedition that entails flying on a little bit bush aircraft into the jungle, taking a canoe up the river, and climbing one of many decrease peaks of the mountain.

Along the way in which, you get to go to indigenous villages, sleep in hammocks, see wild animals and unique birds, go swimming and fishing within the creeks, and look out over the Amazon rainforest towards the border of Brazil.

This journey will be performed in both 5 or 8 days, and also you’re accompanied by a full crew of Amerindian boatmen, plus a cook dinner and information to handle you the entire time. I did the 5 day journey with a small group of European vacationers, and we had a good time.

In this weblog submit, I’ll share my expertise from the journey, and I’ll give some journey ideas for anybody planning to go!

My Recommended Tour Company: Orange Travel

I organized my journey by an area tour firm in Suriname referred to as Orange Travel, and I can extremely advocate them.

Even although I booked Kasikasima on quick discover, they have been very accommodating and fast to set all the things up. They’re straightforward to speak with through WhatsApp, and their reps converse good English.

They additionally helped prepare transport from my Paramaribo lodge to the native airport for our journey to Kasikasima, and the general worth matched different corporations in Suriname.

Orange Travel provides plenty of different excursions except for simply this one, so for those who’re planning a visit to Suriname, examine them out!

 

The Kasikasima Expedition: What To Expect

• Day 1: Flight To Palumeu

The journey to Kasikasima begins on the Zorg & Hoop airport in Paramaribo, the place you’ll meet any fellow vacationers becoming a member of your group and then you definitely’ll get a brief briefing about what to anticipate on the journey.

My group had a Dutch couple and a Polish couple, plus myself, and we met another enjoyable vacationers in the course of the course of the journey.

After the introductions, you’ll board a little bit bush aircraft for a 1 hour flight to Palumeu, an indigenous village with a small airstrip and lodge for vacationers.

The cabins at Palumeu Jungle Lodge are surprisingly clear and cozy, contemplating the place the place is positioned.

There are showers and flush bogs, and the bugs are principally saved at bay due to a wire display across the ceiling.

They don’t have air-con, however you normally don’t want it as a result of the jungle cools off fairly effectively at night time.

Each cabin has a balcony with views of the close by Tapanahony River, and birds go to the lodge each morning. It’s a pleasant setting.

In the night, we went on a brief stroll to the indigenous village, the place we had an opportunity to purchase crafts, study their college and church actions, and meet a number of the native individuals who would be part of us as crewmen on the upcoming boat journey.

 

• Day 2: River Journey To Kasikasima

The second day of the journey is a protracted one. You’ll spend more often than not sitting on a motorized canoe as you journey up the river to a jungle camp that’s inside mountaineering distance of Mount Kasikasima.

Along the way in which, you’ll have loads of alternatives to hop into the river and swim, which is a superb method to settle down and calm down. The swimming was truly one in all my favourite components of the entire journey.

You even have an excellent probability of seeing animals from the boat. We noticed otters, wild pigs, spider monkeys, toucans, and many macaws. On uncommon events, you may even see a tapir or jaguar for those who’re fortunate.

It’s sort of exhausting to take footage of animals from the shifting boat, however our guides have been thoughtful in stopping for us each time we noticed one thing we wished to {photograph}.

We left Palumeu at 10:30 AM and didn’t arrive on the base camp till 6:30 PM, when it was already getting darkish.

The base camp close to Kasikasima may be very primitive. It doesn’t have a lot besides a roof to hold your hammock beneath, plus an consuming desk and a small wood outhouse with a ‘bucket flush’ bathroom.

The excellent news is that it’s proper on the sting of the river and has a pleasant white sand seashore, so you’ll be able to swim and bathe there earlier than and after the hike. It’s additionally removed from any mild air pollution, so the celebs shine brilliant at night time.

After consuming a fast supper with the sunshine of our headlamps, we crawled into our hammocks in preparation for the next day’s hike, falling asleep to the sound of howler monkeys within the distance.

The hammocks are a little bit awkward at first, however all of us slept effectively as soon as we received used to them. You’ll be drained from the lengthy journey, so even a hammock feels good on the finish of the day.

 

• Day 3: Hiking Mount Kasikasima

The third day of the journey is spent mountaineering to Mount Kasikasima from the river camp. It takes all day to go there and again.

We wakened at 8 AM for a fast breakfast, after which began mountaineering at 9 AM. We skipped lunch on at the present time aside from some boiled eggs we introduced in our packs.

Kasikasima is a reasonably legit hike with thick jungle, thorns and dirt, aggressive horseflies and different bugs, and intense humidity making each step more durable.

However, for those who’re decided, you are able to do it. We had folks in our group who have been between 60-70 years previous they usually have been capable of end the hike, however they have been in fine condition and it was nonetheless fairly powerful.

After 1.5 hours of mountaineering, we had our first view of Mount Kasikasima by the bushes. It’s a formidable granite rock formation with a number of large peaks.

One factor to know is that you simply received’t be climbing to the highest of the mountain, as a result of it’s too steep and technical. No one’s ever reached the summit of Kasikasima earlier than; not even the locals!

Instead, you’ll be mountaineering to one of many center peaks that’s flatter and extra tame. Don’t fear although, it’s nonetheless an excellent problem!

At the bottom of the mountain, there’s a bunch of large boulders that serves as a pure habitat for the uncommon cock-of-the-rock birds. We noticed at the least a dozen of those birds, and their brilliant orange colours are superb.

Reaching the center peak of Mount Kasikasima took us greater than 3 hours, and going again to camp was barely shorter.

We spent an hour on the mountain resting and having fun with the views. You can look out over the untouched inexperienced cover of the Amazon rainforest, all the way in which to the border of Brazil.

It’s a terrific view! We had a robust breeze on the high and that additionally felt good after mountaineering by the jungle.

Going again is unquestionably simpler, however there’s loads of awkward footing, so watch your step.
 

Quick Stats*

• Distance: 11 kilometers (6.8 mi)
• Elevation Gain: ~800 meters (~2,625 ft)
• Duration: 5 – 9 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate / Hard

*These are roundtrip stats for the hike when ranging from the river camp

 

• Day 4: River Journey Back To Palumeu

The fourth day of the journey is generally spent on the boat once more, as you journey down the river again to Palumeu village.

Going again is barely faster as a result of it’s all downstream. We didn’t swim as a lot this time, partly as a result of we have been already sunburned.

Around lunch time, we stopped at a small fork within the river so our Amerindian boatmen might attempt to catch the large anjumara fish.

They caught virtually a dozen fish, together with a number of actually massive ones! We received to pose for some footage with them and fake it was our catch. 🙂

       

Even although these fish went to the indigenous village and never our dinner plates, it was enjoyable to see them being caught by the boatmen.

We arrived again at Palumeu at round 4:30 PM, giving us a while to relaxation and stroll round earlier than supper that night time.

Our final night time was spent within the lodge once more, which I’ll admit felt like luxurious after staying two nights within the jungle hammocks.

 

• Day 5: Flight Back To Paramaribo

For our final morning in Palumeu, we had the choice to go to the indigenous village once more, however I made a decision to relaxation on the lodge and look ahead to animals.

We had breakfast and lunch at Palumeu, after which the aircraft picked us up round midday to take us again to Paramaribo, the place we stated our goodbyes and went our separate methods.

It was a enjoyable expedition and all of us loved it!

 

Packing List

You’ll need to double examine together with your tour firm about what to convey on the journey, however listed here are a number of the most necessary issues:

• Hat. You’ll get completely roasted on the boat journey for those who don’t convey a hat that covers your face. Bring one of the best one you’ve got!
• Sunscreen. Same as above, convey sunscreen to guard your pores and skin, particularly on the boat journey.
• Swimwear. One of one of the best components of this journey is swimming within the river, so that you don’t need to miss that.
• Power Bank. This is useful for charging electronics. You received’t have any electrical energy on the river camp, and charging alternatives are fairly restricted even at Palumeu.
• Waterproof Bag. The boat will get splashed generally if you’re cruising by the rapids, so a bag is necessary to maintain your electronics secure. At the very least, it is best to have a water-proof cowl like this one to guard your bag from the rain.
• Headlight. You received’t be mountaineering at night time, however a lightweight continues to be useful for strolling round within the camp after darkish. I like this headlight from Bushnell or this one from Streamlight.
• Bug Spray. It’s a should. There are plenty of biting bugs within the jungle.
• Sandals. These are good if you’re on the boat and strolling round on the camps. The solely time you’ll really want footwear is for mountaineering to Kasikasima on the third day.
• Snacks. The meals we had at Palumeu have been nice, however the meals on the river camp have been scanty. That’s to be anticipated, after all. I feel it’s a good suggestion to convey some snacks to complement the meals, particularly if you’re mountaineering. I introduced beef jerky and electrolyte packs from the U.S. for this objective.

 

Other Tips For Kasikasima

• Cell Service. There’s some cellphone reception at Palumeu, however none after that, so that you’ll need to ship any necessary messages earlier than you go.
• Ticks. I didn’t see it talked about wherever on-line, however there are ticks at Kasikasima. I dismissed a number of in the course of the hike. Make certain you examine your legs for them throughout and after the hike, as a result of ticks can carry some nasty ailments.
• Mosquitoes. I barely noticed any mosquitoes on this journey, however your expertise might range, particularly for those who go when it’s wetter. The excellent news is that you simply’ll be sleeping within mosquito nets for the whole journey; even the hammocks have good nets round them! I by no means received a single chunk.
• Malaria: Suriname was licensed malaria-free by the WHO in June 2025. New instances might pop up every so often, so I’d nonetheless watch out to keep away from mosquito bites, however it’s not a significant concern. I didn’t take malaria tablets for this journey.

 

Best Time To Visit

The greatest time to go to Kasikasima is in the beginning of Suriname’s dry season, which runs from August to February. I went in September and that was nice. August needs to be good in my view.

If you go later within the dry season, it will get a bit more difficult to journey up and down the river due to low water ranges, forcing the crew to get out of the canoe to tug it by the dry spots.

You can nonetheless go to Kasikasima within the wet season, however the mountaineering path will probably be extra muddy and you’ve got the next probability of operating into unhealthy climate or mosquitoes.

 

Is It Worth It?

The Kasikasima expedition isn’t low-cost. As of 2025, it prices virtually $1,000 USD per individual.

Luckily, that price ticket contains virtually all the things you want for the journey: flights, boats, lodges, hammocks, meals, drinks, and a guided tour of the world. It’s a reasonably respectable worth.

I’ll say, the lengthy boat rides are sort of boring, and the seating on the canoes might be extra comfy. You’re principally sitting on exhausting wooden all day whereas roasting within the solar.

The first day on the Palumeu lodge felt a bit sluggish and pointless as effectively.

I might’ve been okay with flying to Palumeu early within the morning after which taking the boat to the river camp on the primary day, skipping a complete day at Palumeu and finishing the journey in 4 days as a substitute of 5.

People who love sluggish journey will disagree with me on that, and should even desire the 8 day choice. I feel that might be too sluggish for my tastes.

So is Kasikasima value it? Even although I loved the journey, I do assume there was some room for enchancment. I don’t have any main gripes although. It was a enjoyable journey.

Ultimately, whether or not it’s ‘worth it’ or not will rely in your funds and your personal private pursuits, however for those who’re searching for a enjoyable jungle expedition that takes you off the overwhelmed path, then I feel it’s a terrific selection.

This nook of Suriname is unquestionably not a touristy a part of the world, and it’s stuffed with good nature!
 

More South America Travel Guides

Thanks for wanting! I hope you loved studying about my expertise at Mount Kasikasima in Suriname.

Don’t neglect to take a look at my different journey guides for South America earlier than you go!