Te doen in Guyana

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, and most of it is rainforest and savanna beyond a narrow, low coast. Georgetown, the capital, stands at the mouth of the Demerara River, with wide streets, a seawall, a tall white wooden cathedral and the cast-iron Stabroek Market. Canals and trees give the city a green, quiet feel.

Inland, Kaieteur Falls plunges from a sandstone plateau into a gorge, one of the world's highest single-drop falls. Further south, the Rupununi savanna, with Lethem as its main town near the Brazilian border, is cattle country with giant anteaters and, along the rivers, giant otters. The Iwokrama rainforest has a canopy walkway, and turtles nest on the north-west coast.

Pepperpot, a dark stew of meat simmered with cassareep, a sauce made from cassava, is the dish of Christmas, while curries and roti reflect the large Indo-Guyanese community. Cook-up rice, with beans and coconut milk, is a Saturday meal. Two rainy seasons, from May to August and again in December and January, are separated by drier spells.