Experience the best of Georgetown

Georgetown was laid out by the Dutch and British on a grid of canals and tree-lined avenues on the flat coastal plain, which lies below high-tide level and is held back by a sea wall. St George's Cathedral, a Gothic building of timber more than forty metres tall, is among the tallest wooden churches in the world. The cast-iron Stabroek Market, with its clock tower, and the Gothic fretwork of City Hall show the city's colonial layers.

The Botanical Gardens have lily ponds, tall palms and manatees in the lakes, and the Promenade Gardens give shade in the centre. Kaieteur Falls, a single drop of about 226 metres on the Potaro River in the rainforest interior, is among the highest waterfalls in the world and is reached by light aircraft from Georgetown.

Pepperpot, a rich stew of meat slow-cooked in cassareep, a sauce of boiled cassava juice, is the national dish, eaten at Christmas with bread, and curry and roti reflect Guyana's large Indian community. Black cake and Demerara rum are also local. Rain falls in two wet seasons, from May to July and from November to January.