Published: 18th of December, 2025 by Patrick Carpen
Last updated: March 21, 2026 at 7:12 am
The Iwokrama Forest Reserve is home to the Atta Rainforest Lodge
Rainforests are sometimes called the beating heart of the earth. They store carbon, produce water, and regulate climate while hosting incredible biodiversity. For this reason, preserving our rainforests is a noble human duty on which world leaders have placed tremendous emphasis. The Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve, located in the heart our country, is Guyana doing its part.
The Iwokrama Forest Reserve is one of Guyana’s most important contributions to the world which demonstrates the resolve of the people of Guyana to protect the natural environment. The protected area covers about 371,000 hectares (roughly 3,710 square kilometers). The Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve is located in the very center of Guyana, or in the heart of the country, as you can see on the picture above.
The Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation (IIC)
The IIC is an international not-for-profit organisation, governed by an International Board of Trustees and managed by a professional team of around seventy permanent staff in Georgetown and at the Iwokrama River Lodge and Research Centre at Kurupukari. The IIC’s Patron is HRH King Charles III.
The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) was established in 1996 under a joint mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest, “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic, and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general.”
The Iwokrama forest and its research centre are unique, providing a dedicated site in which to test the concept of a truly sustainable forest – where conservation, environmental balance and economic use can be mutually reinforcing. Drawing on its earlier work in sustainable forest management, the IIC is now, in close collaboration with the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth and other international partners including the UK company Canopy Capital, developing a new approach to enable countries with rainforests to earn significant income from eco-system services and creative conservation practice.
About Iwokrama
Dedicated as a place for research “to develop, demonstrate, and make available to Guyana and the international community systems, methods and techniques for the sustainable management and utilisation of the multiple resources of the Tropical Forest and the conservation of biological diversity”, the Iwokrama rainforest is located in the geographical heart of Guyana. It comprises 371,000 hectares of forest (1.6% of Guyana’s landmass and 2% of Guyana forests).
The Iwokrama Centre was established in 1996 to manage the forest area, following signature the year before of an international agreement between the Guyana Government and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Enshrined in an Act of the Guyana Parliament, the agreement gave the Centre the mandate to “promote the conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tropical rainforests in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general”. In short, the Centre has the task to test the proposition that conservation, environmental balance and sustainable economic activity are mutually reinforcing – that it is possible to use a forest without losing it.
The rainforest is equally divided (for experimental purposes) into a wilderness preserve and a sustainable utilisation area. There have been for the last 12 years intensive baseline studies of the forest and the development of models for sustainable forest management in close co-operation with the local communities. The first 5 years of the Centre’s closely supervised and scientifically based sustainable timber operation came to an end early in 2012 and the Centre is now exploring a second phase operation.
The Atta Rainforest Lodge
Surrounded by rich, green rainforest in the geographical centre of Guyana is Atta Rainforest Lodge in the Iwokrama Forest Reserve. “Atta” is a Makushi word meaning “hammock.” In this context, the Atta Rainforest Lodge started as a hammock lodge in the year 2005 but has evolved to eight beautiful cabins with plans for expansion.
The Atta Lodge cabins are beautiful, clean, spacious, and modest. Each cabin is self-contained and outfitted with a fan. Since the temperature is beautiful in this part of the country, there is no need for air conditioning, and even the fans are rarely needed. Temperature here average 20 degrees Celsius year-round with rare drops and spikes.
Nature enthusiasts, birders, biologists, professors, students, and people looking for a peaceful nature retreat visit the Atta Rainforest Lodge year-round.
The Iwokrama Canopy Walkway
The Iwokrama Canopy Walkway is one of Guyana’s greatest ecotourism products which welcome hundreds of visitors each month. Launched in the year 2002, the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway is accessed via a walkway leading out from the Atta Rainforest Lodge compound. The Canopy Walkway gives you a splendid opportunity to stand 100 feet above ground in the heart of the rainforest. There, you will have the chance to spot the forest animals in their element and hear the magical sound of the rainforests.
Along the way to the Canopy Walkway, the skilled tour guides attached to the Atta Rainforest Lodge will share their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area. Climbing up the 200 steps to the Canopy Walkway may test you physically. You’ll have to walk about 500 meters and up a gradient of about 200 steps, but the view from the top is definitely worth it!
