1 9 9 9 - The Year of Tourism ! 
 
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VISA & CUSTOMS

Embassies and Consulates

A valid passport and a visa are required by all, except for citizens of Caricom countries and of Brazil, Chili, Costa Rica, Gambia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland.

ECONOMY

Our currency is the Surinamese guilder. Some hotels, stores and restaurants accept major credit cards, but bring cash just to be safe.
Suriname's main export products are alumina and aluminum (80%), shrimps, rice, bananas and plantains, crude oil, fish and fish products. Forestry, gold and tourism are gaining in importance.

COOKING

Our cuisine is a mixture of Indigenous, African, Asian and Western cooking. All of these have their specialties and specific flavors. Some of our dishes may be familiar, while others may be new.
Have you ever tried dishes like:
* pom - a local root baked to a delicious dish with chicken and orange juice
* peanut soup with tom-tom (plantain noodles)
* saoto - chicken soup with beansprouts, thinly sliced cole and celery, fried shoestring potatoes and a boiled egg
* her'heri which is boiled plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes and other edible tubers, together with smoked or salted fish prepared with a hot pepper sauce
* roti - a flat pancake like bread filled with chicken, stewed potatoes and vegetables
* petjil - cooked vegetables with peanut sauce
* dawet - a drink made of coconut milk and lemongrass
* samosas - deep-fried patties
* sweets like jilebi, rasgulla and barfi
* kwak - a cereal made from cassava
You can also eat meat and fish from the barbacot - the Indigenous bbq - various Indonesian and East Indian dishes, Peking and Cantonese specialties, American steaks, a French dinner or Caribbean style Creole dishes - you can easily have a different dish every meal of your stay.
We also have fresh fruit: mangos, papayas, soursop, oranges, jackfruit, west indian cherries, carambolas, passion fruit, lychee-like rambutans, pineapples, watermelons and then some more.

PARAMARIBO

click on thumbnails and links to view the full size photo's  The capital Paramaribo is the administrative and economic center. It originated in the 17th century around an old trading post and Fort Willoughby, which was renamed Fort Zeelandia after the Dutch conquered it in 1667. The Dutch made the settlement near the fort the colony's capital, calling it Nieuw Middelburg. This name for the new capital has never been accepted. The popular name for the capital is still 'foto,' derived from 'fort.' Some months later, the British took over the fort again, but under the Peace of Breda, Suriname became a Dutch colony again.
The name Paramaribo is derived from 'Paramurubo,' the name of an old Arrawak village, which means 'city of parwa blossoms.' In Paramaribo, it is evident what a melting pot Suriname's community is. The different ethnic groups live together here.
Old colonial wooden buildings dominate the city, but here we also find modern stores and office buildings, and several monuments and religious buildings.
Sights in Paramaribo include:
· The Central Market where you can find tropical fruit and vegetables galore. You will meet a cross-section of Suriname's inhabitants here.
· The Palm Garden, which is behind the Presidential Palace, and famous for its stately palmtrees.
· Waterfront / Independence Square - the center of activity during national holidays. There are also several foodstands along the Waterfront.
· Fort Zeelandia / Suriname Museum The historic Fort Zeelandia has been turned into a museum, which highlights Suriname's history and arts.
· Religious buildings All major religions are represented. The Roman Catholic Cathedral, the two Jewish synagogues and the Reformed Church are major historic buildings.

NEWS

There are 19 fm/am radiostations, 13 tv-stations, three daily newspapers, some ten magazines and two ISP's. Surinamese news from De Ware Tijd (translated in English); news broadcasts from a variety of radio and tv-stations in real-audio and video; articles from De West ; the daily newsbulletins from STVS and ATV and PIT magazine are just a click away.
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. Index
 
Introduction 
Location 
Climate 
Flora & fauna		 People & history 
Language 
Visa & customs 
Economy		 Cooking 
Paramaribo 
News  
Hotels 
Surifesta		 Touroperators 
Calendar of events 
What to bring 
What to see, what to do
 
Important addresses      The Suriname Tourism Foundation

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