Guyana - Visit the Wai Wai
Join an exclusive expedition into the remotest reaches of the Amazon basin. Visit an isolated Amerindian community living on the frontier of the most species rich environment on the planet. Venture out into the lesser known reaches by dug out canoe as we chart new paths and discover new species.
Trip highlights
Visit a protected area so remote that several species new to science have been found on previous expeditions.
Immerse yourself in an authentic Amerindian culture and be one of the few groups of international visitors to reach the Wai Wai community.
Experience a true expedition that focuses on discovery, adventure and exploration.
Make a tangible contribution to a critically endangered ecosystem and its rare and iconic habitats by supporting indigenous groups.
Be engulfed by one the planet’s most biodiverse hotspots alongside environmental champions.
Be off-grid and self-sufficient as you help your hosts fish and forage for food.
Enjoy an exclusive and small group experience of no more than 4 guests.
Accessible only by several days on the river or by private charter, the Wai Wai community are on the frontier of one of the most isolated and pristine sections of rainforest left on planet earth. A newly established eco-tourism project, you will be one of the first groups to visit this community, understand their culture, and work with them as you explore this biodiversity hotspot.
This is a true expedition. You’ll be sleeping in hammocks, fishing for dinner, charting new pathways through the jungle, and maybe even finding species new to science. We will focus on exploration, discovery and wildlife encounters on this 21 day once-in-a-lifetime experience. With a maximum of 4 guests, we’ll have the opportunity to remain flexible and focus on individual interests and motivations throughout the expedition.
Itinerary
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![Picture out of an aeroplane. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Day 01
Arrive in Georgetown. You’ll be staying in one of the city’s best hotels. You'll have the opportunity to relax after a long journey and meet the rest of the team at dinner.
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![Rainforest, Guyana]()
Day 02
Today you’ll take a private flight deep into the jungle's interior to Gunn’s airstrip where we’ll meet the Wai Wai community for the first time, alongside your expedition team.
Here you'll settle into your home stay, meet the locals and begin exploring the surrounding area.
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![Guyana savannah]()
Days 03 - 04
You’ll spend a few days with the Wai Wai community, learning about their culture and way of life. You’ll be taught traditional hunting and fishing skills and prepare for the expedition phase of the trip.
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![Giant river otters look at the camera. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Day 05
Today we’ll launch into the expedition. We’ll depart the Wai Wai community and venture off into the unknown with our expert guides and expedition supplies. We’ll travel by dug out canoe and begin meandering through the rainforest.
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![Harpy eagles sit on a giant nest in the treetops. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Days 05 - 18
During this phase of the expedition, you’ll get a true back-to-basics experience. You’ll be sleeping in hammocks, fishing and hunting for food alongside our local guides, and identifying a huge array of species. We’ll be discovering new areas of rainforest as a team and remain flexible to accommodate everyone’s interests.
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![Amazon jungle river. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Days 19 - 20
Today you’ll return to the Wai Wai community after an incredible expedition into the rainforest. You’ll meet old friends again and have a chance to recuperate. You’ll have the opportunity to continue learning from the local community, or simple relax.
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Day 21
After a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we’ll return to Georgetown by private charter. We’ll have a final celebratory dinner together with most guests choosing to fly the following day.
What to Expect
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![Bird singing in the treetops. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Wildlife
This truly is a wildlife haven like nowhere else on the planet. Previous trips to the region have seen jaguar, ocelots, giant river otters, tapirs, as well as a huge diversity of bird life.
Specific specie sightings are never guaranteed, but you'll see a whole host of jungle wildlife here. Everyday we’ll show you everything the jungle has to offer, either by boat or hikes into the jungle. Our expert guides will identify wildlife from harpy eagles to mammals and the smallest insects as we explore.
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![Traditional building at base camp. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Accommodation
When with the Wai Wai community, you’ll be staying in basic, but comfortable home stays. You will have the privacy of your own room, but will need to share bathroom facilities.
During the expedition phase, you’ll be sleeping in hammocks under tarps. It will be a back-to-basics experience where we’ll set up and take down camps every time we move location. The degree to which you get involved with this is up to you - you’ll also have a capable team of locals to assist.
Our camp sites will be in the middle of some of the most remote and pristine jungle in the world.
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![Cooking fish over a camp fire. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Food
Our cooks are extremely well trained and cook delicious food every day. During the expedition phase we’ll also depend on food that can be foraged or caught from the jungle. Much of the protein will derive from freshly caught fish and they’ll be ample opportunity for you to get involved in this.
If you have dietary requirements, please speak to us before booking. We’re unlikely to be able to cater for vegans or vegetarians due to the remoteness of the expedition and the type of food available to us.
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![Man stands next to a plunge pool in the jungle. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon jungle.]()
Fitness
You don’t need to be exceptionally fit to enjoy our expeditions. We do ask that you are happy to walk short distances (around 2km) in humid temperatures and be able to carry a small bag with a few essentials.
You will mostly be on boats so won’t be trekking far, although we do offer optional jungle mountain treks with varying levels of difficulty for those wanting a more adventurous challenge.
Most important is a degree of mental resilience as we’ll be in remote locations with basic facilities for an extended period of time.
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![Group of men pictures by a river in the rainforest. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon rainforest.]()
Solo-travellers
Many of our guests travel with us solo and often find they meet wonderful like-minded people on our trips.
There is no single-person supplement for this trip, and we ask that solo-travellers remain flexible in case sharing is required, although this is unlikely.
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![Boats sit at the river edge. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon rainforest]()
Transport
There is no access to vehicles in the jungle, so most of our transport is carried out on motor-powered canoes. They are comfortably fitted with seating so we can silently drift down the regions beautiful rivers. We may also head into the jungle by foot for short distances, with the option for longer hikes for those who would like to.
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![Man bathes in a plunge pool. Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon rainforest]()
Hygiene
You will not have access to running water for most of the expedition. You will however have the option everyday to bathe and wash in pristine jungle rivers and crystal clear plunge pools - it’s wonderful way of getting close to the nature surrounding us.
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![Wildlife photography tours in the Amazon rainforest]()
LGBTQ+
We want everyone to enjoy our expeditions no matter who you are and how you identify yourself.
There are a number of up-to-date resources on LGBTQ+ rights and lived experiences in Guyana for information. We don’t want anyone feeling like their enjoyment will be affected by how they identify. We’d be happy to have a discussion if you have any concerns, just get in touch.
Departure Dates & Pricing
2026: 4th - 24th January
£13,500 per person
3 spaces left.
Payment in other currencies available - please contact us.
20% deposit required to secure booking. Full payment required no less than 60 days before departure. Payment by instalments available - contact us for info.
The price excludes international flights, travel insurance, personal expenses, tips for staff and any costs outside the expedition dates.
We have a maximum of 4 places available for this expedition.
Wildlife Reports
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Please note the below wildlife report is from our Mapari departure in March 2025. Our Wai Wai expedition will visit a similar geographical location and the list below can be seen as indicative of the wildlife we can see during the Wai Wai expedition.
During our 2025 departure, guests saw over 105 species, including 75 different birds. Many of the species seen are classed as endangered or critically endangered.
For bird species, you can find almost all on the list on the free app: ‘Merlin Bird ID’.
Non-bird species:
Agouti
Amazon Tree Boa
Arapaima
Black Caiman
Blue Morpho
Brown Capuchin
Capybara
Dwarf Caiman
Fer de lance
Fish-eating Bat
Gray and black four-eyed opossum
Fruit-eating Bat
Ghost Spider
Giant River Otters
Gladiator Tree Frog
Goliath Bird Eating Spider
Green Iguana
Harpy Eagle (adult and jeuvenuile)
Howler Monkey
Long-nosed River Bat
Neotropical Otter
Paca
Sipo Razor
Spectacled Caiman
Squirrel Monkey
Leptodactylus
Whip Scorpion
Wolf Spider
Worm Snake
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle
Birds:
Amazon Kingfisher
Anhinga
Band Tailed Nighthawk
Black Caracara
Black Curassow
Black Nunbird
Black Vulture
Black-collared Hawk
Black-faced Hawk
Black-necked Aracari
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
Boat-billed Heron
Bronzy Jacamar
Buffnecked Ibis
Variable Chachalaca
Neotropic Cormorant
Crested Caracara
Crested Oropendola
Crimson-crested Woodpecker
Crimson Topaz Hummingbird
Double-striped Thick-knee
Finsch's Euphonia
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Purple-throated Fruitcrow
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail
Great Black Hawk
Great Egret
Gray-winged Trumpeter
Greater Yellow-headed Vulture
Green Aracari
Green Ibis
Grey-rumped Swift
Jabiru
Great Jacamar
King Vulture
Cocoi Heron
Large-billed Tern
Lesser Kiskadee
Lesser yYellow-headed Vulture
Little Blue Heron
Long-tailed Hermit
Muscovy Duck
Osprey
Pale-vented Pigeon
Pied Plover
Pied Water-Tyrant
Spix's Guan
Buff-breasted Wren
Purple-breasted Cotinga
American Pygmy Kingfisher
Red-and-green MacawGuianan Red-Cotinga
Ringed Kingfisher
Roadside Hawk
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Scarlet Macaw
Silver-beaked Tanager
Spangled Cotinga
Spectacled owl
Spotted Sandpiper
Striated Heron
Sunbittern
Swallow-tailed Kite
Swallow-winged Puffbird
Toco Toucan
Green-backed Trogon
Turkey Vulture
White bellbird
White-collared Swift
White-tailed Hawk
White-throated Toucan
White-winged Swallow
Wood Stork
Yellow-headed Caracara
Yellow-rumped Cacique
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Pending report
Frequently Asked Questions
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For our Guyana expeditions, you’ll be able to check into your hotel by around 4pm on the first day of the expedition. We’ll aim to have dinner as a team that evening.
You can depart anytime after 10pm on the last day of the trip. However, a single night in a hotel is provided for you in Georgetown so most people will fly the following morning in case of delays.
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You will be provided with all accommodation, food and transport from dinner on the first day of the trip, until dinner on the final day. Airport transfers to and from the airport to your hotel in Georgetown are included.
Exclusions: visa costs, international flights, personal expenses like alcohol, tips for local staff, any costs outside the expedition dates.
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There is no single person supplement on our Guyana trips.
Individual bookers will have their own room in Georgetown. In our camp deep in the jungle, everyone will have their own hammock setup.
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Guyana offers free visas on arrival for most passports. However, you must check the requirements yourself before departure.
Please ensure you also check vaccination information carefully before departure as these can be subject to change.
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We advise all our guests to contact your local GP or travel health centre as vaccine requirements and malarial risk can vary over time.
On average about 50% of our guests choose to take antimalarials for the duration of the trip.
As we are not healthcare professionals, we cannot give detailed advice.
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You are required to have travel insurance covering you for the duration of the trip and for all the activities you will be undertaking. This includes trekking/hiking.
You will be asked to provide your insurance information before departure.
We strongly recommend that you take out cancellation and curtailment insurance as part of your cover as soon as you have booked one of our trips to protect against cancellations.
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Our trips are remote so we need to make sure it is appropriate for you.
Upon booking, you will receive a medical form from us which needs to be completed fully and honestly. We review all medical forms thoroughly. Please ensure you're completely honest when completing the form. It doesn't necessarily follow that you cannot join us if you have a medical issue, but it may mean adapting elements of the trip, or ensuring we have appropriate medical supplies on site.
All medical data is held confidentially.
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You can take a look at the full expedition kit list here:
www.wildexpeditions.info/guyana-kit-list
We’re always happy to provide further advice and recommendations.
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You don’t need to be super fit to join our expeditions!
Most of our transport is done by boat, so you will need to be comfortable getting in and out of a relatively low-lying seat in a canoe-style boat.
There will be optional hikes of varying lengths and challenge throughout the trip.
Due to the trip's remoteness, you will need to be free of any medical concerns that require regular medical attention.
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Tips for local staff are completely at your discretion. All our staff are paid fairly for their work. Tips are welcomed in either Guyanese Dollar or USD.
Giving tips at the end of your trip is a wonderful way of showing your gratitude for their hard work. In general $200 - $300 is appropriate to bring and will be split fairly between all involved staff.
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We have a wealth of experience photographing and filming in our destinations. We’re currently developing a blog to give advice specific to the jungle environment check back here soon for more info!
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You will be offline for the majority of the trip.
You will have wifi in your hotel in Georgetown, but it may be slow. We will have access to Starlink throughout the expedition, but its use will be restricted.
We will hold a sat phone for the duration of the expedition. This is strictly for emergency use only.
If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Enquire Now
Drop us a line, we’re happy to answer any questions you have.