Black water, white sand, and you can see your feet on the bottom.
Colakreek day trip: swimming in blackwater on white savannah sand
Minimum 4 people per departure. Fewer of you? Ask whether you can join another group on the same date.
Fifty kilometres south of Paramaribo, in the white sand of Para district, lies a creek the colour of cola: translucent red-brown from the tannins in fallen leaves, shallow and cool. You swim, you lie in a hammock, you eat a Surinamese lunch by the water, and you are back at your hotel by half four.
For Surinamese people Colakreek is the default Sunday destination, which is exactly what makes it good: at weekends it fills with families, hammocks and music. If you want quiet we go midweek. Say which you prefer when you enquire; they are two very different days.
On the way we drive through the savannah belt of Para district: white sand flats with low scrub, nothing like the rainforest people expect of Suriname. We stop briefly so you can see why the sand is white there and, as a result, why the water is black.
At the creek you swim, lie in a hammock, or walk the loop through the savannah forest. There are changing rooms and toilets. Lunch is Surinamese and included.
This is the slowest day we offer. If you are travelling with children, it is usually the one they enjoy most.
What happens on the day
Colakreek 6 stops
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08:30
Pick-up in Paramaribo.
-
09:30
Short stop in the Para savannah.
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10:15
Arrive at Colakreek. Swimming.
-
12:30
Surinamese lunch at the creek.
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13:30
Walk through the savannah forest, or a hammock.
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15:30
Back to Paramaribo, at your hotel around 16:30.
Times are indicative. Weather, traffic and how long you want to stay somewhere decide the rest.
Included
- Return transport
- Colakreek entry
- Lunch and water
- Guide in English or Dutch
Not included
- Towel
- Extra drinks
- Tips
Bring
- Swimwear and towel
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent for late afternoon
- Cash for an extra drink
This is for you if…
Families with children, and anyone who after three days of city and heat simply wants to get in the water.
Do not book this if…
Not a wildlife day: birds and maybe a caiman, but no monkeys and no sloths, go to Peperpot or Brownsberg for those. And at weekends it fills up with Surinamese families and music; if you want quiet, we have to go midweek.
What you meet along the way
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim at Colakreek?
Yes. Colakreek is blackwater: translucent red-brown from tannins in fallen leaves, not cloudy and not polluted. It is shallow, cool and has been swum in for decades. The acidity also keeps the water unusually clear.
Why is the water at Colakreek brown?
Tannins. As the leaves of the surrounding savannah forest break down they release tannic acid into the water, giving it the colour of tea or cola. The same thing happens in blackwater rivers across the Amazon basin. It is not mud, you can see your feet on the bottom.
How far is Colakreek from Paramaribo?
About 50 kilometres, in Para district near Zanderij, close to the international airport. Roughly an hour by car.
When is the best time to go to Colakreek?
Midweek for quiet, weekends if you want the Surinamese Sunday crowd. In the long rainy season (late April to early August) the water is higher and cooler, but you can swim year-round.
What if there are fewer than 4 of us?
This tour departs from 4 people, because only then are the guide and the tour costs covered. With fewer, ask whether you can join another group on the same date; we confirm per enquiry whether that works.
What do children pay?
Every child has their own seat and, on the water, their own life jacket, never a lap. Children under 3 come free, from 3 to 11 €68 per person, 20% off. Tell us the ages when you enquire; we confirm in advance whether a child seat is available.
Other tours
- Brokopondo & Brownsberg
Leave in the dark, stand at five hundred metres by ten.
€125 per person 11 hours
- Sunset and dolphins
The profosu rides the incoming tide upriver, following the shrimp.
on request
- Peperpot Nature Park
A plantation that became forest again, with flat tracks and sloths overhead.
on request
- Commewijne and dolphins
Plantation banks first, then back on the tide behind the profosu.
on request
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