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Undisturbed wilderness, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and a colorful cultural palette are the attachments that go with Suriname, the self-professed "beating heart" of the Amazon.

Even though it is the smallest sovereign state in South America in terms of area and population, Suriname stands out from the rest of the pack for being the only Dutch-speaking country in the Spanish-tongued continent, the only one with a predominantly Islamic population among a predominantly Catholic region, and one of the few countries in the world where almost all ecosystems have been declared a wildlife reserve.

Before Suriname acquired its present uniqueness, however, the country had a long history of slavery. When the Dutch arrived here in the 17th century, they came with African slaves who were whipped to work on their plantations. Some slaves managed to escape and built independent tribes collectively known as the Maroons. When slavery in the country ended in 1873, the Dutch brought in laborers from Indonesia, India, China and the Middle East.

Because of this peculiar history, Suriname is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the world. The country's center, Paramaribo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 for its "gradual fusion of European architecture and construction techniques with indigenous South American materials and crafts." The country has places of worship for Muslims, Jews and Christians. The feasts of the different religions are national events. Food and drinks have links to Chinese, Javanese, Creole, or East-Indian culinary tradition.

National parks and lakes make up 12 per cent of the land. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve protects some of the most isolated, ancient, and pristine wilderness on Earth, including the massive, two-billion-year-old geological formations of the Guayana Shield. The Raleighvallen Nature Reserve is home to Amerindian and Maroon tribes who offer guided tours to the magnificent Raleigh Falls and rapids. The Galibi Nature Reserve is a world-renowned nesting site for endangered sea turtles, while the flora-and-fauna haven of the Brownsberg, overlooking the Brokopondo Reservoir, one of the world's largest manmade lakes, is ideal for swimming and picnic.

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