Commewijne
Suriname · 3 m
Description
Commewijne lies across the river from the capital and was the plantation district, where sugar, coffee and cacao were grown by enslaved Africans and later by indentured labourers brought from Java and India. Their descendants still farm the polders. The land is flat and the dykes are surfaced, which makes it the one part of Suriname best seen from a bicycle. Fort Nieuw Amsterdam sits at the confluence as an open-air museum of the colonial defences. Frederiksdorp has been restored as a plantation you can sleep in. The Marienburg sugar factory stopped work in 1986 and its machinery still stands.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: February – April or September – November
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Fort Nieuw Amsterdam open-air museum
- Cycling the plantation dykes
- Frederiksdorp restored plantation
- River crossing from Paramaribo
- Mariënburg sugar factory ruins
- Peperpot Nature Park
- Dolphins at the Suriname river mouth
- Javanese village of Mariënburg
- Birdwatching in the polders
Getting there
- Nearest airports:
- PBM
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry