Bartica
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Bartica

Bartica

Guyanese river town at the Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni confluence, gateway to mining country.

Bartica sits at the confluence of three great rivers — the Essequibo, the Mazaruni, and the Cuyuni — about 100km southwest of Georgetown. It is the main town of the interior and the traditional jumping-off point for the gold and diamond mining regions further west. As a result it has a rough, frontier quality: busy, noisy, and prosperous in a raw sort of way.

The town itself does not have much in the way of formal sights, but the river confluence where the three great rivers meet is dramatic, the surrounding area has genuine appeal for adventurous travellers, and boat trips on the Essequibo are easily arranged. The nearby Baganara Island offers a quiet escape. Access to the interior makes it worth a night or two.

Getting to Bartica requires a boat. The usual route is to take a speedboat from Georgetown's Stabroek Market stelling to Parika, then connect to a river vessel heading up the Essequibo. The journey takes several hours. Alternatively, some tours operate direct speedboats from Georgetown.

Guide

Activities

Bartica sits where the Mazaruni and Cuyuni meet the Essequibo, and everything here happens on the water. Day tours from Georgetown come up the river and take in Fort Island, Kyk-over-al and the falls; locally there are island resorts, and the working boat service that crosses the estuary all day.

If you want the river without an itinerary, the speed-boat charters are the way to do it.

Guide

Getting There

There is no road to Bartica. Getting there requires a boat.

The standard route from Georgetown: take a minibus or taxi to Parika (about 50km west of the capital), then board a river vessel — speedboat or slower ferry — for the journey up the Essequibo to Bartica. The speedboat takes about 45 minutes from Parika; the slower vessels take 2–3 hours. Services run throughout the day but are most frequent in the morning.

Alternatively, some operators run direct speedboats from Georgetown's Stabroek Market stelling. Small aircraft occasionally serve Bartica, but services are irregular and primarily serve the mining industry.

Guide

Things to Do

Bartica's appeal is mostly natural and experiential rather than sight-based. The three rivers, the boat traffic, the gold miners heading out to the interior — it is a place to feel the edge of the Guyanese wilderness rather than visit museums. Boat trips on the Essequibo are the main organised activity; beyond that, it's about absorbing the frontier atmosphere.