Latest update September 24th, 2026 10:31 AM
Mangrove Visitor Centre attracts 200 visitors per month
Nature trips in Guyana can take days, but since June 2011 when the mangrove visitor centre and reserve was commissioned there is now a half-day tour of several East Coast villages where visitors encounter Guyanese heritage, a thriving mangrove forest, a wetland teeming with fish and birdlife, and a towering sugar estate house.
They are usually escorted by the village people.
The tours run seven days a week in the daytime from 7am to 6pm . After a mere twenty minutes drive from Georgetown the visitor is greeted at the entrance of the Golden Grove community by a Welcome to the Golden Grove to Belfield Mangrove Reserve billboard which is hard to miss! 
Guyana is known for its rambling wooden structures, with the graceful and distinctive Demerara shutters as is showcased by the mangrove visitor center which is located in the Village of Cove and John. Dominating five acres of land covered with the biggest mango trees you’ve ever seen in the midst of a herbal garden, the house reflects an early grandeur in its hewn greenheart beams, pine floors and antique cast iron pillars.
Supporting the building’s front gallery are pillars made from bricks brought to Guyana as ballast for sailing ships in colonial days. The estate house now serves as the Visitor Centre for the Mangrove Reserve, with displays telling the mangrove story in detail and a beautifully hand painted mural of the coastline depicting the coastal forests and rich birdlife found there.
The Victoria Women’s Group offers mangrove honey, breadfruit chips, packaged tamarind balls and spicy pepper sauces attractively packaged and reasonably priced at the centre. These homegrown village products are free of preservatives and full of natural flavour. The group’s artisans also make hand-woven place mats and coasters from East Coast sawgrass.
Moving on to Victoria Village, the first village bought by former slaves following Emancipation in 1838, one can pause at the original hut where slaves collected their weekly pay packages. It’s now a busy village shop, and vendors outside offer fresh coconut water.
The tour turns briefly toward the sea, and then curves westward where one can catch sight of one of the many kokers (a Dutch word meaning “sluice”) that dot the Guyana landscape. Shortly after, on the left, are the beautiful temples of the local ashram where Hindu followers come to worship.
You are now in the heart of the Golden Grove/ Belfield Mangrove Reserve – the first community-owned and managed mangrove reserve in Guyana where within the first hundred steps you come across four species of mangroves.
A wide wetland area teeming with scarlet ibis, snowy egrets and pelicans; it has become a popular bird-watching stop and if you’re in luck, you will see local fishermen beating the water to chase the fish into their nets.
Along the trail in this area, tour guides point out the array of medicinal plants, used by Guyanese for generations. Growing wild along the path are “black sage” – a brew from the leaves helps to combat hypertension and diabetes, and the rigid stems of the plant make a toothbrush substitute.
Carlotta De Jesus, the village beekeeper, has her hives on an island in the middle of the wetland and the nectar from the black mangrove blossom produces delectable golden-coloured honey which you can purchase at the centre.
As the tour winds back to the Visitor Centre, a stop at Ingrid’s roadside stand for some local snacks and Guyana’s legendary fresh cane juice is a must.
The Mangrove Action Committee (MAC) is proud to announce that since its opening in June 2011 the visitor center and reserve have now surpassed 200 visitors per month.
Tours are conducted by five fully trained local tour guides from the communities. The centre is also becoming a fixture on the calendar of the many organizations that host annual events. Last week the centre hosted the 10 delegates from the Amerindian Heritage Beauty Pageant.
And yesterday, about 85 persons from the Guyana Fashion Weekend visited the center where they were given a presentation on the Guyana mangrove restoration project which was followed by a tour of the reserve.
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