New routes to be explored for Pakaraima Mountain Safari

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) on Friday rewarded the daring men and women who completed the 529-mile journey to the Pakaraima Mountains, between March and April. The brave safarians and sponsors of the event were presented with a certificate of participation and special awards at a ceremony over the weekend in the GTA building at the Sophia Exhibition Centre.

In attendance were Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali and Rainforest Tours Managing Director and leader of the 11th Pakaraima Mountain Safari, Frank Singh.
Prime Minister Hinds commended the safarians for impacting on the development of the North Pakaraimas, and for bridging the gap between two worlds; the coast and the hinterland.
“Let us recognise that we are accomplishing many things, we are building our country, we are developing bonds, we are developing the links, the contact between coastal and hinterland people, between people of different races, and maybe even nationality, in what we are participating in, and I think that our efforts have been very much for the best,” he said.
The annual Pakaraima Mountain Safari led to the development of trails and road links into some of the most remote areas in the Rupununi, allowing for more persons to venture into these parts.
Minister Ali told of the safari’s importance to the development of Destination Guyana. He said the safarians’ mission is integral to the development of the tourism product that the ministry is trying to create, and in fact, the safari is now a large component of the tourism product in Guyana and South America.
Minister Ali also disclosed that plans are afoot to organise the safari in a more structured way, so as to place it more in the mainstream of the country’s tourism product. In this regard, he explained that the ministry is moving feverishly towards organising a safari club in Guyana. He said this would lead to regulations being put in place for the safari, such as specific requirements for drivers involved in the journey.
Explore new routes
He said also that development of other routes for the safari is being explored and that it is important that the safarians form themselves into an organisation as it allows for synergy and linkages among the different safarian clubs in South America and the rest of the Caribbean. This will allow for the planning of activities between and among these clubs, where Guyana could be the centre, the minister said.
Among those honoured was Harripersaud Nokta, the pioneer of the Pakaraima Mountain Safari.
Nokta was presented with a handmade, handicraft plaque by Prime Minister Hinds. He also received a token from the Tourism Ministry for his tremendous work as a pioneer in the safari and also in hinterland communities.
Nokta expressed his gratitude for the award, and said the token would help him remember some of his days in the Pakaraimas.
He also expressed the hope that the event will continue to grow. Like the prime minister, he also advocated exploring new routes, and suggested going into the Deep South.
The 11th Pakaraima Mountain Safari was a 10-day trip that allowed the safarians in a convoy of 28 vehicles; 4x4s, All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), and Land Rovers to witness some of the country’s most diverse terrain – by offering them a once-in-a-lifetime adventure into the wild, over rugged parts of Guyana never before seen by many, and culminating at the Rupununi Rodeo in Lethem.