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South of the capital

Jodensavanne

Brick ruins of a Jewish settlement in the rainforest, on the Suriname River south of Paramaribo. A UNESCO site, and a cemetery, not a viewpoint.

Brick ruins of the synagogue at Jodensavanne, set in rainforest
Photograph by Dan Sloan · CC BY-SA 2.0

The place

Jodensavanne was a Sephardic Jewish village founded in the seventeenth century, with a brick synagogue and a cemetery at Cassipora. What stands now is ruin: walls, a floor, and graves in the forest. UNESCO listed the archaeological site in 2023.

The visit is short and quiet. There is no town around it. Read the place as history and as a burial ground. The forest has grown back around the brick.

Getting there

The site is south of Paramaribo, on the Suriname River. Most visitors go as a day from the city, by road and then a short walk. Access and opening hours change. Confirm them before you leave, and do not treat a pin on a map as a public trail.

Pair it with

A quiet half day from Paramaribo, separate from a market morning or a Commewijne crossing. It pairs with the four-day city route if you still have an unhurried afternoon.

Follow it in a route: Four days in Paramaribo and Commewijne

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