ATA's Slijterij: Roadside Rum Stop on the Wayamboweg
A no-frills Surinamese slijterij where locals grab cold Parbo and bottles of Borgoe for the road.
Why Go
Somewhere between Paramaribo and the palm-fringed resorts of the interior, the Wayamboweg unrolls like a red-dirt ribbon and every few kilometres a slijterij pops up like a rest stop for the thirsty. ATA's is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it spots: a small shopfront stacked with rum, beer, soft drinks and snacks, run by owners who've watched every 4x4, tour van and family car in Suriname roll past their door. It isn't a restaurant in the white-tablecloth sense; it's a slijterij, that very Dutch-Surinamese hybrid of liquor store and neighbourhood pit-stop where you buy your Parbo by the crate, your rum by the litre and your gossip by the minute.
The Experience
Pull up on the dusty shoulder of the Wayamboweg and you'll hear ATA's before you see it: a fridge motor humming, a radio leaking kaseko or soca, and the clink of returnable bottles being sorted out back. Step inside and the temperature drops a welcome few degrees. Shelves are stacked floor-to-ceiling with the familiar Surinamese line-up: Borgoe 8 and Black Cat rum, Parbo lagers in tall brown bottles, Guyanese El Dorado, Dutch jenever, boxed wine and the sugary mixers that make a proper Surinamese sundowner. There's usually a small counter of snacks – bags of pinda's (peanuts), pom chips, a few dusty chocolate bars – and a chest freezer humming with popsicles for the kids in the back seat. Payment is cash in SRD, service is friendly-but-brisk, and the whole transaction takes about the length of one Parbo commercial on the radio. It's the kind of place where you come in for one bottle and leave with three, a fresh pack of pinda's and a tip on where to swim further up the road.
What to Try
Grab a bottle of Borgoe 8 (Suriname's beloved aged rum, smooth enough to sip neat) or a bottle of Black Cat if you want something younger and punchier for mixing. A crate of Parbo – the national lager – is almost obligatory if you're heading to a resort with a river dock. Ask what local bitters or Marienburg overproof they have behind the counter; the 90% Marienburg is a rite of passage (and a hangover of legend). Round it out with cold Fernandes soft drinks in tropical flavours like ginger, cherry and green apple, plus a bag of pinda's or krupuk for the drive.
Insider Tip
Bring small SRD notes and, if you can, empty Parbo bottles to return – slijterijen operate on a deposit (statiegeld) system and swapping empties for full crates is much cheaper than paying the new-glass price. Also, buy your ice here in the same stop if you have a cooler in the car; once you're deeper along the Wayamboweg towards the resorts, ice suddenly becomes a very scarce commodity.
The Practical Stuff
Cash-only in Surinamese dollars (SRD) is safest – card machines at rural slijterijen are unreliable at best. Hours generally track daylight and local demand: expect to find it open from mid-morning until early evening, with shorter Sunday hours. There's rough roadside parking right in front, no seating, and no kitchen – this is a take-away liquor shop, not a bar. If you're driving on to a resort, remember Suriname has strict drink-driving laws and the Wayamboweg is dark, narrow and full of wildlife after sundown – buy for later, not for now.
Pair It With
- 101 Suites Guide — A nearby stay where a cold crate of Parbo and a bottle of Borgoe from ATA's turns a simple room into a proper Surinamese evening on the veranda.
- 597SpeedUp Watertubing Guide — Stock up on cold drinks and snacks at ATA's on the way in – you'll want something waiting in the cooler after a hot afternoon bombing down the river on an inflatable.
- Aanansi ATV Tours Guide — After a dusty ATV ride through the interior, a bottle of Borgoe 8 grabbed at ATA's is the classic Surinamese reward back at the lodge.
- 4x4xJankie Guide — If you're renting a 4x4 to explore the Wayamboweg and beyond, ATA's is a natural first-fuel-then-fun stop to load the cooler before heading deeper into Saramacca.