Bigi Pan, Suriname: The Lagoon Where the Ibis Come In
A vast brackish wetland in the north-west, with lodges on stilts and scarlet birds at dusk.
Why Go
Bigi Pan is an enormous shallow brackish lagoon behind the mangrove coast of north-western Suriname, north of Nieuw Nickerie. Its name is Sranan Tongo for exactly what it is — big pan — and it is a protected multiple-use management area covering a great deal of water, mudflat and mangrove. It is the country's best birdwatching by a distance, and its signature moment is the evening flight, when scarlet ibis come in to roost in numbers that turn the mangrove red.
The Experience
You reach it by boat through channels cut in the mangrove, and the lagoon opens out flat and shallow with low green islands scattered across it. Wooden lodges stand on stilts over the water, reached only by boat, with basic rooms and a deck that is essentially the whole attraction. The bird list is long and constantly visible: scarlet ibis above all, but also flamingos, roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets, terns and huge numbers of migratory shorebirds using the Guianas coast as a staging ground. Fishing boats work the lagoon. The light at either end of the day over open shallow water is the reason photographers make the effort, and the silence between boat engines is complete. The wetland also has a working life. Fishing families use the lagoon, and the multiple-use designation is a deliberate compromise between that and the birds rather than a fence around a nature reserve. The stilt lodges sit inside a system people depend on, which is more interesting than a protected emptiness would be.
What to Try
Stay overnight in one of the stilt lodges — this is the whole recommendation and everything else follows from it. The ibis flight is at dusk and the birds leave again at first light, so a day trip shows you an empty hot lagoon. Go out in a small boat in the last hour of light with a guide who knows which mangrove stands are being used, because the roosts move. Fish if that appeals; the lagoon supports it. In the morning, work the mudflats for waders. Combine it with Nieuw Nickerie for the food and the rice country, since you pass through the district to get here anyway. Bring a scope or the best binoculars you own. Distances over open water are deceptive and much of what is out on the flats is too far for the naked eye to resolve into anything.
Insider Tip
Book the lodge and the boat together and well ahead. The lodges are small, they are only reachable by arrangement, and the departure points are outside Nieuw Nickerie rather than in it — travellers who arrive in Nickerie planning to sort out Bigi Pan that afternoon reliably lose a day. Bring serious insect protection and long sleeves for dusk, because the hour when the birds arrive is the hour the mosquitoes do. And bring cash: nothing out on the water takes a card. And go in the dry months if the birds are the point. April to August the lagoon rises, the roosting mangrove shifts and the boats work harder for less — the drier stretch either side is when the flats concentrate the waders.
The Practical Stuff
Bigi Pan is a protected multiple-use management area in Nickerie District, north of Nieuw Nickerie, which is four to five hours west of Paramaribo by road or a short domestic flight. Access is by boat through mangrove channels from landings outside the town, arranged with the lodges or an operator. Accommodation is basic wooden lodges built on stilts over the water, with limited power and no shops; book ahead. Bring cash in Surinamese dollars, strong insect repellent, sun protection and binoculars. Dutch is official and Sranan Tongo universal. Yellow fever vaccination is commonly required for entry. Rain is heaviest roughly April to August.
Common Questions
What is Bigi Pan?
A vast shallow brackish lagoon behind the mangrove coast of north-western Suriname, protected as a multiple-use management area and the country's best birdwatching site.
What birds are there?
Scarlet ibis above all, plus flamingos, roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets, terns and large numbers of migratory shorebirds using the Guianas coast as a staging ground.
Do you have to stay overnight?
In practice yes. The ibis come in at dusk and leave at first light, so a day trip delivers a hot empty lagoon and none of the reason for coming.
Where do you stay?
In basic wooden lodges built on stilts over the water, reachable only by boat and bookable in advance. Power is limited and there are no shops.
How do you get there?
By boat through mangrove channels from landings outside Nieuw Nickerie, which is four to five hours west of Paramaribo by road or a short domestic flight.
What should you bring?
Cash, strong insect repellent, long sleeves for dusk, sun protection and binoculars. The hour the birds arrive is also the hour the mosquitoes do.
Pair It With
- Evening ibis flight — The reason the overnight is non-negotiable.
- Bigi Pan stilt lodges — A deck over open water at first light.
- Nieuw Nickerie — Food and rice country on the way through.
