--- description: Find out why Caiman House is on TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places 2024. title: Caiman House: World's Greatest Places 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte16bea6464011967/698a59109862f5b7cf895f27/worlds-greatest-places-caiman-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 25, 2024 # Caiman House Yupukari, Guyana by [Terry Ward](/author/terry-ward/) ## Terry Ward Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  The Rupununi River in Guyana The Rupununi River in GuyanaDavid DiGregorio There’s increased tourism interest in Guyana, the South American nation that is more than [90% rainforest](https://rainforestfoundation.org/our-work/where-we-work/guyana/#:~:text=Guyana%20is%20one%20of%20the,area%20larger%20than%20Washington%20state. "undefined"). Intrepid travelers arrive here for incredible natural wonders like Kaieteur Falls–among the world’s largest single-drop waterfalls by volume–and astounding wildlife that includes jaguars, giant river otters, and more than 800 species of birds. United Airlines launched a new flight in April from Houston to Georgetown, easing accessibility for visitors (as well as workers in the country’s booming gas-and-oil sector). From the capital, hop a 12-seater to a remote airstrip and make the short overland trip to [Caiman House](http://caimanhouse.com/ "undefined"), a wildlife research center and lodge on the banks of the Rupununi River. The inn funnels its surplus proceeds to village, wildlife, and cultural preservation projects—with conservation initiatives charging full speed ahead thanks to increased support from Guyana’s [Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme](https://www.swm-programme.info/country-guyana "undefined"). (This includes a [research program](https://forestsnews.cifor.org/76019/turtle-conservation-in-guyanas-rupununi-spawns-awareness-for-sustainable-wildlife-management?fnl= "undefined") to reduce the loss of endemic [yellow-spotted river turtles](https://www.inewsguyana.com/amid-threats-to-their-existence-rupununi-activists-rescue-hundreds-of-yellow-spotted-river-turtles/ "undefined"), a species threatened by flooding and human consumption.) Seeing the lodge’s black caiman research first-hand is what draws most visitors to this remote locale, however, and it’s a real thrill to venture out onto the river by boat at night to watch as researchers weigh, measure, sex, tag, and release the endemic (and often feisty) reptiles, which are most active after dark. _Buy your copy of the World's Greatest Places issue_ [_here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIMEWGP24 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/"},"headline":"Caiman House","datePublished":"2024-07-25T10:46:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:32:43.797Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte16bea6464011967/698a59109862f5b7cf895f27/worlds-greatest-places-caiman-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Terry Ward","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/terry-ward/"}],"creator":"Terry Ward","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte16bea6464011967/698a59109862f5b7cf895f27/worlds-greatest-places-caiman-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/worlds-greatest-places/","name":"World's Greatest Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/","name":"Caiman House"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2024","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HlwBiNPC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-25T10:50:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HlwBiNPC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/","duration":"PT3M29S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992286/caiman-house/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```