What's on in Paramaribo, Suriname through the year

Busy — Owru Yari and the pagara, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Owru Yari and the pagara (28 Dec – 1 Jan)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Leatherback nesting

  15 Feb – 15 Aug · usuallyTurtle nesting

  Leatherbacks, greens and olive ridleys come ashore on the sandbanks at Braamspunt across the river and at Galibi on the Marowijne. Both mean a boat and a night out; April and May are the busiest weeks. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Holi Phagwa

  1–31 Mar · usuallyMajor festival

  The Hindustani spring festival is a public holiday here and the whole city joins in: powder and coloured water at the maidans and in the street, and nobody in clean clothes past midday. Source ↗

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Festival

  Avondvierdaagse

  1–30 Apr · usuallyMajor festival

  Four evenings of walking the city in matching shirts behind brass bands and sound trucks, thousands of people deep. Dates are announced each year and the route shuts streets in the centre after dark. Source ↗

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Holiday

  Keti Koti

  1 JulNational holidayClosures

  Emancipation Day on 1 July: the Bigi Spikri parade in koto dress through the centre in the morning, wreaths at the Kwakoe statue after. Offices and most shops are shut for it. Source ↗

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — Keti Koti, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually)), Keti Koti (1 Jul)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Leatherback nesting (15 Feb – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — Divali

• Holiday

  Divali

  20 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyDiwaliClosures

  Suriname is one of the few countries outside Asia where Divali is a public holiday: lamps along the houses, fireworks, and shops and offices shut for the day. It moves with the Hindu calendar, late October to mid-November. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Divali, Srefidensi

• Holiday

  Srefidensi

  25 NovNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  Independence day on 25 November closes the country and fills the Onafhankelijkheidsplein in front of the wooden palace. The diaspora flies in from the Netherlands for the week around it. Source ↗

Still on: Divali (20 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Owru Yari and the pagara, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Owru Yari and the pagara

  28 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Businesses in the shopping streets set off ribbons of firecrackers hundreds of metres long, in relay, from late morning on the 31st. By dusk the centre is smoke and ankle-deep red paper. Source ↗