Galibi is a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, located in the

Marowijne District Marowijne () is a district of Suriname, located on the north-east coast. Marowijne's capital city is Albina, with other towns including Moengo and Wanhatti. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, the S ...

. Its population at the 2012 census was 741. Galibi is a

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

area inhabited by an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

population of

Kalina Kalina may refer to: People * Kalina people The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an Indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in ...

Amerindians. The town of Alusiaka used to be located near the banks of the

Marowijne River The Maroni () or Marowijne (; ) is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms ...

. The

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

was given 500

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s to grow

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

s; but, because of their mistreatment of the workers, the town was abandoned. In 1871 a 60-metre

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

was built near the entrance of the Marowijne; it was operated until 2012.

Christiaankondre

The village of Christiaankondre is located along the estuary of the

. Together with neighbouring Langamankondre, it is often referred to as Galibi. The village has been named after Christiaan Pané whose father founded the village in the late 17th century. The economy is based on fishing,

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

, and tourism. The village has a school, a clinic, and a little zoo. Corneliskondre is the larger of the two settlements. The village chief as of 2020 is Richardo Pané.

Langamankondre

Langamankondre is located next to Christiaankondre. The name is a mix of Dutch and

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

and means "Long man's village" because the chief was very tall. In 2016, Selowin Alamijawari was elected village chief.

Galibi Nature Reserve

The main attraction is the Galibi Nature Reserve. There is a beach at the mouth of the Marowijne River on the Atlantic Ocean. This section also has a small zoo and tourist shop. Tourists come to Galibi largely to see the Leatherback sea turtle. Its females migrate here from all over the world (including places as distant as

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, to lay their eggs in Suriname. Almost half of the known population of leatherback turtles, lay their eggs in this area. Other turtles that frequent the beach are the

Green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

, the

Olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...

, and the

Hawksbill sea turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largel ...

The area can only visited under strict supervision between February and June.

Wia Wia Nature Reserve

Founded in 1961, the Wia Wia Nature Reserve is located to the west of the Galibi Nature Reserve. It was also intended for the protection of the turtles; however, the focus has shifted to

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species, because the beach has shifted to the west. The Wia Wia Nature Reserve spans an area of 36,000 hectares.

Transport

Galibi has a small boat (''korjaal'') connection to Albina. The journey across the water takes about 1.5 hrs, and boats land near the villages of Christiaankondre and Langamankondre. There is a road connection to some parts of the resort Galibi, but not to the two main villages near the nature reserve. The residents believed that a road would have disturbed their peace and quiet.

Notable people

Sylvia Kajoeramari Sylvia Kajoeramari is a Surinamese politician. She was a member of the National Assembly (Suriname), National Assembly from 2005 to 2010, representing Marowijne District for the Pertjajah Luhur (PL) party. Biography Kajoeramari is from the v ...

, politician.

Sister cities

Koksijde Koksijde (; ; ) is a town and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flanders, Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the v ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Gallery

File:Galibi, Suriname 02.jpg File:Galibi, Suriname 01.jpg File:Galibi, Suriname 03.jpg File:Galibi, Suriname 04.jpg File:Galibi, Suriname 05.jpg File:Galibi, Suriname 06.jpg

References

External links

{{Surinamese District Marowijne Beaches of Suriname Populated coastal places in Suriname Populated places in Marowijne District Resorts of Suriname