Old gravestones
Carved stone.
Dan Sloan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Grijz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Dan Sloan — CC BY-SA 2.0
Jodensavanne, the Jewish Savanna, is the ruin of an old settlement on the bank of the Suriname River in the forest south of Paramaribo. Sandy ground among tall trees, cemeteries with old stone gravestones and the brick remains of a synagogue fill it, and it has been a World Heritage Site since September 2023 together with the nearby Cassipora cemetery. The English allowed Sephardi Jews from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle here in 1639, and a group fleeing persecution in Brazil arrived in the 1660s. It became the centre of Jewish life in the colony, with sugar plantations around it worked by enslaved Africans. Around 1700 it had about 500 plantation owners and 9,000 enslaved people. Its people later moved gradually to Paramaribo. You walk the paths among the trees, seeing old carved gravestones, a separate cemetery for free people of African descent and panels telling the site's history. The brick synagogue ruins stand at the centre. The place is quiet in the forest. The site is about 48 km in a straight line south of Paramaribo, on a long road. A small fee may be asked. The forest has mosquitoes, so bring repellent. The cemeteries deserve respect, so do not sit on the stones.
Carved stone.
Brick at the centre.
Quiet by the river.
On the Suriname River, Para District, south of Paramaribo
About 48 km in a straight line south.
Mosquito repellent and water.