This article has been migrated to:
The Town of Bartica on the Guyana, South America official website.
First Published: 12th of May, 2019 by Patrick Carpen
Last updated: December 26, 2022 at 15:46 pm
Bartica, one of Guyana’s most beautiful towns, is located in Region 7, also called the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region of Guyana, South America. where the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers merge with the Essequibo River. The population of Bartica is approximately 20,000, and the main economic activity of the residents of Bartica is gold mining.
The town of Bartica sits on the left bank of the Essequibo River at the confluence of the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers. In 2016, Bartica was officially declared a township by then President David Granger making it the official capital of Region 7.
At the time of this article, (last updated 19th of May, 2022), tourism in Bartica is believed to have excessive potential but is poorly developed or advertised.
The name “Bartica” comes from an Amerindian word meaning “red earth.” Red earth is abundant in the Bartica area, and this is what likely influenced the name.
How to Get to Bartica
From Georgetown, it is possible to get to Bartica using public transportation. First you need to take a bus going to Parika. The bus charges 500 Guyana dollars from Georgetown to Parika per person. The drive from Georgetown to Parika is approximately 30 minutes. You can get a bus from the bus park in Georgetown which is located close to the Stabroek Market, or you can get a bus from the junction near to the Demerara Harbour bridge.
The bus leaves Georgetown and crosses over the Demerara Harbour Bridge into the West Bank of Demerara. It drives a few minutes and then makes a left turn into the West Coast of Demerara. From there, it travels to the Parika Stelling.
At the Parika Stelling, there are two choices of transportation across the Essequibo River into Bartica: the big diesel-powered ferry and the small speedboats. The ferry takes approximately 4 hours to reach from the Parika stelling to Bartica and vice-versa, and it makes an average of 2 trips to per day.
The speedboat takes an average of 1 hour, 15 minutes to travel from the Parika Stelling to Bartica. There are speedboats leaving every hour of the day up to 5 pm from Parika to Bartica and vice versa.
Bartica can also be reached from the towns of Linden and Mahdia.
Where to Stay
Once you arrive in Bartica, there are some great hotels where you can spend the night. There include:
The New Modern Hotel
Balkarran’s Guest House
Zen’s Plaza
7th Avenue Hotel (Now Wei Fung Hotel)
What to Do
So what do you do once you’re in Bartica? Aside from visiting friends and relatives, and doing business, here are some fun things to do in Bartica.
Go to the beach. Yes, Bartica sports a really beautiful beach.
Go for a drive to neighboring islands.
Take a boat and visit the waterfalls.
Take a boat ride up to the “meeting of the waters” where the Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers run side by side.
