Editorials
Georgetown Is the Only Capital in South America Built Mostly of Wood
Guyana's capital sits below sea level behind a Dutch-built sea wall, and its historic centre, including one of the tallest wooden churches ever built, is constructed largely from timber rather than stone.
Sep 26, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Georgetown sits below sea level on Guyana's Atlantic coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River, protected from the ocean by a sea wall and a network of canals and locks first dug under Dutch rule before the territory passed to Britain in the early 19th century. It remains the only capital of a mainland South American country where English is the official language, a legacy of that colonial history that still separates Georgetown's rhythms from those of its Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking neighbours.
A cathedral built from wood, not stone
St. George's Cathedral, designed by the British architect Sir Arthur Blomfield and consecrated in 1894, was built almost entirely from greenheart, a dense Guyanese hardwood resistant to rot and insects. It has long been cited as among the tallest wooden church buildings in the world, a distinction that reflects a wider pattern in Georgetown, where large stretches of the historic centre are built in timber rather than stone or brick, partly a practical response to the low-lying, waterlogged ground beneath the city.
A market with its own clock tower
Stabroek Market, a cast-iron structure imported from England and erected in the 1880s, remains Georgetown's commercial anchor, its clock tower visible above the stalls below. The market takes its name from the city's original Dutch name, Stabroek, changed to Georgetown after the British took permanent control in 1812.
A city built like a Dutch polder
Georgetown's grid of canals, several still visible running alongside its main avenues, reflects the same land-reclamation engineering the Dutch applied to their own low-lying territory at home, adapted here to protect a coastal capital that sits on land below high-tide level. The sea wall along the Atlantic front doubles as a public promenade, drawing residents out for evening walks once the day's heat breaks.
Traveller tips
- Cheddi Jagan International Airport is around 40 minutes from central Georgetown by road.
- St. George's Cathedral is a working church; visitors are welcome outside service times.
- Georgetown's timber colonial buildings are best appreciated on foot in the early morning before the coastal heat builds.
- Guyana's currency is the Guyanese dollar; card acceptance is limited outside larger hotels, so carrying some cash is worth planning for.
Where this is
Georgetown, Guyana