Atta Lodge providing immersive rainforest experience
From centre pages
and walkway are staffed with Makushi people who are known to immerse visitors in the vibrant, interactive, and authentic rainforest experience. Stabroek News was told that it is the inherited knowledge of the Makushi that forms the basis for visitors’ exposure to the cultural heritage that permeates a “pristine natural setting.” In exchange, the Atta Lodge provides employment to villagers who would otherwise have to leave their community for employment.
According to Monica McGrath, another interesting feature of the lodge is the fact that in 2017, it was converted to a solar-powered resort, making it Guyana’s only 100% solar-powered lodge.
“We basically converted to solar because we wanted to go green and then the generators keeps a noise which affected the silence of the forest. We have a back-up generator should the solar go down but we try not to use them often,” Bahadur added.
Commenting on the response over the years, Monica said, “It’s been overwhelming and I guess that’s why we got the award; we have taken all the guests’ comments and introduced new things. We think out of the box.”
Regarding future plans for Atta, Shaun McGrath said, “Atta has progressed so greatly over the last few years. A lot of time and money has been invested and my personal gamble is that they may open a similar lodge in the not so distant future.”
“Our part at Atta is getting Atta ready not for today or tomorrow but getting it ready for 18 months or two years down the road when there is going to be more people,” he added.
In the immediate future however, efforts will be made to reintroduce hammock accommodations for budget travelers and also to place some focus on building their own transportation services to allow convenience and comfort to guests.
Stabroek News understands that they would have already acquired one 14seater bus and depending on how that works, they will move to add a second bus.
For more information on the Atta Rainforest Lodge, visit their website at https://attarainforestlodge.com/