Discover Trinidad & Tobago Travel Guide 2019 (issue #30)

Eco adventure
with Courtenay
QA &
courtenay
“Bushman” & eco-tour operator
What makes the island special?
What are the must-visit
local sites?
RAPSO IMAGING
We were connected to South America,
so you’re really getting South
American flora and fauna on a Caribbean
island with a rich culture. When I hike
in Suriname or Brazil or go birdwatching, it is
more familiar to me than if I do that in Dominica
or Barbados. From an eco-tourism point of view,
you can’t get better than that.
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Ruby topaz hummingbird
discovertnt.com
If you’re doing bird-watching, then the Asa
Wright Nature Centre, Yerette, and Caroni Bird
Sanctuary are a must. You can build your itinerary
around those three.
If you’re a general naturalist and nature
lover, then I’d time the visit around the nesting
of the leatherback turtles (March–September),
because that really is an opportunity of a lifetime.
There’s also a supporting cast with things
like the Tamana Caves with the tens of
thousands of bats — that really is amazing.
Then you can see the red howler
monkeys in places like Nariva Swamp,
where the atmosphere is pretty awesome.
Then there are several hikes you
can do — places like Guanapo Gorge,
going up El Tucuche, a trip down Chaguaramas
for the Gasparee Caves are
some of the best eco adventure things.
And for me, within eco-tourism,
no trip to Trinidad or Tobago, whatever
you’re doing, is complete without a genuine
cultural interaction … really getting
some true Tobago blue food, a proper
buss-up-shut or roti, sitting down with
Trinidadians. Because you can get
other places that are amazing — other
amazing birding lodges, other Guanapo
Gorges, caves with millions of bats …
The real thing that separates Trinidad
is getting all of them in such a compact
area, and tying it in with the culture
makes it a really special experience.