Trinidad and Tobago Guide
The north
The north of Trinidad is an eighty-odd-kilometre stretch dominated by the Northern Range, a rugged spine boasting the island's highest peaks. Trinidad's most splendid beaches line the coast to the north of the range, with the enduringly popular Maracas Bay melting into the quieter, less developed beaches of Las Cuevas, Blanchisseuse and beyond. The Arima–Blanchisseuse Road – where the bird-watcher's paradise of the Asa Wright Nature Centre can be found – cuts across the mountainous spine, connecting the coast with the Eastern Main Road, offering an amazing drive through lush rainforest.
Away from the jungle-smothered hills, along the traffic-choked Eastern Main Road (EMR), known locally as the "East– West Corridor", are some of Trinidad's most densely populated areas outside of Port of Spain. Inland of the EMR, river valleys cut into the Northern Range to a host of interior attractions such as the island's two most spectacular waterfalls, La Laja and Sombasson. The EMR ends abruptly just east of Arima, replaced by the winding minor roads spanning the weather-beaten northeast coast and tip. This wild and rugged peninsula, jutting some 20km into the Atlantic Ocean is Trinidad's best-kept secret. The populace is overwhelmingly friendly, and along the Toco coast on its northern side, leatherback turtles clamber up the wave-battered sandy beaches to lay their eggs.
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