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Wildlife Safaris in Arima Valley
A steep, forested valley in Trinidad's Northern Range above the town of Arima, cloaked in tropical rainforest and threaded by mountain streams. It is best known as the home of the Asa Wright Nature Centre, a former cocoa and coffee estate turned nature reserve whose veranda and trails are among the most famous birdwatching sites in the Neotropics.
Why here
Because Trinidad sits on the continental shelf of South America, it has the bird diversity of the mainland, well over 400 species, without the mainland's scale, and the Arima Valley concentrates that richness in one accessible place. The heart of it is the Asa Wright Nature Centre, a former cocoa and coffee plantation in the Northern Range rainforest that has been a reserve since the 1960s. The signature experience is deceptively simple: you sit on the centre's open veranda above the forest with a rum punch and watch a stream of birds work the feeders a few feet away, hummingbirds including the tiny tufted coquette, purple and green honeycreepers, tanagers, motmots, woodpeckers and the extraordinary calling bearded bellbird. Trails from the estate lead deeper into the forest and, most famously, to a cave with a breeding colony of the oilbird, a nocturnal fruit-eater that navigates by echolocation and is one of the very few accessible colonies anywhere. For a birder it is a bucket-list veranda; for anyone else it is the easiest possible immersion in a living rainforest.
Best months
Birding is good year round, but the dry season from about January to May brings more comfortable trails and steady feeder activity, and early morning is the most active time on the veranda. Access to the oilbird colony is by guided walk only and may be limited, so check ahead. The valley is warm and humid rainforest rather than high mountain, so no altitude concerns, but expect rain, mud on the trails and mosquitoes; bring binoculars, insect cover and shoes with grip.
Getting there & around
The Arima Valley climbs north from the town of Arima into the Northern Range, and the Asa Wright Nature Centre is reached up a narrow, winding estate road off the Blanchisseuse Road, roughly an hour and a half from Port of Spain by car. Day visitors come for the veranda, a guided trail walk and lunch; staying at the on-site lodge puts you on the veranda at dawn and dusk when the forest is busiest. A car or arranged transfer is the practical way in.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Asa Wright Nature Centre
Retreat centerThe Asa Wright Nature Centre is a non-profit land trust in Trinidad's Arima Valley, a former cocoa and coffee estate opened to the public in 1967. Its veranda, set over feeders in the forest canopy, is a celebrated place to watch hummingbirds, honeycreepers, tanagers and the bearded bellbird up close, and guided trails lead to a breeding colony of the rare nocturnal oilbird, one of the few accessible anywhere. It offers day visits and lodge stays, now run with HADCO Experiences.