TREATS GALORE IN Tobago

Words Peter Ellegard F

or an island that’s smaller than the Isle of Wight – just 41km (25 miles) long by 12km (7.5 miles) at its widest point, Tobago may be tiny even by Caribbean standards – but it punches far above its weight for natural and cultural riches. This diminutive island represents less than six per cent of the total land area of the twin-island nation Trinidad and Tobago, with its larger sibling lying just off the coast of Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta some protected rainforest, it’s hardly surprising that Tobago is promoted by its tourist board as the untouched, unspoilt and undiscovered Caribbean. Affordable and laid-back, it has become a favourite with visitors seeking a quiet tropical haven. Bays of uncrowded palm-fringed beaches, from the Caribbean coast’s pristine white powder sands to the dark volcanic sands on its windward Atlantic coast, are lapped by crystal-clear

32km (20 miles) to the south. Its population is also minuscule, numbering just over 60,000 – a small fraction of Trinidad and Tobago’s total 1.5 million inhabitants. With so few inhabitants, and environmental treasures including the Western Hemisphere’s oldest waters teeming with marine life. Hotels and resorts are typically smaller than on other Caribbean islands and are mostly set around the flatter Caribbean and Atlantic south-west coastlines. They are not densely developed, so nowhere seems over-commercialised. You can also choose to stay in villas, cosy B&B guesthouses or even a treetop hotel. And its capital, Scarborough, feels more like a big village than a teeming metropolis. What really sets Tobago apart are its magnificent natural assets, both on land and below the waves. Thanks to its location, at the far end of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles archipelago, the flora and fauna of it and sister island Trinidad have more in common with that of South America than the rest of the Caribbean, and are some of the most biodiverse islands in the region. Both were attached to the South American continent by land bridges up to about one million years ago.

Glorious Greenery

The jewel in Tobago’s ecological crown is the Main Ridge Forest Preserve, which forms the mountainous backbone of the island and encompasses 3,958 hectares (9,780 acres) of tropical rainforest. It was designated in 1776 by Britain’s Parliament after an 11-year campaign by MP, writer and early environmentalist Soame Jenyns and its creation has been described as the first act in the modern global environmental movement.

In October 2020, UNESCO declared Tobago’s North-East region a biosphere reserve under its Man and Biosphere programme, the only larger UNESCO biosphere reserve in the Caribbean being on Guadeloupe. It covers an area half the size of Surrey, and spans just

Good news from Tobago

Bananaquit Vacations, Shepherd’s Inn, Native Abode, Adventure Eco Villas and Tropical Apartments are Tobago’s first Green Key award recipients, recognised for their excellence in environmental responsibility and operating sustainably.

over half of Tobago’s land mass as well as a large marine area of coral reefs and mangroves.

annually from 2003 to 2006, and receives about 15,000 eco-tourists each year.

Festivals, integral to Tobago life, include Tobago Jazz, the Tobago Heritage Festival, the Blue Food Festival and the October Carnival, introduced in 2022.

In total, 1,774 species have been recorded in its 19 habitat types and it is home to globally unique and endangered plants and animals, including such beauties as the rare white-tailed sabrewing hummingbird. Plus, 15 villages – home to about 10,000 residents – have been noted as possessing a rich historical and cultural heritage.

The rainforest provides habitats for as many as 16 species of mammals, 24 non-poisonous snake species, 16 lizards and more than 200 species of birds, making it a birdwatchers’ paradise. Among them are the orange-winged parrot, red-legged honeycreeper and the blue-backed manakin, only found on Tobago. The ridge is also home to the ocellated gecko, found nowhere else in the world.

Healing with Horses, a foundation offering rides along the beach on rescue horses initially created for children with disabilities, is now available to all ages and all abilities.

The Main Ridge Forest Reserve took home the prize for the World’s Leading Eco-Tourism Destination at the World Travel Awards

Also in 2020, three Tobago beaches received Blue Flag pilot status, making Tobago the only island in the Lesser Antilles working officially towards full Blue Flag implementation. Two of the beaches, King’s Bay and Bloody Bay, lie within the NorthEast Tobago Biosphere Reserve, the other being Mt Irvine Bay in the south-west.

Food is another highlight, with Tobago’s cuisine combining African, European, Latin American and Indian influences. Find a local restaurant or street food stall and tuck into traditional delights such as curried crab and dumplings, coocoo – a cake to have with gravy and made from cornflour, okra and coconut milk – and pelau, a one-pot Creole vegetable and meat dish.

Yet perhaps Tobago’s most prized treasure is its friendly and welcoming people, and visitors are made to feel at home everywhere they go. Take a wrong turning when you rent a car and you will soon be pointed in the right direction with a huge smile.

Exploring The Past

Tobago’s chequered history has shaped its cultural heritage. Named Tavaco by Amerindian inhabitants after a pipe they smoked tobacco in, Christopher Columbus was so struck by its beauty he called it Belaforme (beautiful in Italian) when sailing past on his 1498 expedition. Over the ensuing three centuries it changed hands 33 times – more than any other Caribbean island – as Europe’s maritime superpowers continually fought over it and brought in African slaves to work the fertile land for tobacco, sugar cane and cotton, until the slave trade ended in 1807 under British rule. Discover Tobago’s history and heritage at the Tobago Museum in Scarborough, housed in the officers’ quarters of Fort King George.