ASA WRIGHT CENTER

The Asa Wright Center is a must for all nature lovers visiting Trinidad. Overlooking the valley, the site extends over the 78 hectares of what was once a cocoa, coffee and citrus orange plantation, the Springhill Plantation. Today, the Asa Wright Center is an emblematic site that embodies the island's commitment to preserving its primary forest and illustrates a new development model based on the resources of ecotourism. Profits generated by the center's tourism activity are reinvested in the purchase of new land to expand the estate, in training programs for new guides and in the publication of naturalist works on the flora and fauna of Trinidad & Tobago. The flora and fauna that can be observed here provide a good overview of the ecological riches of northern Trinidad. Every morning, from the veranda, you can see over twenty different species of birds (hummingbirds, jacamars...) pecking at the fruit left for them. The surrounding trees serve as perches for a host of toucans, and a few caves are home to a vast colony of oilbirds, the famous cave-dwelling birds that Amerindians hunted for their fat. Guided walks with commentary by the center's guides take you into the forest and give you access to the natural environment and its different biotopes, and it's not uncommon to come across an agouti as you pass by.