Trail Pace

Your friendly guide to outdoor activities in Trinidad and Tobago 

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Richard Baird.Baird, 55, went missing after he fell off a trail to Hollis Waterfall in Aripo last Saturday.The hike was led by Fitness Walkers.Baird's body was found around 12.15 p.m. yesterday on the right side of a ridge that leads to the Hollis Waterfall.

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By Susan Mohammed - David Seegobin, 47, of Tabaquite Road, New Grant, got into difficulties while bathing in a river

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Three hikers, including two Canadian nationals, were rescued on Saturday morning by Air Guard personnel. Trinidadian Alleyne Young and Canadians Joanna Leon and Aubrey Lamb were said to have attempted to hike from Bagatelle to Macqueripe around 7 a.m. on Friday.

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20-yr-old dies at 3 Pools, Blanchisseuse

A 20-year-old man is dead following a family outing on Sunday to the Three Pools pond in Blanchisseusse. The deceased has been identified as Devante Lalla, of Chin Chi

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Morning in the forest, Chaguaramas

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Bamboo Cathedral, Chaguaramas

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Pigeon Point Heritage Park by Jason X Photography

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The Temple in the Sea by Video Aerial & Ground Solutions

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Madamas Waterfall

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Hiking through the pines, Mt Tabor 

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Afternoon on the ridge to Mt. Tabor

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You’re stumped for choice when it comes to beaches in Tobago. A good rule of thumb: the further north you go, the quieter the beaches become. Here are our top 25, grouped by region — Crown Point and the southwest, the Leeward (Caribbean) coast, and the Windward (Atlantic) coast.

Charlotteville, Tobago. Photo by Chris Anderson

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Turure Falls

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Rampanalgas Waterfall

The following is a Field Trip Report of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club’s trip to Rampanalgas Waterfall. The trip was on 27th November, 2013 and is written by Chenille Khan. It is an excerpt from the TTFNC’s quarterly bulletin, The Field Naturalist, Issue No. 1/2013.

The usual early start on Sunday morning, at around 6:15, approximately thirteen vehicles assembled outside the south gate of UWI. Upon having a brief introduction by the leader, Dan Jaggernauth, and Selwyn’s ensuring that all participants had received a field naturalist's calendar for 2012, we departed at around 6:47 to our destination, the Balandra/ Rampanalgas Waterfall. This waterfall is a two level waterfall since it consists of both an upper pool and a lower one. At the lower level the water forms a small deep pool that is suitable for swimming, while the upper level consists of a shallower pool suitable for bathing only. 

After following Dan for about an hour and a half, we arrived at the starting point of the hike at 8:20 am. Everyone secured their vehicles on the gravel road near to an empty area of land in which there were many sheep. Dan advised the participants that the hike was not a long one and that we would be encountering a lot of different varieties of plants. While giving a briefing to the group assembled on the road, Dan pointed out to us the corn bird nest that was located on one of the adjacent trees. The occupants of these birds' nests are usually the crested oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus. 

As we began our journey to the waterfall we first encountered the Virola Surinamensis, commonly known as the wild nutmeg tree. The fruit of this tree provides a food source for the pawi bird. More familiarly known as the piping guan, Pipile pipile, the pawi is an arboreal bird that is currently one of the endangered species of birds in Trinidad. Continuing on our journey, we came across the balisier, Heliconia psittacorum. These flowers are tropical flowers and are often visited by hummingbirds. Adjacent to the heliconia were also cut logs indicating logging activity; it was, however, difficult to determine whether the logging was legal or illegal. 

 Advancing on our journey once again we discovered seaside grape tree, Coccoloba uvifera.. These are evergreen trees with very large, broad leaves whose flowers are produced in spikes; the fruit are edible in certain members of this family. Proceeding along the gravel road again, the group came across juniper trees, Genipa americana . The fruit of this tree is a berry and is rounded and brown much like the sapodilla, Manilkara zapota. These fruits are edible and they are much used to manufacture drinks, jellies, preserves and syrups when they are soft and overripe. Also found along the path was Scleria secans, also known as razor grass belonging to the Cyperaceae family. These sedges usually cut when pulled against the skin. 

Also found on the way was Desmoncus smoncus belonging to a family of climbing palms. The stems of these are used for the weaving of baskets and sieves. Near to the palm was also a bunch of Mimosa pudica also commonly called the sensitive plant. These are perennial herbs in which the compound leaves fold inwards and droop whenever they are touched or shaken. They usually reopen after a few minutes so they can continue to act as a toy for us. 

Proceeding again, our group came across a large matchwood tree, Schcfflera morototoni. We also came across a large tree with Palicourea flowers. These trees have very fine leaves and are usually used for timber. As we made our way forward again along the pathway, our group came across cocorite palm trees, Maximiliana caribaea. The fruits of these trees are very sweet and are much preferred by squirrels. 

Our group also made a wonderful discovery when we came across the mandevilla serta flower. Dan notified us that the flower was edible and insisted that I try it. Though hesitant at first, eventually I tried it eating the petal of the flower which tasted exactly like pomerac, Syzygium malaccense. These vibrant flowers are red and yellow and beautify the floor of the tree when they fall. Another amazing discovery we encountered was another variety of the heliconia flower, the Heliconia balisier. In Trinidad this flower is a political symbol; its bracts may be used for floral decorations. Our last finding before we arrived at the upper level of the Balandra/ Rampanalgas waterfall was the serrette fruit also known as the Byrsonima spicata. Serrette is in the same family as the Barbados cherry and produces a useful timber used for tanning. The serrette fruit is edible with a sweet and sour taste and can be used for making jam and jellies. 

Finally we arrived at the actual waterfall. It was a bit difficult to get to the pool as the pathway was very slippery. Dan had managed to tie a rope along the way up to the fall in order to help the participants reach the pool so that they could have enjoyed the cold, relaxing water. Most participants ventured into the pool and, in my opinion, the waterfall was amazing. It was extremely cold at first but after acclimatizing to its temperature the water was very soothing. Some of the participants also took a dive into the lower pool which was of a greater depth. After everyone relaxed and had lunch, we proceeded on our way back along the initial pathway that we had taken. After a short time we were back again on the gravel road where our vehicles were parked. After changing from our wet clothes into more comfortable ones, we all departed, going in our separate directions. I must say that it was indeed a very educational and interesting hike. Though it was short I had a lot of fun while learning about plant species. I impatiently await the upcoming hikes and I am sure all the participants feel the same way.

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Waterfalls of Blue Basin River

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Waterfalls of Saut D'eau