Trinidad is known as the home of Soca music. It is also known as the home of the first “modern” carnival in the Caribbean. Trinidad and its sister island Tobago have so much to offer, located at the most southern island in the Caribbean. Here are some must do’s when you plan your trip to Trinidad.
Pitch Lake – The largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad. This asphalt has paved roads and airport runways around the world including the roadway in front of Buckingham Palace in England, La Guardia Airport in New York, the Lincoln Tunnel which connects New York to New Jersey, as well as numerous roads in several countries.
Visitors can bathe in the small pools that form on it during the rainy season. They contain high levels of sulfur and villagers claim they are the fountains of life, good for curing anything from skin conditions to joint pain.
The Savannah (Queen’s Park Savannah) – The largest roundabout in the world. This is the largest open space in Port of Spain. Most importantly this is the center stage for Trinidad Carnival. Walking around the Savannah you can visit lots of great attractions of Trinidad.
The Hollows – At one time was a reservoir that supplied water to Port of Spain. It is now drained and is one of the most picturesque destinations in Port of Spain
Emperor Valley Zoo – The largest zoo in Trinidad and Tobago
Royal Botanic Gardens – There are some 700 trees of which 13% are indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago, while the others are collected from every continent of the world.
Maracas Beach – The most popular beach in Trinidad. Besides enjoying the sand and water this is the place with the best bake and shark on the island. Richard’s is at Maracas beach and it is very well known for its delicious bake and shark.
Last but not least you must eat the different foods of Trinidad.
– Doubles – A street food. It is two baras (flat fried bread) filled with curry channa (curried chickpeas)
– Pelau – A traditional rice dish. Main ingredients are meat (usually chicken or beef, rice, pigeon peas or cowpeas, coconut milk and sugar.
– Bake and Shark – A street food. Bake (fried flatbread) filled with fried pieces of shark meat and various other ingredients and sauces.
– Pholourie – A snack food. Fried, spiced dough balls that are served with a chutney.
– Aloo Pie – A fried dumpling. A soft, fried pastry made from flour ad water, and filled with boiled, spiced and mashed potatoes and other vegetables like green peas or chana dal.
– Roti – A flatbread. Roti is also eaten in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Maldives, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. It is primarily made from wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and water. The Roti is usually filled with Potatoes, meat (chicken, duck, goat, beef, conch or shrimp)
Trinidad has a lot of amazing places to see and things to do. If you get a chance you should try and take the 15-minute flight to Tobago and there is plenty to do there for a couple of days as well. Hopefully, if you ever decide to visit Trinidad these are just a few things you will do while you are there.
Dr. Renee hosts The Ask Dr. Renee Show, a weekly YouTube show to motivate and inspire viewers to “Live the life they deserve”. Dr. Renee is also the host of Out of Office with Dr. Renee which is apart of Outcome Health and seen in 45,0000+ doctors offices across the US. She is a regular correspondent for HuffPostLive.com and a regular writer for Good Enough Mother, and DiaryofaFirstTimeMom. Dr. Renee has been a contributing health writer for MadameNoire.com, BlackandMarriedwithKids.com, BlackDoctor.org, DiaryofaFirstTimemom.com and GoodEnoughMother.com. She is also a sought after speaker for various health organizations and schools. In addition to writing about health, Dr. Renee is a social media coach, conducts speaking engagements on social media, branding, motivation, and becoming an entrepreneur. Visit her at Ask Dr. Renee.