What do you think of when you hear Trinidad?
Temple in the Sea
Maybe not Hindu temples… but Carnival perhaps? Or steel drums?
We are at the end of a nice long trip in the northern parts of South America, and have 3 days in Trinidad. We plan to explore a little, but mostly do nothing much.
We wander around Port of Spain, we head out to Chaguanas to see a temple by the sea and a 26-metre-tall statue of Hanuman, we drive east out to Matura Beach to see leatherback turtles (or hoping to, at least), we check out a bit of the capital’s restaurant and bar scene, and we do a whole lot of lazing around.
Arriving from Guyana, I spot this banner at Piarco International Airport, almost like a follow-up to the delightfully quirky Roy Geddes Steel Pan Museum in Georgetown. Here is the story of the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century, Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument.
It appears we have arrived at the home of the steel drum.
But let’s get on with Port of Spain..
Things to see in Port of Spain
Independence Square
On Independence Square, you can see the former Parliament building, the Supreme Court, the imposing Central Bank building, as well as the historic Woodford Square, scene of political and religious gatherings, craft markets, entertainment, and more. Lively shopping streets surround the square.
Brian Lara Promenade…
…is integrated into Independence Square. It reminds me of La Rambla in Barcelona, on a much smaller and quieter scale, but still. Come for the free outdoor concerts, film festivals, craft shows, etc.
Easy Friday afternoon on the Brian Lara Promenade
Queen’s Park Savannah
This 110-hectare (272 acres) green space has interesting shops and street vendors selling local snacks, and a grandstand. It is surrounded by unusual colonial mansions.
Queen’s Park Savannah is locally known as the world’s largest roundabout
As we pass through, a man is setting up for the afternoon’s rugby match. Police on horses saunter through.
Mounties in Queen’s Park Savannah
Magnificent Seven
Along the park are 7 grand historical mansions, with turrets and all kinds of deliciously over-the-top features. They are designed in different styles – French Colonial, Scottish Baronial, Indian Empire, Moorish Mediterranean, German Renaissance, you name it – all with a Caribbean twist.
Aren’t they fab? I could live in any one of them.
Royal Botanical Gardens and President’s House
Head north of Queens Park Savannah and you’ll find yourself in a botanical garden from 1818, the oldest in the world. A peaceful oasis. Alongside is the President’s House. It takes a little work to find this Victorian building; have to step through brush to get a photo through a partially broken fence.
Hinduism in Trinidad
Paschim Kaashi is the main mandir (temple) in Port of Spain
With almost 20% of the population identifying as Hindu, it is the second largest religion in Trinidad. Ca. 300 temples are sprinkled around the island.
The Birthplace of Calypso, Soca and Steel pan
Live music is everywhere in Trinidad. No wonder, this is the birthplace of several music genres, after all. Steel pan, of course. But also Calypso, all about storytelling through rhyme and rhythm. And high-energy Soca is the dance of the Carnival.
Steel pans in the wild in Port of Spain
Chaguanas
Chaguanas is a somewhat hectic town ca. 40 min south of Port of Spain. We wander through the bazaar street and the food market which is, well, nothing special. Perhaps we’re just marketed out…
But go a further 12 km from Chaguanas, out to Waterloo, and you can see the Temple in the Sea, a unique structure, built by one man, an indented labourer named Siewdass Sadhu. It took him 25 years.
Sadhu was nothing if not dedicated. He was not allowed to build a mandir on land, so the sea it was. He used buckets of cement and stones, and finalised his creation in 1952. The mandir is certainly a testament to resilience and determination, not to mention freedom of religion, and is a sacred space for Hindu worship.
Next to the temple is Waterloo cremation site, one of the few open-air Hindu cremation grounds here in Trinidad.
A short drive further, inside this gate…
is the Divali Nagar site…
…with a 26-metre tall statue of the half-human, half-monkey Hindu deity Hanuman, the highest Hanuman statue outside India.
On the fence in front of Hanuman, is a sign with quotes from Sadguru Sri Swamiji, a spiritual leader, mystic, healer and musician from India:
Much common sense here
From temples to turtles
Wondering about the name? They have tough rubbery skin like leather, but no hard shell or scales, which makes them very vulnerable.
Trinidad is one of the most important nesting grounds in the Western hemisphere for these beauties. Between March and July, thousands of female leatherbacks come ashore at Matura and Grand Riviere on the east side of the island, to lay their eggs.
They are incredible swimmers, migrating more than 16,000 km per year between the nesting and feeding grounds. Turtles from Trinidad have been found in Canada. After long migrations, they return to the beach where they were born, to lay eggs. That’s some serious navigational skill!
The population is sadly declining, and they are at risk of extinction. Threats come from a number of predators; humans are probably the worst. As if being hunted and getting caught in fishing nets isn’t bad enough, there’s plastic in the ocean. This is especially harmful for turtles, since plastic bags and the like look a lot like jellyfish, their primary food. Eating plastic is bad for everyone but especially for them, because 1. it blocks their digestive system, which often leads to them starving to death, 2. they can get entangled in floating plastic and drown, and 3. plastic and debris on the beach make it difficult for hatchlings to reach the ocean.
Turtle watching in Trinidad
Want to see turtles nesting? Here are the do’s and don’ts. First, you need a permit. We got ours at the Forestry Division office in Port of Spain (TTD 5).
You are not allowed to go to a nesting beach alone, and you must have a tour guide with you at all times, to ensure minimal disturbance to the turtles.
The guided tours are at night, when the turtles come out of the water. So we set off for a night-time drive across the island to Matura, hoping to see these gentle, gorgeous animals.
Guides go out on the beach in advance, to spot turtles. When (if) they find one, they come back and get you. Don’t make loud noises, and no flashlights or flash photography. Keep a safe distance from the laying turtle. No up-close selfies with turtles, and absolutely do not try to sit on one, or let a child. They don’t have hard shells, remember, so that will break their bones. Do not pick up hatchlings unless the guide allows, and do not hinder their progress to the sea.
This particular night, no turtles appear. It’s the tail end of the season, so not unexpected.
However, we do see babies, hatched the day before – a whole lot of them, about to be let out at sea. Our guide says only 1 in 1,000 survive! If they can get to the water before being taken by predators, they’ll meet new ones in the ocean.
About to let this one out on its own. Hard to let go. But at least I can help her through the first hurdle – the beach.
Crossing my fingers you’ll make it, kiddo!
Eating and drinking in Port of Spain
Drinking it for the cherry, y’unnerstand…
This is going to be fairly short, as we only tried a few places:
Maria’s Bakery for pain-au-chocolate and croissants. Nothing special, but then to be fair, we were spoilt from Cayenne.
Meena House by Umesh Meena, one of the most famous chefs in the Caribbean. Delicious Indian food, lovely surroundings, very friendly staff.
Ariapita Avenue is Port of Spain’s buzzing nightlife hub with bars, clubs, and eateries. This is where the party starts here in town. We weren’t too terribly impressed (or at least I wasn’t). The Avenue Pub House wasn’t bad, though.
Meena House
Along Ariapita Avenue
Logical
Trinidad practicals
Best time to visit: We were here in July, which means less people. High season is January to March, because of Carnival. Rumour has it, Trinidad hosts the very best carnival in the world, with parades, costumes, music (soca, of course), and pure energy. The carnival opens with J’Ouvert, a party at dawn with mud and paint.
Currency: Trinidad and Tobago Dollar (TTD). 1 EUR = 8 TTD; 1 USD = 6.8 TTD as at Sep 2025
Language: English and Trinidadian Creole
Getting around: We rented a car and used taxis, which worked out well.
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And that, folks, concludes our summer explorations in South America.
All photos by Andrew Morland, Tom Brothwell and myself.
Trinidad: Culture, Colour, Calypso is a post from Sophie’s World