🌿 Nature
Main Ridge Forest Reserve
Protected since 1776, the oldest legally protected rainforest anywhere, walked with a local guide.
Typical duration
180 min
Price
Guide about US$25-40 per group (≈ €3.4–5.5 / $3.7–5.9)
From port
30 km / 18.6 mi
Transfer time
55 min
Indoor / Outdoor
outdoor
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Early morning for birdlife, and it is cooler under the canopy
The Main Ridge Forest Reserve was set aside by the colonial government in 1776 to protect the island's rainfall, which makes it the oldest legally protected forest reserve anywhere in the world. It runs along the spine of Tobago in dense, dripping rainforest and the birdlife is the draw: jacamars, motmots, hummingbirds and the endemic white-tailed sabrewing. The usual access is the Gilpin Trace trail from the Roxborough to Bloody Bay road, and a local guide is close to essential, both to find the birds and to stay on the path. Expect mud whatever the season.
Getting there from the port
Taxi east then up the Roxborough to Bloody Bay road to the Gilpin Trace trailhead