"Rich as a Tobago planter", envious eighteenth-century English folk used to say about their countrymen. Tobago was known in the 17th century for the huge profits it produced for a handful of souls, it may have been the Silicon Valley of its day.
Rapacious sugar barons, felling trees for fields and fuel, meant to exploit every acre, chopping from the Crown Point lowlands to the top of the Main Ridge spine.

They would have felled every tree if not for a man named Soame Jenyns. The Lord Commissioner for Trade and Plantations, Jenyns was a student of the British scientist Stephen Hales, who hypothesized the relationship between trees and rainfall, and rainfall and deserts, and predicted that Tobago was on its way to becoming a mound of burning sand. It took Jenyns ten years of lobbying, but in 1776 the Crown Reserve was established, setting aside 10,000 acres as the perpetual heart and lungs of Tobago.

Rainforest Roads are calling

Today, expanded to 14,000 acres, the Reserve is home to 1,500 species of flowering plants, 210 kinds of birds, 23 types of butterflies, 17 different bats, and the manicou crab, among other invertebrates.
Hurricane Flora wreaked catastrophic damage to wildlife and trees in 1963, but the forest has renewed itself spectacularly and old growth stands of teak and mahogany are still to be found.

The Parlatuvier-Roxborough Road, which crosses the Main Ridge, will take you straight to the trailheads.
Look for a large stone slab and a forestry hut marking Gilpin Trail. This is a moderate hike that skirts several small waterfalls.

tobago rainforest

The Atlantic Trail, which meanders down to the windward coast, is much longer, up to six hours hiking time and more challenging.
Hiring a guide is a good idea, since trained eyes will point out more rufous-tailed jacamars and blue-crowned mot-mots than you'd ever spot on your own. Plus, it's too easy to get lost.

Surviving the walks

Those rustic villages you will encounter as you thread your way down to coast are also blessed with some of the most diverse diving in the Caribbean, from shallow coral gardens to high-speed drift diving, in addition to beguiling beaches. They also make it easy for your forays into the rainforest. Just don't forget to mark your trail, or the strangler vines and primeval tree ferns might swallow you up, leaving your fate to the tender mercies of 'Papa Bois'.

Getting it all organised

Guests at the Angelles Tobago Villa already are close to halfway there. Rainforest guides are listed in the directory in Angelles main living area. These are tourism department certified professionals, some of them having worked with the international film companies doing biodiversity documentaries and other kinds of film features.

Birding from Home

Birdwatching in Tobago takes you to the rainforest, the marshes, the rivermouths, mangroves, grasslands and the various wetlands. Angelles Villa is located close to major sites in the southwest of Tobago. For instance, the Hilton Hotel golf course has man-made freshwater lakes which have attracted a large population of duck, anhingas, cranes, lapwings, egrets, herons, hawks and ospreys.
Below is a photo of a fledgling red-billed tropicbird in its nest on Little Tobago

baby tropicbird

Tobago has over 16 small wetland areas and the most visually exciting may be the Bon Accord Lagoon and Mangroves. Access to it is through the Pigeon Point Park entrance down at the Swallows. Getting there is as simple as leaving Angelles Villa, emerge oon to the Claude Noel Highway, drive south and turn right to Pigeon Point. A small fee is required by the Pigeon Point Park, but it gives you access to marvelous beach and bar facilities after your birding foray there.

Whats required to book Angelles

view from angelles villa

This is the view from Angelles balcony
Angelles Villa is a spacious, privacy oriented luxury home located in the new development of Burleigh Heights on the south eastern hills overlooking the main town Scarborough to the northeast, and the marshes of Petit Trou to the southeast. The villa is laid out to ensure panoramic views, capture cooling North East Tradewinds, as well as to hold residents in the thralls of peaceful ambience.  

Send your questions to us by email, or go to our contact form with your enquiries. Angelles is rapidly coming into its own as the most popular Tobago holiday villa, so do ensure your preferred time is secured.