Caribbean · North AmericaTrinidad and Tobago
Discover Trinidad and Tobago - twin islands that invented the steel pan, host the greatest Carnival in the Caribbean, and sit on enormous oil and gas reserves.
Where Is Trinidad and Tobago?
Trinidad and Tobago is a country in the Caribbean, North America. Its capital is Port of Spain.
- Capital Port of Spain
- Population 1.37M
- Area 5,130 km²
Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island republic that punches so far above its weight in cultural output that you would think it had ten times its population. These two islands just off the coast of Venezuela invented the steel pan - the only acoustic instrument created in the 20th century. They gave the world calypso, soca, and limbo. Their Carnival is one of the greatest street festivals on Earth, rivaling Rio for sheer energy and spectacle. And the food - a glorious collision of African, Indian, Chinese, Creole, and European cooking - is among the best in the Caribbean.
The two islands could hardly be more different. Trinidad is the larger, more industrialized sister, sitting on substantial oil and gas reserves that make it one of the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean. Port of Spain is a cosmopolitan capital where Hindu temples sit alongside mosques and churches, where roti shops compete with Chinese restaurants and Creole doubles vendors. Tobago, by contrast, is a laidback tropical paradise of coral reefs, rainforests, and fishing villages, with one of the oldest protected rainforests in the Western Hemisphere. Together they form a country where every cultural celebration seems to involve music, food, and an infectious refusal to take life too seriously.
At a glance
Largest cities in Trinidad and Tobago
Port of Spain
Chaguanas
San Fernando
Scarborough
Arima
Famous people from Trinidad and Tobago
V.S. Naipaul
LiteratureNobel Prize in Literature winner (2001) whose novels explored post-colonial identity, born in Chaguanas, Trinidad
CLR James
LiteratureHistorian, journalist, and cricket writer whose Beyond a Boundary is considered the finest book ever written about sport
Nicki Minaj
MusicBorn in Trinidad before moving to New York, became one of the best-selling female rappers of all time
Brian Lara
SportCricketing genius who held the record for the highest individual Test score (400 not out) and the highest first-class score (501 not out)
Hasely Crawford
SportWon Trinidad and Tobago's first Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1976 Montreal Olympics
Traditional cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago
- Doubles
- Two pieces of fried bara bread filled with curried chickpeas and chutneys, the undisputed king of Trinidadian street food
- Roti
- Trinidadian-style roti wraps filled with curried chicken, goat, or vegetables, reflecting the island's strong Indian heritage
- Pelau
- One-pot dish of caramelized chicken, rice, and pigeon peas cooked in coconut milk - Trinidad's ultimate comfort food
- Callaloo
- Creamy soup of dasheen leaves, okra, coconut milk, and crab, often considered the national dish alongside doubles
- Bake and Shark
- Fried shark tucked into a fluffy fried bake bread with an arsenal of toppings, the legendary beach food of Maracas Bay
Nature and landmarks in Trinidad and Tobago
- Pitch LakeLandmark
- The largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, covering 40 hectares in southern Trinidad, you can walk on it
- Main Ridge Forest ReserveForest
- The oldest legally protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, established in 1776, covering central Tobago
- Caroni Bird SanctuaryNational Park
- Mangrove wetland where thousands of scarlet ibis - Trinidad's national bird - return to roost each evening in a flash of red
- Maracas BayCoast
- Trinidad's most famous beach, a palm-lined crescent on the north coast renowned for its bake and shark food stalls
- Buccoo ReefCoast
- Tobago's most popular reef with a natural coral garden and the famous Nylon Pool, a shallow crystal-clear sandbar in the sea
Sports in Trinidad and Tobago
- Cricket
- Brian Lara is considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and Trinidad's Queen's Park Oval is a legendary Test venue
- Athletics
- Hasely Crawford won the first Olympic gold at the 1976 Olympics, and the country has continued producing world-class sprinters
- Football
- The Soca Warriors qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the smallest country to qualify at that time
Did you know?
The steel pan was invented in Trinidad in the 1930s, making it the only acoustic musical instrument invented in the 20th century
Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival is one of the largest street festivals in the world, attracting hundreds of thousands every year
The Pitch Lake in Trinidad is the largest natural asphalt lake in the world and supposedly never runs out
Trinidad has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the Caribbean, with roughly equal proportions of African and Indian descent
Angostura bitters, found in bars worldwide, has been made in Trinidad since 1824
Brian Lara scored 501 not out in first-class cricket in 1994, a record that still stands
Tobago is believed by some scholars to be the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe's island
Read more about Trinidad and Tobago
Can you find Trinidad and Tobago on a map?
Drop a pin where you think it is and see how close you got. A few rounds and you will place Trinidad and Tobago and its neighbours without a second thought.
