An eco lodge in an unspoilt rustic community nestling at the foot of lush rainforested mountains. http://www.caribbeanmag.com/search/hotels/Trinidad_and_Tobago/pariasprings/hotel/1746/5/ en-us Copyright 1998 e-TravelMedia.com/CaribbeanMag.com Mon, 9 Nov 2009 21:43:59 EST Welcome to the Paria Springs Project, dedicated to ecotourism through conservation and responsible eco and adventure tourism! Located in Trinidad and Tobago the Caribbean's premiere ecotourism and adventure destination where Amazonian cornucopia blends with Caribbean allure. Realize your dream vacation escaping in a magnificently rich, colourful and diverse environment and culture. We offer rustic, colourful Caribbean styled Accommodations, with birding, natural history, hiking, mountain biking, wildlife, sight seeing and cultural eco and adventure tours. Experience ecotours and adventures that take you into rainforests, wetlands, savannas, along rugged coasts, to mountaintops or to stunning waterfalls. All provided by a company whose ultimate aim is conservation of the environment and culture while providing you with fun eco and adventure vacations. Anything is possible at Paria Springs in Trinidad and Tobago! Paria Springs Estate is in Brasso Seco, Paria on the island of Trinidad. This puts you in the middle of our rugged, rainforested Northern Range, perfect for ecotourism and adventure oriented accommodations and tours, both of which are also available throughout Trinidad and Tobago. So don't wait, take a look at our web site and find the way to fulfil your dreams for spectacular birds, adventure, just to have fun, or find out how to assist us in our conservation objectives. Rainforest Community Host Homes In keeping with its dedication to community, Paria Springs Eco-Community is proud to present its first accommodations as community host homes. Several community members own beautiful, rustic homes, annexes and rooms that they have made available to accommodate Paria Springs' guests. This partnership initiative ensures that everyone wins, as abandoned houses are restored to their original status or better, the community gets direct business, Paria Springs can accommodate guests, and guests get to stay within the community. Available are single and double rooms. The rooms are beautiful and simple; there are no phones or televisions to distract you. As some of the rooms do not have hot water one can take a bath with refreshing cool water direct from the stream, and breathe new life into your senses! Le Grande Almandier Along the North Coast of Trinidad lies the sleepy community of Grande Rivierre. The beach is famous for its nesting sea turtles. A community tied to the sea, where fishing is their main occupation, surfing and swimming their main recreation. Right on the beach is Le Grande Almandier, a new guesthouse built by community members Cyril and Wendy James. It has several double rooms, two bedrooms that sleep up to four people and the main room sleeps five. In all it has 12 rooms. All of the rooms are decorated with hammocks, and batik curtains hung on local vines. Wendy, whose modesty belies her ability to decorate a room with exquisite Caribbean décor did this. It also has a restaurant and bar along with a balcony to relax in a hammock sipping rum punch flavoured with local fruits. Jason, the chef, serves up wonderfully presented, mouth-watering local Creole dishes. Here fresh fish means it was caught about two hours before. Wendy presents the desert; Le Grande Almandier Cheesecake topped with fresh almonds from the trees outside to the restaurant. For recreation stroll along the beach, or take a dip in the sea playing in the crashing waves, go surfing or gently slip into the river. Cyril can take you deep sea fishing to catch that night's dinner. For birders, this area is the best place for viewing the Trinidad Piping Guan, along with this are many other birds such as Tanagers, Toucans, Euphonias and of course sea birds. Hike up the river to swim in pools high up the mountain, or go mountain biking. There is a lot to do at Le Grande Almandier. AMENITIES: ACTIVITIES: Paria Springs Eco-Community offers many tours throughout Trinidad and Tobago. From fun adventures to easy relaxing rainforest walks; everything is available here. The descriptions of some of our most popular tours in the various activities are available by choosing a menu item on the left. This is not an exhaustive list of tours, but representative of what is available in each activity. Tell us which tours appeal to you and what your hobbies, likes and dislikes are, then we will suggest an itinerary for you. Hiking Tours The Northern Range of Trinidad is a series of strongly upfolded metamorphic formations of Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous age (approximately 130 million years ago). This includes Trinidad's highest mountain El Cerro del Aripo, 3085 feet, and Trinidad's oldest rock formations. It is the eastern most expression of the Andean mountain chain. This mountainous range is covered with various types of forests, starting with Littoral Woodlands along the coastlines, Evergreen Seasonal Tropical Forests in the lower elevations, Lower Montane Rainforest in elevations from 500 to 2,500 feet, Upper Montane Rainforest in elevations above 2,500 feet, and Elfin Woodlands covering the highest mountains' peaks. The Northern slopes meet the Caribbean Sea, and the southern slopes end in the Caroni plains. Throw into this saline and fresh water wetlands, savannas, caves, deciduous forests, and waterfalls, as rivers carve into rugged mountains. We are talking about a hiker's dream destination. Here is a sampling of some of the hiking tours Paria Springs offers. Let us know which ones appeal to you and we will suggest others that may suit your desires. Morne Bleu Madamas road to waterfalls El Cerro Del Aripo Tamana Cave Cumaca Cave Birding Tours Imagine a place serene yet adventurous, where fertile Caribbean breezes saunter their way over rugged rainforest cloaked mountains. Birds dressed up in blue, scarlet, purple, yellow, maroon, green and other brilliant colours, cram every corner of every forest, savanna, and wetland. Tiny Hummingbirds beat their wings at an astonishing rate as majestic Hawk-eagles silently glide over. South American biodiversity and luxuriance clash into Caribbean ease of life. Well you just imagined Trinidad and Tobago. Who better to take you through this birding paradise than the birders who made the most accepted reports to the Rare Bird Committee in the last two years? Enthusiastic birders that guide you through the well-known hot spots, or off the beaten track, hot spots that only they know. A visit to Trinidad and Tobago is guaranteed to produce a long list of extraordinary lifers. Take a look at our tours and choose which ones appeal to you and together we will develop an itinerary to match your vision of the perfect vacation. Paria / Arima / Blanchisseuse Road Caroni Wetlands Agriculture Research Station / Aripo Savanna Nariva Swamp Arena Forest and Dam Icacos West Coast Wetlands Asa Wright Nature Center and Caroni Bird Sanctuary North Coast Drive Mountain Biking Tours Trinidad's relief is a combination of rugged rainforest covered mountain ranges, extended flatlands and rounded sloping hills make it an excellent destination for mountain biking. Up to the 1970s much of this land space was used for agriculture but as Trinidad became industrialized many of these estates were abandoned, however, they have left an intricate network of trade routes made up of country roads and trails connecting the trade routes. Some of these trade routes have been in use since the days prior to Columbus' arrival in 1498 by Amerindians; the mountain biking trails follow these trade routes hence you would not be causing undue damage to natural areas. The rides range from cruising flat old country roads to difficult, out-of-breath up hills and fast, technical down hills. The range will satisfy everyone's taste from the "never done it before but willing to try" to the serious cross-country or down hill rider. Here is a sampling of some of the mountain biking tours Paria Springs offers. Let us know which ones appeal to you and we will suggest others that may suit your desires. Madamas Road and Sobo Waterfalls Chaguaramas Las Lapas to Lopinot Brasso Seco Old Road If you are looking for something a little different than hiking or biking, then one of the following tours may be right for you. A day of fun with rainforests, waterfalls, and kayaking Turtle watching Red Howler Monkey Natural History and Horticulture Horticulture and Caroni Bird Sanctuary DINING/RESTARUANTS: Type: Hotel No. of Rooms: 18 Beach Location: Off Beach (Tropical Setting) http://www.caribbeanmag.com/search/hotels/Trinidad_and_Tobago/pariasprings/hotel/1746/5/ Mon, 9 Nov 2009 21:43:59 EST