Asa Wright Nature Centre & Lodge

The Asa Wright Nature Centre & Lodge is located in an unspoiled rain-forest covered range of mountains that runs from west to east across the top of Trinidad. While the whole ridge is rich in birds, the Arima Valley proved such a concentration of birds that the New York Zoological Society established a research station there in 1949.

The bird species found at the site and which come to the feeders off the verandah are some of the most colorful in Trinidad, appealing even to those who are not bird watchers.

As the fame of the valley grew, so did the need for guest accommodation and thus Asa Wright and her husband opened a room on their 193 acre cocoa, coffee and citrus plantation.

One of her visitors and friends was Don Richard Eckelberry, a noted wildlife artist who painted 1,200 bird species over the course of his career. Asa asked Eckelberry to help protect the forest after her death and he knocked on doors until they had the donations required to purchase and protect the area.