Moruga

Moruga sits on Trinidad's south coast, remote from everything, a fishing village on a shore facing the Columbus Channel with Venezuela beyond. Every year on Discovery Day the village stages a re-enactment of Columbus's 1498 landing, with boats coming ashore and a procession, an event that has run for decades. The area also gives its name to the Moruga Scorpion, for a period rated among the hottest chilli peppers in the world.

Background

The village sits at the western end of the Trinity Hills, in the Princes Town region. Oil and fishing are the local economy, and some residents commute to Princes Town and San Fernando. Of the communities in the district, Grand Chemin, La Lune and Marac lie on the coast; the others are Indian Walk, Fifth Company, Preau (St Mary's), Cachipe, Rock River, Basse Terre and Bois Jean Jean. Basse Terre has the most people, and Grand Chemin holds the library and health facility. Moruga Proper has a small museum on the history of Moruga and Trinidad. In 1998 a historic bridge near the village gave way under a van, with no one killed.

Source: Wikipedia, "Moruga"

Highlights

• The Discovery Day re-enactment - the annual staging of the 1498 landing on the beach.
• The Moruga Scorpion - the chilli pepper the district is known for.
• The fishing beach - pirogues worked from the shore.
• The south coast - the Columbus Channel with Venezuela beyond.

When to go

January to May is driest. The Discovery Day re-enactment falls at the end of July or early August. The village is very quiet the rest of the year.

What to expect

It is a long drive on poor roads from anywhere. Facilities are minimal and there is little for visitors outside the annual event. The beach is not a swimming beach.

Nearby

Princes Town is north, and Columbus Bay is west.

Key facts