Bamboo Cathedral

About Bamboo Cathedral

THE ENDURING BAMBOO CATHEDRAL

Tucker Valley was named after one of the original families that owned the north western peninsula estate in Trinidad.
One of the more interesting attractions of the fertile Tucker Valley in Chaguaramas, which lies nestled in the foothills at the western end of the Northern Range, is the Bamboo Cathedral. This naturally attractive area is surrounded by other sights of interest, including the Nutmeg Grove, the UPic Farm, the ruins of St. Chad’s Anglican Church, Macqueripe Bay & Recreational Facilities, numerous hiking trails, Chaguaramas Golf Course, the new Chaguaramas Boardwalk, the World War Two Bunker and the Chaguaramas Missile Tracking Station.

The immediate and naturally striking beauty of the Bamboo Cathedral is its green towering wispy branches that bend towards and intertwine with each other for about 300 metres, over the Cazabon Trail. Of course, it was Micheal Jean Cazabon, Trinidad’s 19th century master artist and national hero, who also romanticised the Bamboo Cathedral in the mid 19th century, with his water-color portrayals of secluded, blissful moments within it. The road that runs through this stunning formation was named in his honor.

Cazabon Trail, which acts as the aisle of the Bamboo Cathedral, meets the Tucker Valley Main Road on the way north to Macqueripe Bay. At its other end, the trail meets the base of a steep hill that leads up to the now derelict Chaguaramas Missile Tracking Station which formed part of the then US Naval Base in Chaguaramas and which was active from 1959 to 1971. This former tracking facility provides breathtaking, panoramic and strategic views over both the valley and the rugged North Coast.
One might well wonder at the unplanned proximity of these two attractions within one of Trinidad & Tobago’s very popular national heritage locations. The satellite station was man-made with the original intent of exerting power and control; the Bamboo Cathedral may well represent our enduring inclinations towards natural beauty and freedom.