Easter Goat Racing Festival

ByTobago Guide

The Tobago Goat Race is an annual event that takes place on the Caribbean island of Tobago. It is a unique cultural event that has been held for over a century and attracts both locals and visitors to the island.

The Tobago Goat Race is essentially a type of goat-racing event, where trained goats compete against each other in a race. The goats are typically bred and trained specifically for this purpose and are often adorned with colorful costumes and decorations.

Goat Racing – Buccoo Tobago

The event usually takes place in Buccoo, a small fishing village on the island’s west coast. It is a day-long celebration that includes food, music, and other cultural activities in addition to the goat races.

The Tobago Goat Race is not only a fun and entertaining event, but it is also an important part of Tobago’s cultural heritage. It is a way for the islanders to celebrate their traditions and showcase their unique way of life to the world. If you happen to be in Tobago during the event, it is definitely worth checking out!

Easter Tuesday
Buccoo, a small seaside village on the southwest coast of Tobago, has hosted goat racing since 1925. Goat racing developed as a poor man’s equivalent to horse racing In the early twentieth-century, since horse racing was reserved for the local elite. Since horse racing traditionally occurred on the Monday after Easter Sunday, Easter Tuesday was chosen to run goat races by the Buccoo Goat Race Festival Committee, a sub-committee of the Buccoo Village Council, that organises the event annually.

Easter Monday
The village of Mt. Pleasant is also hosts to the goat racing festival which occurs on Easter Monday. A large gathering of family, friends and acquaintances also adds to the event’s popularity and attendance on the day.

Tobago Guide

Useful Information from locals, to help you have the best experience while on the island of Tobago.

Nature | Things To Do | What To See

Nesting Sea Turtles
Turtle Season

Between March and August each year, giant leather-backs, Hawks-bill, and Green sea turtles visit the shores of Tobago to lay their eggs. The process can take up to 2 hours from start to finish, going longer sometimes if the turtles are disturbed.

Some turtles will make multiply visits to the shores during the season untill the right spot is found. Once the nesting process is complete – aproximately 60 days later, baby turtle hatchlings will emerge from the sand.

What happens :
- A sea turtle will find the right spot for a nest by checking the sand with both front and back flippers.
- Sea Turtles dig holes up to 2.5 feet deep with back flippers only.
- Once the right depth is met – between 60 -100 eggs are layed.
- Sea Turtles will then gentle cover eggs with back flippers only.
- They will then use both flippers to camouflage the area around the nest.
- Once completed they then slowly return to the sea.
Popular Bays for sightings:
- Turtle Beach – Great Courland Bay
- Grafton Bay – Stone Haven Bay
- Back Bay – Mt. Irvine
- Lambeau Beach – Little Rockly Bay
Protection Guidelines
- If possible, do not disturb, obstruct or approach a turtle that is coming to shore, laying or covering its nest.
- Never handle Turtle eggs or try to sit, stand or ride on a Turtle.
- Avoid using bright lights as it can confuse the Turtles or cause them to abandon their nests.
- If observing – stay up to 20 feet away from Turtles while they are nesting.
Read More Nesting Sea Turtles
About Tobago | What To See

Islands of Tobago

Saint. Giles Island

Saint Giles Island is located off the northeast tip of Tobago. The island can be viewed clearly from flag-staff lookout in Charlotteville. Reef patches and cliffs surrounding the island makes it a popular dive site.

St. Giles Island

Goat Island

Goat Island is located off the coast of Speyside, between Tobago and Little Tobago. The reef around the island is popular with divers.

Goat Island

Little Tobago

Little Tobago is a small island off the northeastern coast of Tobago, popular with birdwatchers. The island is an important breeding site for seabirds such as red-billed tropicalbird, bridled terns and many more. Angel reef is also a popular site around the island for divers and glass-bottom boat tours.

Little Tobago

Queen’s Island

Queen’s Island is located on the north-eastern coast of Tobago outside of Louis D’or Bay and Delaford.

Queen’s Island

Richmond Island

Richmond Island is located on the eastern side of Tobago outside of Richmond bay.

Richmond Island

Sisters Rock

Sisters Rocks is tiny group of islands located off the northern coast of Tobago directly north of Parlatuvier. Sisters Rocks are popular for snorkeling and scuba diving for hammer-head sharks.

Read More Islands of Tobago
About Tobago | What To See

Hillsborough Reservoir

Hillsborough Reservoir, which was commissioned in May 1952, by His Excellency Sir Hubert Elvin Rance, then Governor of Trinidad and Tobago, is the only impounding reservoir in Tobago.

The reservoir is located 870 feet above sea level, Hillsborough has a rustic beauty and an elegantly designed spillway which provides a safety outlet when the reservoir is too full. The reservoir has a maximum storage capacity of 1.02 million m³ and the water treatment plant located just below can produce up to 9,091m3 per day.
Water from the reservoir serves areas such as Mt. St. George, Concordia, Whim, Mary’s Hill, Union and Les Coteaux.

The raw water from the reservoir passes through two strainers that clear the incoming water of large debris such as branches, twigs and leaves before entering the chemical house. Aluminium sulphate (alum) is added to make the suspended particles of silt and mud in the water coagulate and form large and heavier particles that sink to the bottom of the sedimentation (or settling) basins. The water is then filtered through layers of sand and gravel, a process that removes fine particles still in the water. The final stage of the water treatment process is the addition of lime, to counteract the acidity of the water and the injection of chlorine to destroy any disease-causing bacteria.

Construction of the Hillsborough Dam significantly changed the landscape but the catchment area and the reservoir still teem with an abundance of wildlife and a variety of flora.
There are twenty-eight (28) species of birds documented at Hillsborough which will excite the interest of any bird watcher.

WASA

Read More Hillsborough Reservoir
About Tobago | Reef | What To See | Where To Go

Buccoo Reef & Nylon Pool
Buccoo Reef is a popular tourist destination located on the northwest coast of the island of Tobago, which is part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The reef is a protected marine park and is one of the largest coral reefs in Tobago.

Visitors can take glass-bottom boat tours to view the stunning array of marine life and coral formations that make up the reef. Snorkeling and scuba diving are also popular activities in the area. The nearby Nylon Pool, a shallow crystal-clear pool in the middle of the ocean, is another popular attraction.

In addition to its natural beauty, the Buccoo Reef area is known for its vibrant culture and nightlife, with the Sunday School street party being a particularly popular event.

Overall, Buccoo Reef is a must-visit destination for anyone traveling to Tobago, offering a unique blend of natural beauty, adventure, and culture.
- Size – 2.7 mi²
- Type – Fringing Coral Reef
- Largest in Tobago
- Nylon Pool
- Coral Gardens
- Bon Accord Lagoon
- Reef boat tours
- Snokelling
- No mans land
The reef borders with the Bon Accord Lagoon, together they create an important and complex marine habitat for hundreds of sea and land creatures and for the livelihood of many people living on the island.
Read More Buccoo Reef & Nylon Pool
Island | What To See | Where To Go

Little Tobago
Little Tobago is a small island located off the northeast coast of Tobago, which is itself an island in the southern Caribbean Sea and part of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Little Tobago is also known as Bird of Paradise Island, due to its abundance of exotic birds, including the red-billed tropicbird, the white-tailed sabrewing hummingbird, and the magnificent frigatebird.

The island is home to a bird sanctuary and nature reserve, and is a popular destination for birdwatchers and eco-tourists. It is accessible by boat from the village of Speyside on Tobago’s main island.

The island is popular for
- Naturalists
- Bird-watching
- Angel reef
- Scuba diving
- Glass-bottom boat tours
Angel reef is also a popular site around the island for divers and glass-bottom boat tours.

The largest brain coral in the caribbean is also located on the reef system.

The island is an important breeding site for seabirds such as red-billed tropicalbird, bridled terns and many more.
Read More Little Tobago
Events | What To See

Tobago Heritage Festival

The Tobago Heritage Festival is an annual event that takes place on the island of Tobago in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The festival celebrates Tobago’s rich cultural heritage and traditions and takes place over a two-week period in late July and early August.

During the festival, visitors can enjoy a wide range of cultural events and activities, including traditional music and dance performances, storytelling sessions, arts and crafts exhibitions, and local cuisine. The festival also features historical reenactments and demonstrations of traditional skills such as boat-building, basket-weaving, and wood-carving.

One of the highlights of the Tobago Heritage Festival is the “ole time wedding” reenactment, which is a recreation of a traditional Tobagonian wedding from the past. The festival also includes a “parang” competition, which is a type of traditional music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Tobago Heritage Festival provides an opportunity for visitors to learn about Tobago’s rich history and cultural heritage, and to experience the island’s unique traditions and way of life. The festival is a vibrant celebration of Tobago’s past, present, and future, and is a must-see event for anyone visiting the island.

Read More Tobago Heritage Festival