Iere Village to Matura National Park.

The Matura National Park, located in the North Eastern Peninsula of Trinidad, encompases the Matura and St. David Forest Reserves and covers an estimated 9,000 hectares. Matura National Park possesses some of the most scenic rivers, waterfalls and terrain in Trinidad. The beauty of the area attracts hikers, bird watchers and eco-tourists. The three watersheds of the park produce some of the highest quality of water in the country. Matura National Park is considered to be one of the most pristine forested areas in Trinidad, housing the largest intact Mora forest in the country. This is a statuesque, evergreen forest with trees reaching heights of 40 meters. It is unique because it is dominated by one species, the Mora (Mora excelsa), unlike most rainforest that possess hundreds of tree species. The forest of Matura are believed to be 30,000 years old. Despite low tree diversity in the Mora forest, there is considerable plant diversity int the Matura National Park. This includes rare and endangered orchids, like the Oncidium citrinum, which is yet to be gien a common name. There is also a great variety of animal species. Notably, it is the main habitat for the endemic and critically endangered Pawi/Trinidad Piping Guan (Pipile pipile). Several other threatened species can be found in the park including the Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Red Howler Monkey (Alouatta seniculus), Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala), Bearded Bell Bird (Procnias averano), the Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch (Oryzoborus angolensis) "Bullfinch" and the Grey Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia) "Picoplat". Its rivers are also home to relict south american fish species. Matura National Park is also known for its wild game species, such as the Red Brocket Deer (Mazama americana), the lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) "Lappe", Armadillo (Tolypeutes) "Tattoo" , Golden Tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) "Matte" , Tayre , Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) and the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) "Wild Hog". However, many of these are becoming threatened due to overhunting. Due to these many unique and interesting features, Matura was designated as an ESA (Environmentally Sensitive Area) and National Park.