Chaguaramas, Trinidad

Chaguaramas
Town
Hart's Cut Bay in Chaguaramas
Corporation	Diego Martin Regional Corporation
Country	Trinidad and Tobago
	Ranked
Time zone	AST (UTC−4)
Area code(s)	634

Chaguaramas (pronounced, in the local English dialect, "shag-gah-rah-muss") lies in the North West Peninsula of Trinidad west of Port of Spain; the name is often applied to the entire peninsula, but is sometimes used to refer to its most developed area. The developed area in Chaguaramas starts at ALCOA and ends at the Army and Coast Guard camps on the mainland. In the description or context of "developed area" one excludes the five islands which are in various stages of development or redevelopment as of 2016. However in the information below, some data is included on the Five Islands (5 Islands)

Most of the roadway in Chaguaramas lies close to the coast line and one can view the sea from the winding road. According to Google Maps, Chaguaramas is about fourteen kilometres (14 km) from Port of Spain.

The entire peninsula was leased to the United States in 1940 for the construction of a naval base under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement.

The base was also used during the early 1960s as a BMEWS early warning radar site, as well as a missile tracking site on the U.S. Air Force Eastern Test Range. The base was scaled back in 1956 and the area was returned to Trinidad and Tobago control in 1963.

Chaguaramas was the location slated for the construction of the capital of the short-lived West Indies Federation. It is also the place where the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed, establishing Caricom, the Caribbean Community and Common Market, in 1973.

The Chaguaramas Peninsula supports one of the few remaining areas of dry forest in western Trinidad.

On weekends groups of persons enter Chaguaramas to cycle on or kayak in rented equipment. During the week, the roadway is used as a training ground for persons who cycle in groups either for sport or as a part of a training session for a Tri-athalon.