Knolly's Tunnel

Have you ever heard of Knolly's Tunnel?

Sign indicating approaching Knolly's Tunnel 

Well... it's an old railway tunnel located just off the Tabaquite Main Road in Trinidad and Tobago. It was named after Sir. Clement C. Knolly, then Acting Governor of Trinidad and Tobago and opened on August 13, 1898. In an article written by Bavina Sookdeo in the Newsday, it states that this tunnel is actually a quarter mile long and is reportedly one of the longest in the Caribbean.


Here's a brief history...

Apparently the construction of this tunnel was done by over 200 African and Indian workers and began in the year 1896 taking a total of 2 years to complete. The tunnel was reportedly linked to the Rio Claro hinterland and Port of Spain to facilitate transportation of coffee, cocoa and agricultural produce from the Brasso-Caparo Valley.

Another Adventure....

I was reminded of Knolly's Tunnel by a work colleague while having a conversation and thought it would be a good idea to make this one of my next destination. Now, I have to tell you all, I vaguely remember this tunnel as I think I was still attending primary school when I last visited there. So, intrigued, I pitched the idea to the crew and they were psyched as most of them had never been there before.  The next weekend we packed or bags with our equipment and were off to our destination. The crew was bigger this time. Instead of our usual four (4) we had a party of eight (8) and we believe the more the merrier.

Well you know we couldn't just drive to the destination without stopping along the way because obviously that's what we do. Of course something had to catch our eyes and we'd just stop wherever that was to capture it. Well... that's exactly what happened.

In the middle of God knows where on our way to the tunnel, one of the guys spotted this abandoned house camouflaged in over grown vines and shrub and undoubtedly we had to stop. Honestly, I have to say I didn't see it until we actually did stopped and if I said I knew exactly where we were, I'd definitely be lying...LOL. All I knew is that this house was the first thing we saw for miles and miles of "bush".

Abandoned housed
Photo taken by Where Next Photography

We always try to have as much fun as we possibly can. Some more than others.... LOL

After we were finished photographing abandoned houses and random trees and hiding behind trees... lol, we were back on the road heading to our intended destination.

We drove and drove on a very winding road and finally we were at our destination...


Knolly's Tunnel

Knolly's Tunnel
Photo taken by: Where Next Photography 

The sight of the tunnel was awesome. Surrounded by greenery of beautiful trees and plants, it was definitely an awe-inspiring site.On top of the tunnel there were two "huts" one covered with branches, which provided a much needed shade from that scorching sun and an unusual breeze and one uncovered with just the the roof structure.





Inside was dark and smelled strong of ammonia... yes ammonia. A result of the hundreds of bats that were flying around in there.

The Mission...

Drive through the very dark, creepy tunnel to the other side. Now, we were a bit skeptical to drive through this tunnel that was home to what seemed like a million bats, well at least to me... lol of course I'm exaggerating... lol. But nevertheless we jumped in our vehicles and proceeded through the very dark and long tunnel.

Inside Knolly's Tunnel
Picture taken by: Where Next Photography

Finally we were out of the tunnel and on the other side... That was freakishly fun... lol. We did it!
The million dollar question was Where Next?

To view more pictures of Knolly's Tunnel, please visit Where Next Photography or Clovis Photography Facebook Page.