The Santa Cruz Valley stretches between Maraval

Maraval

Maraval is one of the northern suburbs of Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain a valley in northern Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is situated at the bottom of the hills of Paramin and located east of the Diego Martin valley to which it is connected directly by Morne Coco Road, and west of Santa...

 and San Juan

San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago

San Juan is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies in North Eastern Trinidad, between Barataria and St. Joseph.It is a busy town in the East-West Corridor; the centre of town is known as the Croisee. Population is 54,900 , and it is the third city of the country, larger than the capital. San Juan...

, along the Saddle Road. It lies between the hills of the Northern Range

Northern Range

The Northern Range is the range of tall hills across the northern portion of Trinidad, the major island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The hills rise abruptly from the lowlands of northern Trinidad , but only the two tallest peaks, El Cerro del Aripo and El Tucuche top 900 m...

 on the island of Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, Trinidad and Tobago.

Formerly an important cacao bean producer, much of the valley consists of abandoned cacao plantations or small-scale agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. The Santa Cruz Valley is considered prime residential real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, and many upscale residential development

Urban planning

Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....

s like Riverside Park, have begun sprouting in the valley. Small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

s that form part of Upper Santa Cruz are Cangrejal, Jagan village, Hololo Road, Paxvale, Cantaro

Cantaro

The cantaro is a percussion instrument. It is a clay pot that is struck in its outer surface or mouth with a hand, creating different effects. Water can be used to pitch the instrument to a desired sound....

, Graceland Heights,Gasparillo, Sam-Boucaud, La Pastora Settlement, and Pipiol. Lower Santa Cruz consists of La Canoa and Bourg Mulatresse, commonly referred to as "Book" in local vernacular. Compared to Upper Santa Cruz, which has a quaint charisma characterized by its rustic tranquility, Lower Santa Cruz is more developed.

Santa Cruz is home for a few Primary and Secondary Schools in Trinidad. Some Primary Schools include the; Santa Cruz Presbyterian School, Cantaro Roman Catholic School and Bourg Mulatresse Primary School. San Juan North Secondary School is also situated in the Lower Santa Cruz Valley and it was constructed along the mountain side in Bourg Mulatresse near the Bourg Mulatresse Primary School.

Along the Saddle Road, Santa Cruz has two major supermarkets the; Uncle Beddoe's Supermarket and Santa Cruz Food Basket. There are two Postal Delivery Offices

TTPost

TTPost is the Trinidad and Tobago postal corporation who is responsible for the postal services in Trinidad and Tobago.The company was formed in 1999 with a New Zealand company taking over from the government. It provides postal service like regular, express, registered, international and other...

 and Fuel Stations; Bourg Mulatresse and Cantaro.

Santa Cruz is also home for the Santa Cruz Police Station

Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service or TTPS is the law enforcement agency of Trinidad and Tobago. It has been in operation for over 200 years. The organization is currently being transformed into a first-world police force with the introduction on short, medium and long-term strategies...

 and Santa Cruz Fire Station. The Santa Cruz Fire Station houses the elite Land Search and Rescue Team, this team responds to all search and rescue calls within the Northern Division dealing with automobile accidents, fire emergencies, North Coast Road mishaps and assisting EMTs in responding to medical emergencies beyond road access.

Many of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

's respected citizens come from this small town, including world-renowned West Indian cricketer Jeffrey Stollmeyer, world-renowned athlete Ato Boldon

Ato Boldon

Ato Jabari Boldon is a former athlete from Trinidad and Tobago and four-time Olympic medal winner. Only 2 other men in history, Frankie Fredericks and Carl Lewis, have won as many Olympic individual event sprint medals. He is the current national record holder in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events...

, poet Eintou Pearl Springer

Eintou Pearl Springer

Eintou Pearl Springer is a poet from Trinidad and Tobago. She is the Poet Laureate of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago....

, top parang band The Lara Brothers and Soca

Soca music

Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....

 star Sanelle Dempster, cricketers Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne James John Bravo is a West Indian cricketer. A right-handed pace bowler, Bravo is expected to play a significant role in attempts by the West Indies to return to international prominence in the sport....

, Darren Bravo

Darren Bravo

Darren Michael Bravo is a West Indian cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Trinidad and Tobago and has appeared for the West Indies cricket team in One Day International cricket. A left-handed batsman,is slow, focused and determined...

 and textbook author Adesh Seuraj. However, the most admired and adored person from this town is undoubtedly Brian Charles Lara, the retired West Indian cricketer, who is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to have played the game.

From upper Santa Cruz, famous Maracas Beach, a national hotspot, is a conservative 20 minutes away by car.