Dominica / Special Interests / Culture & Heritage

As the Caribbean’s self-styled “Nature Isle”, Dominica needs no introduction when it comes to its natural attractions, but this tropical outpost has a rich heritage forged by ancient Amerindian tribes – descendants of whom still remain – and colonial influences from Spanish, English and French rulers who have left the island with an Anglo/Creole culture. There is no denying the majesty and grandeur of Dominica’s mountainscape and valleys which define the island in a far stronger statement than the beach life and plush hotels of the rest of the Caribbean. The indigenous inhabitants, the Kalinago of South American Arawak descent, called it Waitukubuli “tall is her body”, and it’s easy to see why. Many of the 70,000 inhabitants are still subsistence and cottage industry based, living off a green and fertile land, but “nature” tourism has gained a foothold as the country moves warily into the 21st Century and things are definitely changing.

Visible military history at the 18th Century Fort Shirley in the Cabrits National Park to the north-west and a relic population of Kalinago Indians thrive in the north-east’s 3,700 acre Carib Territory reserve. Tranquillity is still a given, but for how long? Some see the old order of peace and contemplation under threat from an expanding cruise ship industry, but Dominica’s people retain a gracious old world air and mannerly way. You may see them waving on remote country roads and there is always a ready smile, which can be quite disarming, pleasantly so mind, especially if you’ve come from a brash, more tourist-orientated economy elsewhere, or from North America or the UK.