Dominica / Special Interests / Hiking & Walking

With walking being very much a part of life here from an early age, it’s hardly a surprise that Dominica is becoming a mecca for the intrepid tourist stroller and seasoned mountain hiker alike. There are dozens of established trails throughout the river valleys and mountain fastness, many of them expertly managed by the Forestry and Wildlife Division who can also supply information on trained, well informed guides (ignore the nonsense about 365 rivers by the way, it’s more like thirty odd with a lot more substantial clear water streams). Guides are probably advisable for all types of hiking, but especially on the more demanding treks like the Boiling Lake where local knowledge and awareness of shifting weather systems are absolutely essential. Waterfall sites can be dangerous to explore in the rainy season, when heavy downpours elsewhere in the catchment can go unnoticed by hikers and flash torrents suddenly appear from nowhere. Victoria and Sari Sari falls are idyllic but susceptible in this regard. A bonus however is the absence of any dangerous fauna or poisonous snakes; mosquitoes are another matter, not exactly clouds of the blighters but there’s a few around, especially in the rainy season and at lower levels, so take all the usual precautions.

Indeed, hiking in Dominica is generally an exhilarating experience in magnificent scenery with walks to match every individual’s capabilities from a stroll around the capital to treks over hours or days, negotiating steep inclines, rock falls and river crossings in the remote interior. Extreme Dominica, based at Cocoa Cottages in the Roseau Valley, takes this to another level, rappelling down tight canyons and employing high tech equipment to access hidden defiles and cascades. Wetsuits are worn for warmth and protection. Even now, vast sections of Dominica’s hinterland lay essentially unexplored. As Lennox Honychurch, the Sage of Dominica, has noted “Even though it may first appear a relatively small island, every corner cannot be covered, even in a lifetime. Some parts will always remain half shrouded in mountain mist or seen at a distance through a swirl of sea spray. Such places must be left to one’s own imagination or sense of adventure”.

Hiking Trails

The most demanding hike was always the Boiling Lake, a strenuous seven hour return march to the second largest volcanic feature of its kind in the world, after Rotorua in New Zealand. The 200 ft wide flooded fumarole, was superseded in September 2010 with the much vaunted Waitukubuli Walking Trail, the culmination of the hugely anticipated 115 mile long project running the length of the country in an intricate linked system of old maroon slave trails, Carib tracks and new pathways through all the major landscape features. It’s been a long time coming, a remarkable achievement and the brainchild of one Bernard Wiltshire, a former Attorney General, who studied in England in the 1980s and was impressed by long distance paths like the Pennine Way. Eric Hypolite, who has a degree in Forestry from Oxford, is another to have played an important role, along with significant EU funding, and is the only person to have completed the full hike which can take up to two weeks.

The route is touted as the means ‘To Discover the Real Dominica’, and they may be right. Split into fourteen sections, encompassing twenty villages and traversing areas of distinct natural, cultural and historical interest along the way, it’s designed to engender community development in keeping with the current national objectives of green investment and implementation. (Become the first foreigner to walk its length and tell us all about it!). The island stages a growing DHTA Hike Fest every May when walkers of all ages and experience set forth on various trails for a feel of Dominica’s wild outdoors.

The Boiling Lake Trek is still a challenging exercise even though the trail has been upgraded in recent years with wooden steps over the tougher descents and climbs; it’s not for the faint hearted, though anyone of a decent fitness level should be able to complete it. Lightweight boots are recommended with stronger ankle support rather than sneakers or trainers which suffice for the more moderate walking elsewhere. Only six miles due east of the capital Roseau, it could be light years away in terms of accessibility, which is best achieved by driving to the village of Laudat, walking the short quarter mile distance to Titou Gorge and the effective trailhead for the trek. Overnight at Roxy’s Mountain Lodge to eliminate the journey time from Roseau, and get a feel for that lighter night air and star spangled sky.

You’ll be grateful for the cooling waters of the narrow gorge at the end of a sometimes gruelling day. for even in dry season trails can be slippery from mud and run-off. The lake was only ’discovered’, or happened upon actually, in 1870 when a magistrate from La Plaine village, Mr Edmund Watt, sought another route to the Freshwater Lake road across the interior. Dr HA Nicholls retraced his steps following what is essentially today’s route, to confirm what remains today as one of the Caribbean’s most extraordinary sights.

The first hour of the trail is fairly routine from Titou, with gentle ascents into the rainforest and a simple crossing of the Breakfast River before a tough climb up Morne Nicholls affording tremendous views of Morne Trois Pitons and the first indication of volcanic activity in the Valley of Desolation below. This is a slight misnomer actually, it’s a stark landscape admittedly but not exactly lunar but riven with bubbling mud pools, steamy vents (around 50 fumaroles in total) and hot streams, and scattered with yellow, orange and green rocks from sulphur and mineral deposits and tufts of hardy lichens, mosses, stunted kaklen and occasional wild thyme. The danger here can lie in straying off the pathway and falling through a cracked surface crust into hot material below.

The lake itself, not far beyond the valley, is a mysterious, other worldly location shrouded in vaporous steam with its geological origins difficult to discern; a startling apparition when you finally clap eyes on it, the bubbling cauldron has sheer walls of pumice, small stones and clay with run-off water from surrounding hills collecting in the fumarole and heated by underlying molten lava to 92 degrees Celsius. A couple of people have fallen in over the years - don’t be the next, stay well back from the crater edge, the repercussions are rumoured to be quite unpleasant. The level of water fluctuates and it’s been known to almost run dry on four occasions over the last century but quickly returns to a normal state.

Syndicate is far easier, the classic trail for birdwatchers in search of the two endemic parrots in Morne Diablotin National Park, established in the north-west in January 2000. It’s signposted just north of Dublanc village on the west coast, is accessible by road and also has a well designed visitor and interpretation centre where eco-site passes must be obtained. The Morne Diablotin Trail is a sidetrack to the highest point on the island and at 4787 ft is a strenuous eight hour return journey with lots of steps but unparalleled views when the weather and cloud relent.

Early morning or late afternoon is prime time for parrot watching at Syndicate, with both species, the Red-Necked ‘Jacquot’ and the Imperial‘Sisserou’ often seen together. The Imperial, Amazona Imperialis, is a magnificent bird, heralded in the country’s coat of arms and flag, and wholly emblematic of its commitment to sustainable forestry and conservation. A number of other species can be seen too, and a specialist birdwatching guide like Bertrand Jno Baptiste, t 446 6358, offers good company as well as advice.

Middleham Trails are theoretically manageable without a guide, a grade one part of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park donated in 1975 by American, John Archbold of Springfield Plantations. Middleham Falls is a focal point and accessed by tracks of 1-2 hours duration from Sylvania to the north, Cochrane to the west or Providence on the Laudat road to the south.
There are scores of hiking routes around the country, and most hotels will usually have contact with authorised guides, there are things to bear in mind, however.

Caveats and Essentials

In alien environments it’s always best to engage local knowledge, no matter how easy a trail may seem, mishaps can happen, and never plan to be walking after dark. Back before dusk is the maxim. Water, sunblock, headgear, all the usual accoutrements, sufficient food, a towel perhaps, a change of light clothing and never dismiss the rainwear. In the rainforest, it’s been known to rain. Heavily. A small first aid kit rarely goes amiss either.

Places to stay with a hiking factor would include:

Papillote Wilderness Retreat in the Roseau Valley close by Trafalgar Falls, Cocoa Cottages just down the road, Shangri-La Rainforest Resort, Exotica Cottages at Giraudel, Jungle Bay Resort on the south-east coast, Rosalie Bay Resort, Three Rivers Eco Lodge and the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau.  

Tour operators for hiking on Dominica include:

KHATTS - Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours, Roseau - The premier adventure and hiking company in the country with headquarters and advice centre at Fort Young Hotel.

Whitchurch Tours, Roseau - Certified guides on accompanied hikes in all locations island wide.

Wacky Rollers, Roseau - Adventure activities including a Hikafari, Jungafari and customised hiking.

Jungle Trekking Adventures & Safaris Inc, Gommier - Caters to families.

Hibiscus Valley Tours, Concord - Set in the Pagua River Valley in the north-east with experienced guides for tours throughout the island, and especially for the Carib Territory over nearby Horseback Ridge.

The Rainforest Aerial Tram, Laudat  - This caused a tremendous environmental furore in the years before its inception but it has gradually gained a grudging acceptance amongst its detractors. It’s a different way of viewing the rainforest certainly, at canopy height, as guides explain treetop biology from the comfort of the ‘gondolas’ or tram carriages. Manna from heaven for the lazy ‘hiker’.

Non-profit organisations and Government links:

The Waitukubuli National Trail, t 266 3593 | wntp@cwdom.dm | www.trail.agriculture.gov.dm

DHTA Hike Fest, www.dhta.org/hikefest.cfm