Discover Dominica

290 square miles Highest point: Morne Diablotins, 4,747 feet

Northernmost of the Windwards, Dominica is famed as the Nature Island — and no place better deserves that nickname. Here are volcanic mountains soaring into the clouds, laced with cold rivers and waterfalls plunging into verdant pools, plus a shoreline of black volcanic beaches, and the Caribbean’s best whalewatching sites. Within easy reach of Roseau, Morne Trois Pitons National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — has a landscape shaped by volcanic activity, including the celebrating Boiling Lake, at the end of a six-mile hike, with its waters geothermally heated to 90 degrees Celsius (don’t fall in). Not far to the west are Middleham Falls, a 250-foot cataract cascading into a mesmerisingly blue pool, deep in the forest. And Dominica’s crown jewel is the Waitukubuli National Trail, at 115 miles long the Caribbean’s longest single hiking trail, bisecting the island from north to south. The route takes a full two weeks to complete end to end — that’s a challenge for your bucket list.

Scotts Head at Dominica’s southwestern tip overlooks protected Soufrière Bay

Photo courtesy Dominica Tourism Authority

It takes a full two weeks to hike across Dominica, north to south, through stunning mountain scenery.

Photo by Simon Walsh

Dominica’s offshore waters are one of the Caribbean’s most reliable whale-watching locations.

Photo by Janos Routonen/Shutterstock.com