Walking the Waitukubuli Trail in Dominica
You need to be able to get one big word under your tongue before thinking about a trekking or walking holiday on this luscious island of Dominica: Waitukubuli. It’s the name of their prestigious long distance walking trail that travels the length of the country and it comes from the original indigenous name for the island, meaning ‘Tall is her body’. And tall she is, the Waitukubuli National Trail, spanning 185km from Scott’s Head in the south to Cabrits National Park in the north. Walking holidays here dip in and out of it, with plenty of hikes around it too of course, or you can take on the whole thing over two weeks.
Walking holidays in Dominica are not just a walk in the park, but all about engaging with the landscapes and local communities. This is a country that is totally switched on to both its cultural and natural heritage, standing out from many Caribbean Islands in that respect. Where other islands are busy counting tourists rolling off the cruise ships, Dominica is counting its bird populations and training naturalist guides. Consequently, from the minute you arrive, you will be nurtured by nature. It’s just in the air. And the forests, volcanoes, rivers and waterfalls. And the people. They respect it, they have a fundamental understanding of it, and a burning desire to share it.
There is one thing that really stands out about Dominica’s walking trails: they have a great focus on local people. The Waitukubuli Trail was created by a small group of local people who decided to map the informal back trails around the country that had linked one community with another for generations. And so that is what you find along the way. Small communities, such as the indigenous Kalinago people on the east coast. Or the small mountain communities in and around the volcanic Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Or the remote coastal communities right on the northern tip around Capuchin. And with so many expert walking guides on the island, you won’t be short of a story or two, because this is a country that likes to walk and talk.
Walking holidays in Dominica are not just a walk in the park, but all about engaging with the landscapes and local communities. This is a country that is totally switched on to both its cultural and natural heritage, standing out from many Caribbean Islands in that respect. Where other islands are busy counting tourists rolling off the cruise ships, Dominica is counting its bird populations and training naturalist guides. Consequently, from the minute you arrive, you will be nurtured by nature. It’s just in the air. And the forests, volcanoes, rivers and waterfalls. And the people. They respect it, they have a fundamental understanding of it, and a burning desire to share it.
There is one thing that really stands out about Dominica’s walking trails: they have a great focus on local people. The Waitukubuli Trail was created by a small group of local people who decided to map the informal back trails around the country that had linked one community with another for generations. And so that is what you find along the way. Small communities, such as the indigenous Kalinago people on the east coast. Or the small mountain communities in and around the volcanic Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Or the remote coastal communities right on the northern tip around Capuchin. And with so many expert walking guides on the island, you won’t be short of a story or two, because this is a country that likes to walk and talk.
Our top trip
Walking and sightseeing holiday in Dominica
An easy holiday on the rugged Caribbean island of Dominica
From
US $1600 to US $1750
8 days
ex flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
What it entails
The Waitukubuli National Trail, or WNT, completed in 2011, takes you up, over and across the entire island, for 185km of mountains, rainforest, dramatic gorges, cliff tops and into otherwise inaccessible communities. It was the brainchild of several local people who recognised that this network of informal trails linking one village with another could be made accessible to tourists. It has now been mapped and signposted and is clearly divided into 14 segments with each segment taking, on average, a day. Making for a perfect, if rather full on, two-week hiking holiday. Most walking holidays in Dominica are tailor made, however, so depending on the amount of time you have, expert tour operators can advise on which segments to take on. It’s a small island after all, just the size of Anglesey, so with car transfers you can create a wonderful walking mix.
Walking Levels
The WNT really varies according to each segment. In the north, segments 10 and 11, for example, are completely contrasting. Segment 10 is considered an easy 6.4km hike, with a few hours strolling around the foothills of Morne Diablotins, Dominica's tallest mountain, with views out across the west coast. Segment 11 may only be a few more kilometers, but it takes you through the steep, jagged mountainous terrain of the Morne Diablotins National Park. This is bird watchers’ bliss though.
In the south, you have an easy start to the WNT at Scotts Head, with 7km of littoral loveliness that includes a trek alongside an ancient volcanic crater, through some overgrown plantations and ending at the Soufriere Sulphur Springs. But a few segments later, still in the south, you are trekking through full on rainforest of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, where challenges such as the valley of Desolation, Titou Gorge, and river scrambling await. Along with the 50m-wide, lava heated Boiling Lake. It’s as if the movie set just changed from a beach romance to Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s the WNT for you. It keeps you on your toes.
In the south, you have an easy start to the WNT at Scotts Head, with 7km of littoral loveliness that includes a trek alongside an ancient volcanic crater, through some overgrown plantations and ending at the Soufriere Sulphur Springs. But a few segments later, still in the south, you are trekking through full on rainforest of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, where challenges such as the valley of Desolation, Titou Gorge, and river scrambling await. Along with the 50m-wide, lava heated Boiling Lake. It’s as if the movie set just changed from a beach romance to Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s the WNT for you. It keeps you on your toes.
Your walking guides
If ever there was a country to walk in the company of expert local guides, Dominica is it. They take their walking seriously here, and they really value the WNT. Which is why there are impressive national training facilities for walking and naturist guides, who proudly earn their “Dominica Discover Authority” (DDA) guide certification and join the Waitukubuli Tour Guide Association. Also, there are several segments of the WNT where guides are a must in terms of safety, such as to the Boiling Lake, and also to some of the waterfalls where flash flooding can occur. Dominica’s landscapes are vulnerable to a lot of rain so conditions underfoot can be fragile or unpredictable. If in doubt, bring a guide.
Cabrits National Park
Although this national park is only 5km², its stunning peninsular position on the north coast, also the final segment on the Waitukubuli Trail, captures so much of Dominican biodiversity. With superb hiking trails, many very accessible, you can lose yourself in nature here, walking through rainforests or wetlands and then hopping out to reefs for some cool down fun in the water.
Kalinago Barana Autê Cultural Village
We have the 3,400-strong Kalinago population to thank for the name Waitukubuli as their indigenous language that was first used to name the island. And also the walking trail which passes through their cultural village. Founded, 2006 it is the tourist hub of their 15km² territory. With stunning Atlantic views, you can also gain great views on the island’s ancient heritage.
Morne Diablotin National Park
Founded to protect not only its voluptuous volcanic terrain, but also the precious habitat of the endemic Sisserou and Jaco parrots in the park’s Syndicate Rainforest. You can hike along the Syndicate Nature Trail, very popular with bird watchers or, for a more challenging trek, you can take on the Summit Trail which takes you to the island’s highest peak, Morne Diablotin at 1,447 m.
Morne Trois Pitons National Park
There are several Dominican divas competing for attention here – the 1,342m Morne Trois Pitons volcano, Titou Gorge, a 50m-wide lava heated Boiling Lake and the Valley of Desolation, where you have to negotiate steaming, sulphur streams. It may sound like a hike to the gates of hell, but this is, of course, hiking heaven, with many trails starting in the aptly named Laudat, Latin for ‘praise be’.
Scotts Head
A glorious send off point for the first segment of the Waitukubuli Trail. An idyllic isthmus separating the Caribbean from the Atlantic, its eponymous village is sheltered by an ancient volcanic crater which also overlooks the Soufrière Scotts Head Marine Reserve, with superb ‘straight off the beach’ snorkelling. Scotts Head is one beautiful bundle of protected prettiness. And for walkers, it’s just the beginning.
The history of the trail
Walking the talk with Michael Eugene, tour pioneer and one of those behind Dominica’s extraordinary Waitukubuli National Trail, the first long distance walking trail in the Caribbean.
When a man walks the length of his country, you know he means business. And Michael Eugene, founder of our Dominican specialists, Jungle Trekking and Adventure Safaris, has made walking on this luscious, mountainous Caribbean island not only his business, but everybody else’s living there too.
Having left Dominica to go and do the grown up thing (Chemical Engineering at City University, New York) Michael returned to his native Dominica, where he set up a tourism company in 2002 that takes visitors on adventures along the country’s wealth of rivers, under its waterfalls, through its tropical national parks and over its volcanic mountains. He soon realised that in order to do this properly, he needed to walk the talk and go on his own journey of discovery that would link up as many of his beloved country’s glories as possible. And do so in what, for Michael, is the best way to adventure, and the way he had always known growing up – on foot.
Having left Dominica to go and do the grown up thing (Chemical Engineering at City University, New York) Michael returned to his native Dominica, where he set up a tourism company in 2002 that takes visitors on adventures along the country’s wealth of rivers, under its waterfalls, through its tropical national parks and over its volcanic mountains. He soon realised that in order to do this properly, he needed to walk the talk and go on his own journey of discovery that would link up as many of his beloved country’s glories as possible. And do so in what, for Michael, is the best way to adventure, and the way he had always known growing up – on foot.
Realising that yes, most Dominicans know the best paths to navigate the rainforests around, say, Morne Diablotin volcanic peak, or the coastal forests of its far northern coast, Michael also recognised that it is different for visitors. They like signs, maps and a hint of where to stay or where to grab a fresh coconut juice en route. 185km and several years of negotiations with farmers, indigenous Kalinago tribal leaders and government departments later, in 2011, Michael’s dream of the Caribbean’s first long distance walking trail, spanning from Scott’s Head in the south to Cabrits National Park in the north, was completed. It was named the Waitukubuli National Trail, named after the indigenous name for the island, which means ‘Tall is her body’, and it is now the only long-distance walking trail in the Caribbean.
There are 14 segments on the trail, each taking a day to complete. So, you can pick ‘n’ mix or take on a serious challenge and do the whole thing, with welcoming homestays along the way and local guides to make the journey easier and packed with stories. I imagine that the stories behind achieving this dream would fill a book as, according to Michael, “In terms of developing the physical Trail itself, there was the problem of getting support and buy-in from the (several) land owners along the route to allow for Right-Of Way along the Trail. But now, more than 5 years later, and having hiked the trail many times over, and met many great people, I am finally beginning to understand just why I was drawn away from the big city.”
There are 14 segments on the trail, each taking a day to complete. So, you can pick ‘n’ mix or take on a serious challenge and do the whole thing, with welcoming homestays along the way and local guides to make the journey easier and packed with stories. I imagine that the stories behind achieving this dream would fill a book as, according to Michael, “In terms of developing the physical Trail itself, there was the problem of getting support and buy-in from the (several) land owners along the route to allow for Right-Of Way along the Trail. But now, more than 5 years later, and having hiked the trail many times over, and met many great people, I am finally beginning to understand just why I was drawn away from the big city.”
Community involvement is also part of Michael’s vision for the Waitukubuli National Trail (WNT), something that we also value at Responsible Travel. However, Michael is very quick to remind us that there is not a poverty issue in Dominica.
“Sadly enough, we are still referred to as being poor in Dominica, but in fact we are so resource rich. So I want to get away from the poverty word – and when we talk about homestays as a way of alleviating poverty, I believe that in Dominica it is almost the opposite of this. Yes, it supplements a farming community’s income, but most importantly, homestays highlight the agricultural, sustenance farming heritage and celebrate it through tourism. Because in many ways, this is what we all need to be doing in the world. On our walking tours, we stop at one homestay for a lunch and everything is from the farmer’s yard, from the eggs and chicken, carrots and broccoli, chives and all the seasoning, as well as fish that she gets in the local community. I dare say that in most developed countries, it is unlikely that I could go into the backyard and pick me my lunch and breakfast. So to me this isn’t poverty.”
“Sadly enough, we are still referred to as being poor in Dominica, but in fact we are so resource rich. So I want to get away from the poverty word – and when we talk about homestays as a way of alleviating poverty, I believe that in Dominica it is almost the opposite of this. Yes, it supplements a farming community’s income, but most importantly, homestays highlight the agricultural, sustenance farming heritage and celebrate it through tourism. Because in many ways, this is what we all need to be doing in the world. On our walking tours, we stop at one homestay for a lunch and everything is from the farmer’s yard, from the eggs and chicken, carrots and broccoli, chives and all the seasoning, as well as fish that she gets in the local community. I dare say that in most developed countries, it is unlikely that I could go into the backyard and pick me my lunch and breakfast. So to me this isn’t poverty.”
Dominica does indeed have a wealth of resources, and with responsible tourism aficionados like Michael, they also have a wealth of wisdom. And we warm to this sort of wisdom at Responsible Travel, knowing that travellers can benefit from the sorts of unusual and enriching trips that Michael has made happen within his community.
The WNT’s opening hasn’t been without its ups and downs, if you’ll excuse the pun. Tropical Storm Erika in 2015, which devastated the island, being one. Then there was Hurricane Maria in 2017, which caused even more damage; as of 2019, all sections apart from 7-9 are back in business.
The WNT’s opening hasn’t been without its ups and downs, if you’ll excuse the pun. Tropical Storm Erika in 2015, which devastated the island, being one. Then there was Hurricane Maria in 2017, which caused even more damage; as of 2019, all sections apart from 7-9 are back in business.
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Maintaining the Trail
Maintaining the Trail is now in the hands of the Department of Forestry, but Michael is a realist about how government funding can be allocated. One year it might be forestry, another year it will be something else. And so he and other likeminded Dominicans wisely set up an NGO called Friends of Waitukubuli which has, according to Michael, “a quest to preserve and sustain our island. A few of us who were very passionate about it got together and formed this not for profit organisation, which gives us funds to help us keep an eye on the trail and ensure that it continues to be what it is meant to be.”
But Michael’s dream doesn’t stop there. “The Trail must be the portal through which Dominica is marketed. What better way to achieve this and highlight the importance of this through recognition of this 115 mile long corridor as a national park… whereby everything along the space is revered and automatically protected in law!” He may have a bit of a journey still to go on this front, but Michael Eugene is definitely a man who walks the talk and lives the dream.
But Michael’s dream doesn’t stop there. “The Trail must be the portal through which Dominica is marketed. What better way to achieve this and highlight the importance of this through recognition of this 115 mile long corridor as a national park… whereby everything along the space is revered and automatically protected in law!” He may have a bit of a journey still to go on this front, but Michael Eugene is definitely a man who walks the talk and lives the dream.
Accommodation
Most walking holidays in Dominica involve staying in several accommodations and taking either day walks from there, or walking from one lovely locally owned village inn to another along the WNT. With your bags being transferred for you by car. And because this is a Caribbean country that is very much switched on to sustainability, there is also an impressive range of eco aware places to stay en route. It’s a small island so they know how to source food locally, they also favour natural air conditioning with no shortage of sea breezes to flow through strategically built houses. Swimming tends to be in sea water pools, nearby waterfalls or – for something warmer – a dip in a volcanic hot spring. Accommodation hot water sources are often geothermal too. If it’s five star, cultureless resorts you are after, you are on the wrong island. Dominica does things the Dominican way, and it’s a green and gorgeous way.
Best time to go
Even though there are two clear seasons, dry and rainy, always be prepared for rain. Albeit tropical bursts which cool the air and, after the clouds have burst, you are basking in warm rays again. Because temperatures rarely dip below the high 20s all year round. Most people like to walk between the months of February and April, the traditional dry season, the rains kicking in more heavily between June and November. It’s the humidity that some walkers struggle with, however, which starts to get really tough around April and May, just before the rains. Whenever you come, just pack good raingear, sturdy walking shoes and plenty of socks.
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