Dominica Things To Do

Gondolas transport visitors across approximately one mile of protected tropical rainforest canopy in Morne Trois Pitons National Park. The ride lasts 90 minutes and lets you get up close and personal with waterfalls, diverse plant life, and 172 species of birds like the endangered Sisserou parrot, purple throated hummingbird, and the mountain whistler. Closed June-November.

The once cannibalistic tribe that used to dominate the entire Caribbean now survives on a mere 282.3 acres of land on the east coast of Dominica. Head straight to Kalinago Barana Auté, a thatched roof village built on one acre along the banks of the Crayfish-River near Isukulati Falls. Here, visitors enjoy watching canoe carving, basket weaving, and cassava processing demonstrations.

Created in 1975 and named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997, Dominica’s first national park contains some of the rarest species (the Sisserou parrot, for example) and most diverse landscapes in the Caribbean. Numerous hiking trails dissect the 17,000+ lush, rugged acres which include some of the island’s top attractions including boiling mud ponds, geysers, and the Boiling Lake.

While Dominica’s beaches are rocky, the island makes up for it underwater where you can see seahorses, garden eels, and reef sharks. Some of the best diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean takes place off the leeward and north coasts. Dive Dominica offers PADI certification courses and trips to the Soufriere-Scotts Head Marine Reserve, other parts of the reef, and to numerous shipwrecks.

For three days every year (either in late October or early November – check the website for exact dates) musicians from across the West Indies descend upon Rouseau to perform cadence, compass, zouk, zydeco, soukous, and other Creole jams, along with a few big names in reggae.

The centerpiece of this 1,300-acre national park is Fort Shirley, a volcanic stone construction perched on a bluff overlooking Prince Rupert Bay. The 18th-century British fort is comprised of 50 structures ranging from storehouses, barracks, and gun batteries. There’s a small site museum covering the history of the fort and a few miles of trails to explore too.