Epic Dominica Hiking – A Scene from Another World…
The Boiling Lake and Valley of Desolation trail is iconic Dominica hiking. We met our guide in the town of Laudat and feeling adventurous, our guide rode the spare tire on the back of our rented Jimny’s (small SUV) a short distance to a parking lot near the popular Titou Gorge attraction. We got to the actual trail-head by crossing a narrow pedestrian bridge overlooking the river that feeds the gorge. Some workers were below us, drilling into the earth, apparently testing the geothermic energy potential of the island.
Our hike started off in the shadow of Morne Macaque, a magnificent mountain that foreshadowed some of the terrain that we were heading into. The first hour or so went by at a leisurely pace – We enjoyed the lush rain-forest and it’s natural rocky trail. As we walked, our guide identified the various tree and plant species we encountered along the way. I was particularly fascinated by the giant tree trunks (Banyon, Chataignier or Burrwood trees perhaps?), fiddleheads and the large variety of ferns, lichens and tree stranglers. A great start to the hike!
Eventually, we came to a sign that read “You are now entering the Morne Trois Pitons National Park”. OK – Apparently the trail-head and the first section of the trail are outside of the park. The trail started to get a little steeper at this stage and it was muddy in spots. There were steps in some sections, made by small tree trunks stuck in the mud. Once we had reached the top of the hill, we descending steeply down to the Trois Piton river.
After the river crossing, the trail got steeper as our guide informed us that we would soon be entering the Montane (or Cloud) forest section of the hike. For the next hour or so, we crossed all sorts of different and beautiful terrain. The trail consisted of mostly natural paths, along with a number of wooden stairs built into the sides of the mountain. These really helped us get down and up the really steep sections. The engineers did a great job – I can’t imagine what it would be like without the stairs.
We stopped a couple of times at clearings to take some pictures of the Caribbean sea, Roseau and the Western coastline. Eventually, we came to the top of Morne Nicholls, which has a nice flat area on top and some room to move around. Epic Dominica hiking! We took a break to have a snack and appreciate the magnificent views of the southern half of the island’s mountainous terrain. We also got a glimpse of the steam coming from Boiling lake – Hinting at what awaits us just a couple of valleys and ridges away. What an amazing feeling it is to see the island from this vantage point!
From there we traveled down some fairly steep gorges, between mountains. It was slow going as we picked our way over the rocks in what was reminiscent of a dried-out river bed. There were also sections of really muddy wooden stairs in some ‘near vertical’ areas – Not for the faint of heart for sure! It took us a half-hour or so to reach the aptly named “Valley of Desolation”… WOW – I felt like I was on another planet. It was totally surreal!
In sharp contrast to the lush green flora and terrain we had hiked to this point, this new area was wide open, barren and without vegetation. The ground was rocky and an eerie grey colour – Dotted with blues and greens, along with patches of orange-yellow-gold. It seemed like water was bubbling out of the ground, pretty much everywhere. Being we were on part of an active volcano, it shouldn’t have surprised us that the sulfur in the air was colouring the rocks rusty and the mineral-rich water was a rich grey. We were thankful for the constant breeze and gusts of wind that blew the nasty smell of sulfur away. This was a unique Dominica hiking experience for sure.
We had to be careful of where we stepped and what we touched as previously mentioned, water was actually boiling out of the ground. Apparently some folks bring eggs here to boil in the natural hot spots – Not sure I would eat that. Anyways, we found a stream that was not too hot and our guide dug into the bed and pulled up handfuls of warm grey mud that we applied to our faces – Some people pay good money to go to a spa for this type of treatment 🙂 The warm mud mask felt good, although it was at his time when I realized that wearing a white shirt into a volcanic area was not a good idea. The yellow stains I got on my shirt would turn out to be a “souvenir”, as it would later turn out to be un-cleanable, even with bleach. No big deal…
We left Desolation Valley and walked past a small waterfall and crossed another river. OK, we had been hiking now for a while, and after the thrill of the amazingly freaky volcanic water / mud bath area had subsided, we were ready for the main event – The Boiling Lake…
We hiked some more… Down another rocky trail followed by going up another ridge. We repeated this a couple more times, like a slow-motion roller-coaster ride, until we eventually reached a flat plateau that overlooks the lake. Again – This just didn’t seem real.
Another ‘unworldly’ site. At this one, we gazed at a tall thin stream of water falling dozens of feet into a 200 foot (60m) wide pool of grey water, which was yes – literally boiling in the centre. With steam rising off the surface of the water everywhere it looked like the world’s largest outdoor sauna. Our guide informed us that we were not in the volcano’s crater, but rather this was actually a flooded ‘fumerole’. Boiling Lake is fed by a couple of streams, whose water seeps deep down through cracks in the rocky ground, where it meets the volcanic lava which boils the water forcing it back up to the surface, where it continues to boil and evaporate. We just stood there for a while, trying to soak in and come to grips with what we were seeing.
After a rest break and lunch, we headed back down the same way we came. I gotta tell you, this hike “started to get old” when we reached the final stretch of the trail, especially the long wooden stair sections. My legs were a little wobbly and my hiking partner was having problems with her knees. It’s interesting how that same section of trail at the beginning of the hike was so enjoyable, yet on the way back we never thought it would end – Dominica hiking is not for the faint of heart (or stamina).
A few minutes later however and we were in for a treat. At the end of the hike, we reached a shallow section of Titou Gorge where we took off our hiking shoes and socks and waded into the refreshing shallow pool to cool our burning feet – very soothing and revitalizing!
Wow – What an ‘epic’ hike – A Caribbean bucket-list experience for sure! We really enjoyed the diversity of the trail – Sometimes we were on ridges and mountain tops with spectacular views, other times we were hiking between them in gorges, ruts and bizarre valleys… We experienced hot mineral springs and mud pools and of course saw a lake that was literally “boiling”. A once in a lifetime experience!
ACT Staff
* Please note that this review was done prior to Hurricane Maria in 2017 – The trail conditions/characteristics may have changed as the island recovered *
For the complete hiking report, hiking guides, as well as much more information on traveling to Dominica, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):
Dominica Hiking – Boiling Lake & the Valley of Desolation Trail
For an overview of what the Caribbean has to offer intrepid vacationers, take a look at our Active Caribbean Travel home page
