Hiking Trails – Page 2

Hike Martinique’s Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre Trail

By freem32@cogeco.ca Adventure, Caribbean, Hiking, Nature, Waterfalls

Martinique Hiking - The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre / Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike with multiple easy river crossings to a tall and beautiful waterfall

Martinique Hiking – Discover the Tallest Waterfall of L’Ile aux Fleurs!

The first thing I wanted to do after arriving in Martinique was to get out for a nice casual hike. It’s a great way to unwind and introduce oneself to what the French Caribbean island, known as the “Island of Flowers” has to offer. The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre, AKA the Couleuvre River Waterfall trail was close to where we were staying just north of Saint-Pierre, and as it turned out, was great choice for a warm welcome to Martinique!

Martinique Hiking - The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre / Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike with incredible rope-like vines

The trailhead is literally located at “the end of the road” on the northwest side of the island. The northbound D10 road ends after a wild series of twisty-turny, up-and-down sections of pavement at a small parking lot capable of holding maybe 10-15 cars. The morning we went for our hike, there were dozens of cars parked at the end of the D10, overflowing all along the sides of the road. As we were to find out, this is very characteristic of most ‘attractions’ in Martinique. Just beyond the parking lot, there is a small but clear post marking the start of the trail, along with an alternate route that leads to the beach, which I hear can be good for snorkeling on a calm day.

Martinique Hiking - The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre / Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike with amazing stands of bamboo

I knew instantly that this was going to be an awesome trail, as we were immediately surrounded by tropical rainforest plants and trees. We passed some huge trees along the trail and quickly saw tons of interesting fern-like vegetation growing on everything. Of course what really stood out were the massive vines everywhere, climbing like serpents from the ground up into the tree tops and back down again. Some of the vines seem to twist around themselves forming what appear to be large tree branches. Along with the large trunks of tropical trees there were some massive stands of bamboo that made quite an impression on us. That said, we had to keep our eye on the trail, specifically on the frequent river, or more accurately, creek crossings.

The trail took us on a constant but fairly gradual incline on the way to the falls, snaking back and forth across the Couleuvre River. Honestly, I lost track, but we must have crisscrossed the shallow creek close to ten times in each direction. The river crossings were easy to manage at the time of our hike – We didn’t even get our feet wet as we gingerly stepped across rocks that seemed conveniently spaced across the water. The stream was moving fairly fast though and I can imagine that the crossings can become much more challenging during the rainy season, or even after a big downpour perhaps. What I don’t understand is how the fish got into this shallow stream of water… Curious for sure.

Martinique Hiking - The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre / Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike with many easy river crossings

The dense jungle foliage prevented much sun from penetrating the ground, so there are plenty of moss-covered rocks along the river banks and plenty of fallen logs topped with clumps of little mushrooms and other assorted fungi. I noticed some peculiar tiny white mushrooms and some more familiar-looking brown mushrooms on our walk… and Ya, it was hot and humid for us as well, although to be fair, we had just arrived from a cold part of North America, so hiking through a rainforest was a bit of a shock to our system. A welcome change, but a shock nonetheless.

Martinique Hiking - The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre / Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike with mushrooms and fungi.

Martinique Hiking at its best. The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre River Waterfall trail is a pleasant tropical rainforest hike to a gorgeous tall waterfall

While there were several people on the trail, something else that we are not used to experiencing on our Caribbean hikes prior to this trip, it was by no means congested. We still felt like we were enjoying time (nearly) alone in nature.

While we had plenty to appreciate on the journey, I did get excited as I started to hear the faint but distinct sound of a waterfall in the distance. Eventually, I caught a glimpse of some falling water through a break in the foliage. After a few short minutes of hiking, or rather climbing over a couple of boulders and scaling some steep ground, there it was – the star attraction of the hike! A thin and long stream of water appears from nowhere in the sky… then plunges about 100 feet (30m) down a near-vertical black rock cliff face surrounded by well-nourished curtains of greenery!

The trail to Martinique’s tallest waterfall is about a mile (1.6km) long or 2 miles (>3km) return. Hiking the sloped trail results in an energetic and warming walk to the beautiful falls, and a relaxing stroll with momentum on your side on the way back. Taking a leisurely, exploring pace it took us just under an hour to reach the waterfall, and about half that time to return to the parking lot. That said, the duration really depends on how nimble you are in crossing the river, and how well your cardio handles the constant gentle incline which amounts to close to an 820-foot (250m) vertical rise in just over a mile (1.6km) of ground covered.

Overall, an excellent start to our Martinique adventures – We couldn’t have asked for anything better!

For a more ‘technical’ Trail Report as well as much more information on Martinique Hiking, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):

Hiking Martinique – The Cascade de la Riviere Couleuvre Trail
Martinique Hiking – Trail Reviews and Hiking Guides

For an overview of the beautiful island of Martinique, take a look at our Martinique Vacations page

ACT Staff

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Hiking through a “veil of vines” in St. Kitts

By freem32@cogeco.ca Adventure, Caribbean, Family, Hiking, Nature, Plantation, Tourist Attractions

Hike St. Kitts Central Forest Reserve National Park. The Bench Trail - Part of the St. Kitts Old Military Trail providing access to the Dos D'ane Pond Trail.

Discovering Vine-land in St. Kitts’ Central Forest Reserve

I’ve always wanted to hike in the St. Kitts Central Forest Reserve National Park, on a trail other than Mount Liamuiga, but I wasn’t sure the so-called hikes offered by the local tour operators were going to be interesting enough for us. So, we rented a car and drove up the west coast of the island to the grounds of the once majestic Wingfield Estate, where I had heard a number of hiking trails originated. Once we got there, I talked to a vendor about hiking in the area and asked if there were any local guides we could hire. Within seconds he was on his phone trying to help us out. After a couple of unsuccessful calls, he was able to reach someone from Old Road Town who would take us on a hike.

About half an hour later, a friendly fellow named Travis showed up and said he would be happy to take us into the jungle on what he called the “Bench Trail”. As we would find out, after hiking for an hour or so there’s a rustic wooden bench on the hillside where folks usually rest having just climbed a relatively steep section of the trail, hence the name. Our hike started with a casual walk along a dirt road behind Wingfield Estate that passed the remains of the recently abandoned Sky Safari Zipline. It’s amazingly beautiful how quickly tropical nature reclaims ownership of the land when given the opportunity to do so.

We soon left the dirt road, following a narrow path into the jungle. The natural trail took us next to what appeared to be an old riverbank, although the river bed was a green carpet, with just a little trickle of water and the odd puddle. Travis explained that the water was dammed and captured in cisterns much higher up the mountain. This part of the trail follows small pipes that bring clean water down into the local houses and businesses in Old Road Town and the surrounding area.

We stopped once in a while for Travis to show us various trees and plants bordering the trail. He explained that while some have edible fruit, others have leaves, bark, and roots that can be used for medicinal teas – Apparently curing everything from sore throats, indigestion, and stiff muscles to maybe even cancer. Other plants grow hard bright-coloured seeds that are used as decorative beads in traditional artwork. One tree Travis showed us was the massive locust tree, whose fruit is called ‘stinking toes’ due to their visual likeness and repugnant odour once cracked open. It was more appetizing when Travis pointed out the occasional cocoa tree with its distinctive large pods housing future chocolate. Then he brought to our attention the stand of almond trees we were walking under. Pretty cool to see the trail littered with partially eaten almond husks. Apparently, the local vervet (or green) monkeys eat the flesh between the husk and the pit, not realizing what they are missing – I’m sure they would really enjoy the protein-rich nut inside.

I always enjoy seeing the large tropical gommier trees with their fascinating rock-hard-looking bark with patches of reddish flakes, and maybe even a little shocked to come across the spike-covered sandbox trees. While intriguing to look at – don’t touch these horrors of the forest! Another interesting fruit Travis showed us was the manciport or mammee apple, whose fruit is apparently nutritious and delicious! We also encountered several species of mango and other edible fruit trees in the rainforest, although the monkeys eat the fruit right before it fully ripens, so unfortunately there is rarely much left for human consumption.

After about half an hour or so, we left the rainforest’s natural grocery store and pharmacy to head uphill. The trail twisted and turned around large trees constantly taking us higher. While a bit of a workout, it was relatively easy to hike although the incline did get steeper over time as the trail snaked up the mountainside. At Travis’ urging, we stopped a few times to sniff the air. Yes, I smelled the odour of animals nearby. While we figured correctly that goats roam the area, Travis suggested that there was something else afoot. He showed us marks on trees where the bark was clearly worn, as well as areas of earth that had been dug up near the roots. Apparently, these are the signs of feral pigs scratching themselves and rooting for food respectively. As the uphill hike continued, we kept hearing rustling noises above us in the trees. We were hoping to see monkeys, however, the sounds inevitably turned out to be doves. This situation repeated itself over and over again – The sight and sounds of startled doves taking flight.

After another half hour or so, we were quite sweaty and breathing a little hard as we arrived at “the bench”. We grabbed a seat, although we didn’t rest for too long. After peering through a gap in the rainforest canopy, we could see that we were on the edge of a gully, or what they call a ghaut in St. Kitts. Peering down into the ghaut, it was clear that we had traveled a fair distance, although it was clear that the trail continued much further as we could see a series of ropes tied from tree to tree. Travis told us he had never gone past the bench before, so he wasn’t sure where it went or for how long. We pushed on to take a look, but there was no end in sight. While the trail is fairly steep in this section, I didn’t need to use the ropes, although they are a good safety precaution for sure. With blue/white blazes on the trees, it appears as though this is a major trail of some sort. I believe that we were on the Old Military Trail that crosses the island from Old Road Town to Phillips Village. I further believe that if we had continued for another half hour or so, we would have found the spur trail to Dos D’Ane Pond.

We had set out today to just go for a nice little rainforest hike, so we were satisfied at this point to head back. It was great to discover that Travis was taking us back on a slightly different route, as loop trails provide the opportunity to experience as much diverse terrain and flora as possible. As an exciting change of pace, the first part of this new trail included an unanticipated plunge down the hillside. We pretty much rappelled a short section of trail to quickly reach the gully floor.

Being higher up in the ghaut, there was a bit of a stream in this area, quite likely from recent rains. Travis looked for crayfish but came up empty-handed. At this point, we crossed the shallow stream to encounter something out of a Jurassic Park or Tarzan movie. There were vines of all sizes hanging everywhere.

Pretty much a curtain or veil of vines. Travis explained how the vines grow out of the ground, climb up and tangle themselves around tree branches high in the sky, before reaching back to earth. He said the older ones secured to large trees are strong enough to hold the weight of an adult human, and Travis proved his point! OK, that was pretty cool!

Following the stream and eventually the dried-out riverbed, we eventually made our way back down to Wingfield Estate where Travis showed us soursop, calabash and pacay trees. He explained that the spiky soursop is a tasty and nutritious fruit, while calabash fruit and pacay seed pods are not edible, they do make for fun musical (percussion) instruments.

Back at Wingfield Estate, we walked around the remains of the old stone structures. A few hundred years ago, this was one of the most dominant plantations on the island – The place just oozes with history. In the mid 17^th century, it is believed to have been one of the Caribbean’s first rum distilleries!

Now that’s what I call a good day!

For a more ‘technical’ Trail Report as well as much more information on hiking in St. Kitts & Nevis, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):

For an overview of the beautiful “Sister islands”, take a look at our St. Kitts & Nevis Vacations page

If you’re looking for more active things to do while vacationing on the islands, click on our St. Kitts & Nevis Adventures blog for more great ideas!

For a more relaxed vacation itinerary, you can find great Tourist Attractions on the islands, by checking out our Things to Do in St. Kitts & Nevis blog

ACT Staff

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Jamaica Hiking in Mountainous Cockpit Country

By freem32@cogeco.ca Adventure, Caribbean, Hiking

Jamaica Hiking - Explore Jamaica's Cockpit Country on the Burnt Hill Nature Trail

A Steady Trail Through the Rolling Hills – Hiking Jamaica’s Cockpit Country

The third largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba and Hispaniola, Jamaica is roughly 3 times the size of Long Island (NY, USA). While Jamaica is probably best known for it’s reggae music, Rasta culture, white sand beach resorts and rum… I think of the Caribbean island’s wild and mountainous areas and know that Jamaica hiking has so much potential.

I had heard about a lesser known/visited region on the island called Cockpit Country, that was supposed to have a few hiking trails worth checking out. I understand that the large area, of approximately 500 square miles (1,300 sq km), is wrinkled and dimpled with hundreds of limestone hills and karst caves – It is probably the wildest area left on Jamaica. I thought to myself, this sounds good – Let’s do it!

We knew we would need a local guide for this one and the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency, with it’s Cockpit Country Adventure Tours was able to help us get the most out of our Jamaica Hiking experience.

We left our Montego Bay hotel before 7am, taking a local taxi through the Jamaican countryside to the Clark’s Town Police Station to meet our host and guides. After exchanging greetings followed by a short drive to the edge of town, we were off…

With our guide leading the way, we headed into the wilderness – 10 miles (16km) through the rugged Cockpit Country to a town on the other side called Albert Town. After a few minutes on the trail, we noticed that a dog, had joined us from somewhere on the outskirts of town and was happily following us. Well, that’s alright with me.

We got on the trail just before 8am, so the air was relatively cool and the grass was still covered with the morning’s dew. I was a bit worried when my mesh shoes quickly became soaked, although it wasn’t long before it warmed up and the ground became increasingly hot and dry. This was great as it allowed my feet to dry fairly quickly. As the day progressed, the air temperature settled somewhere in the comfortable mid-high 70s (mid 20s celsius). Thanks to the mostly shaded trail, it never got too-too hot the entire hike – A nice change from previous Caribbean trails we’ve hiked under the heat of a scorching sun!

We were walking on a trail known as the Burnt Hill Nature trail, which is actually an abandoned road from the 1950s – built by Canada we were told. Well the Engineers did an amazing job cutting a road through the mountainous terrain – The trail always seemed fairly level, albeit with slight inclines and descents. This was not consistent with my Trail App’s reported elevation changes of over 6,600 feet (2,000m) over the length of the trail. We never noticed that much up-and-down.

The road was built into the sides of the mountains, so the track took several twists and turns as it snaked it’s way through Cockpit Country. Most of the time there were clear dual paths to walk on, although from the tall grass growing on the sides and between the tracks, you can tell that this road hasn’t seen regular car traffic in years. That said, at one point, we did come across several locals loading a truck high, with long skinny trees that apparently are used as poles for growing Yams.

Well, after about an hour or so, the dog was still with us, so we thought we should give her a name. She had a sparkle in her eye and was always smiling, well ok – panting with her tongue hanging out, so I decided to call her Sparky. Like the rest of us, she seemed to be enjoying the exercise. I wonder if she noticed the fluttering orange moths that also accompanied us on our walk…

Our knowledgeable guide casually dispensed interesting commentary, telling us about the history of the area as well as providing information on some of the local plants we encountered. I’m always fascinated by the many medicinal properties and beauty that nature provides.

He displayed a giant snail, showed us a plant that helps with stomach problems, and informed us that the fruit from an inviting looking orange tree we encountered, was actually extremely bitter. We also encountered a bizarre spider web on a bush on the side of the trail – It seemed to have tightly knitted ‘mini webs’ built within the larger web – We had never seen anything like that before. Personally, I was enthralled with giant leaves that fall to the ground when they die – They curl-up into bowling-ball sized balls, that covered areas of the canopy floor – So cool! We also learned that common birds in the area included Flycatchers, Thrushes, Orioles and Cuckoos.

We were told about how the region got it’s name from early Spanish explorers. The story goes, that after their officers, comfortably positioned on the high ground of course, watched a battle wage below them in a gully, remarked that the spectacle reminded them of watching cock fights, in ‘the pit’, back in Spain – Hence the name ‘Cockpit Country’.

As the hike progressed, Sparky the dog was panting heavily and we observed her stopping occasionally for a drink from the Bromeliad plants that periodically lined the side of the trail. This smart dog knew that rainfall gets trapped on the large leaves near the base of the plant. I made a mental note in case we were lost in the jungle some day. We also noticed a large number of Turkey Vultures off in the distance, circling in the sky – While they may have been watching us, I wasn’t worried… 🙂

While the trail doesn’t provide any great Caribbean Sea scenery or any birds-eye views of the island as a whole, the remote wilderness of the area, with it’s numerous peaks and valleys, supplied us special sights of it’s own. Great Jamaica hiking for sure! One of the highlights was peering across and down into a valley known as Barbecue Bottom. Even though we were a little late to witness the morning mist in the gorge, the view was still quite breathtaking. In Jamaica, flat areas of land are called “barbecues”, because they provide a level area for coffee beans and other crops to be laid out on screens for drying in the sun.

Once we were deep in the jungle, we kept hearing loud screeching sounds from above – It was as if we were disturbing the local inhabitants and they were letting us know that we were intruding! Our helpful guide informed us that we were hearing from one of their local parrots. Now, I’ve hiked a number of Caribbean islands and am always trying to catch a glimpse of the colourful birds, but they have always eluded me. Well, today was our lucky day. A little further on, our guide pointed out a fairly large gathering of the small green ‘Black Billed’ parrots in a tree and after they took to the air, they flew overhead, giving us a clear view to spot them, which we did. What a wonderful experience!

Another highlight of the hike was walking down a particularly dry section of the trail, cut into the side of the mountain. We came across an area of fallen rock – This section of the road was in total daylight, exposing rich red-orange colours of the mountain, somewhat similar to what you would see in the deserts of Arizona or Utah.

After stopping at this picturesque location for a snack, we continued the trek through the stunning beauty of this wild region of Jamaica. It was clear that my hiking partner was looking for a workout, either that or she was anxious to get back to the resort – Either way, she had set a fairly fast pace from the on-set. Even so, Sparky took the lead at this point and pulled us along even faster, so that we completed the last third of the trail in about an hour or so.

Our hike ended when we suddenly popped out of the jungle into a small cluster of houses and fields. It had taken us just over three and a half hours to walk through Cockpit Country from Clark’s Town to Albert Town on that deceptively flat and wide trail. We got a ride back to Clark’s Town before heading back to the coastal town of Montego Bay and our hotel, just in time for lunch! What a great way to spend the morning!

This Jamaica hike through Cockpit Country was “as advertised”… A luscious green wilderness area, that most tourists wouldn’t believe exists. We were accompanied by singing birds, drifting orange moths, consistent patches of warm sun, and even a local dog who kept us company! Oh yah – We saw a Caribbean green parrot too… What a fun and enjoyable hike!

For the complete Hiking Trail Report as well as much more information on hiking in Jamaica, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):

Hiking Jamaica’s Cockpit Country – Burnt Hill Nature Trail
Jamaica Hiking Trails – Trail Reviews and Tour Operators

We really enjoyed hiking with guides from the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA). The non-profit’s mission is to promote development in Trelawny by implementing environmental conservation and economic opportunity projects. STEA was formed over 20 years ago to address environmental problems, facilitate environmentally friendly economic and community development activities and to promote sustainable use of the natural resources of Cockpit Country. Personally, I respect and appreciate everything they do for the community and one of Jamaica’s remaining wild areas.

For more information about STEA, including planning your own Jamaica Cockpit Country adventure (they also offer Birding and Caving Excursions), you can contact the good folks at STEA / Cockpit Country Adventure Tours by visiting their website or facebook page (just click on a link below):

For an overview of the “land of wood and water”, take a look at our Jamaica Vacations page

If you’re looking for more active things to do while vacationing on the island, check out our Jamaica Adventures blog for more great ideas!

For great Tourist Attractions on the island, check out our Things to Do in Jamaica blog

ACT Staff

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What’s in a name? Dominica’s Boiling Lake & Valley of Desolation

By freem32@cogeco.ca Adventure, Caribbean, Hiking, Tourist Attractions, Volcano

Dominica Hiking at it's best - Boiling Lake and Valley of Desolation Trail

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

Dominica Hiking Trails

Dominica Vacations

For an overview of what the Caribbean has to offer intrepid vacationers, take a look at our Active Caribbean Travel home page

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An Epic Hiking ‘Fail’ in Martinique

By freem32@cogeco.ca Adventure, Caribbean, Hiking, Nature, Rum

Martinique Hiking on the rarely used / un-maintained Piton Lacroix trail was a great adventure that sadly ended in failure. Now with a map, we'll do it next time

You can find Martinique comfortably located between Dominica and St. Lucia, pretty much in the middle of the southern Caribbean. As an “over-seas region” of France and the 3rd largest of the Windward Islands, Martinique is a unique Caribbean destination, and that holds true for its hiking trails. The island offers a variety of easy relaxing walks as well as some very challenging and mountainous hikes. Although we were only there for the day as part of a cruise stop, we were feeling ambitious and decided to attempt hiking one of the tallest peaks on the island – Piton Lacroix, which stands majestically at 3,870 feet (1,180m) above sea-level.

We rented a car in Fort-de-France, then headed north-west along the coast towards Le-Morne Vert. We were amazed to discover that the main roads on Martinique are large, well maintained multi-lane highways. It was a nice scenic drive, filled with gorgeous coastal views on one side, and green mountainous rainforest views on the other! Just past Bellefontaine, we headed inland towards the town of Saint Maurice. Driving on these narrow, winding roads, we got lost a few times before ending up at the east end of a road called Canton Suisse.

At this point, I’ll mention that sometimes things just don’t work out as planned… While there are over 3 dozen marked trails on Martinique, unbeknownst to me at the time, this wasn’t one of them. Not one of my best ideas – However, it was an adventure, none the less!

We parked the car on the side of the road near an old farmhouse and walked up a steep paved road which turned into a dirt/grass track before ending-up at a partly plowed farmer’s field. As we walked, we passed goats and cows wandering around. As we seemed to have startled them, I don’t think they were used to many visitors. At the edge of the field, we could see a series of forested mountains in the background to the east. From this vantage point, we also had beautiful views to the north/west of the island, towards Saint Maurice, Le Morne Vert as well as the Caribbean Sea.

Did I mention that we were kind of winging it? Well… as we were at the forest edge, I assumed that the trail must start here somewhere, however there was no marked trailhead of any sort. I walked the edge of the field/forest trying to find some hint of a trail. I never really found anything that resembled a well-used trail but eventually, after about 10-15 minutes of searching, we headed up-hill on what appeared to be a path of some sort. In the back of mind, I was wondering if this was a wild animal path, as I have been known to veer off man-made trails, accidentally following deer paths and the like – I guess we would find out

From the start, the going was tough, not just because the trail was barely visible, but because the path was extremely steep and muddy – we were slipping and sliding all over the place. After what seemed like an hour or more, the trail finally looked a bit more discernible, albeit strewn with fallen trees and rocks. This was a true rain-forest hike adventure, as the forest was very dense and dark in most sections, with only the occasional rays of sun peeking through the heavy canopy. Pretty cool!

While at this stage of the hike I was starting to gain confidence that this may be an actual trail, we had consumed a fair amount of time for a couple of reasons. One because there were a number of steep and muddy sections that we had to carefully pick-our-way up and around, but also because the trail to this point was not obvious so we couldn’t motor along like we typically would. When you lack confidence, you lack in conviction (and speed).

When we had made it to some high ground where we could see where we were, the hike became a little more intimidating. It appeared as though we had just hiked to the top of a small ridge of sorts, and now were probably less than halfway to the peak of Piton Lacroix. We were about 2,526 feet (770m) above sea-level at this point and we could see that the trail descended into a gulley and we could only assume that it took a seriously steep ascent of Piton Lacroix which we could see across the valley. It was already afternoon, and with an estimated 3 more hours traversing another couple thousand feet (700m) of elevation change to complete the hike and return, we decided it wasn’t do-able with our time constraints, so we turned back.

We were covered in mud, tired and disappointed that we didn’t reach the peak, however it was an experience to have got this far. We found out later, once I found a proper map of Martinique’s trails, that while this is an actual trail, it is not maintained and rarely used.

While we didn’t have the time to complete this hike, we realized that we didn’t have to head back to the port right away. After getting back to the car, we drove a little further north before heading back to the coast. As a result, we stumbled across the town of Le Carbet and found a beautiful quiet beach. What a find! We wandered around for a while, appreciating the cool breeze off the Caribbean Sea. When we were leaving town we also noticed a boutique rum distillery, so we stopped in for a visit. While most Caribbean islands make their own rum, Martinique could be considered the rum capital of the world with its more than 10 distilleries and even more rum brands. For more information, check out our Martinique Rhum page. Anyways, we had a good afternoon as we found some nice areas of Martinique to visit.

Before we got back on the cruise ship, I managed to grab a nice detailed Martinique Hiking Trail Map – Next time, we will be much better prepared! Reference our Circuit de la Caravelle blog post for proof of that.

ACT Staff

For a more ‘technical’ Trail Report as well as much more information on hiking in Martinique, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):

For an overview of this French Caribbean Island Paradise, take a look at our Martinique Vacations page

If you’re looking for more active things to do while vacationing on the island, click on our Martinique Adventures blog for more great ideas! (coming soon)

For a more relaxed vacation itinerary, you can find great Tourist Attractions on the island, by checking out our Things to Do in Martinique blog (coming soon)

Tag: Hiking Trails

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