Dominica Hiking – Being ‘Up a Creek’ Never Felt So Good
It was an enjoyable drive to Victoria Falls along the south-east coast of Dominica. Near the town of Delices, we followed the signs from the main road that led us down a dangerously steep narrow pathway carved into the side of a ridge. Thankfully it’s a short drive down to the local family ‘Rastarant’ (yes, a Rasta Restaurant), where one of the local Rasta guides came out to greet us.
We had heard that this was not so much a traditional hike, as an adventurous walk alongside and ‘in’ a shallow, fast-flowing river. That said, as we had never done a ‘river trail’ before, so we didn’t really know what to expect. Well, it wasn’t your typical Dominica hiking experience – It’s more of an adventure!
It was an enjoyable, but relatively short hike from the rastarant to the White River. The setting, with the eerily grey-blue mineral-rich water below us, was stunningly beautiful. Following our guide, we waded into and crossed the river to join another trail on the other side. After a short hike, we were back into the water just upstream from where we crossed. From here on, we spent most of the time walking in the river, against the current. It was fairly slow going, picking our way slowly across the rocks.
In some sections, the water flowed fairly strong, and in other areas we had to crawl over truck-sized boulders in the water. Some of the rocks were much more slippery than they looked. Unfortunately, we both slipped a couple of times. Personally, I had put too much face in technology, specifically the water shoes I was wearing, as Mother Nature gave me some tough love. We collected a few ‘souvenir’ scrapes and bruises along the way, nothing too serious – This was definitely a small price to pay for the rewarding sight that awaited us.
Wow, this was really a unique Dominica hiking experience – Our journey to the falls reminded me of stories I’ve read about the early French and English explorers travelling west in what is today Canada – via waterways as there were no roads and few trails to walk. Except here, we didn’t need canoes for our short trip. Oh, and the air and water temperature was really nice and warm 🙂
After a while, we knew we were getting close, as we could hear the roar of the waterfall getting closer and closer. Eventually, we turned a corner in the river and we could see the breathtaking Victoria waterfalls and the large blue-grey pool that it poured into. Being at the bottom of the spectacular 165 feet (50m) tall waterfalls was a truly humbling experience. The scene was like something out of a movie as we just stood in awe – You could just feel the power… Everything, from rocks to trees and shrubs, within hundreds of feet of the surrounding area was soaked from the falls’ mist.
Well, at this point I thought I would simply wade into the pool and get real up-close and personal, maybe even stick my head under and have a shower. Huh! There’s just no way… As I tried to approach the falls, the tremendously strong spray from the water crashing into the pool felt like needles… no more like nails, being shot at me. I couldn’t even get close – What power. A totally mind-blowing experience!
It was the same way back, although it seemed much easier in this direction. Perhaps it was as simple as walking with the current instead of against it, or perhaps it was now having the knowledge of what to expect. Either way, we made it back to the car fairly quickly, although I really didn’t want to leave this secluded paradise! What a unique Dominica hiking experience.
It is safe to say that our Victoria Falls hike made memories that will last a lifetime. The hike in terms of distance was fairly short, however there was so much to ‘take in’ – Travelling upstream in a wild rocky river and standing in the pool of this mighty waterfall – Time was ‘standing still’. An epic tropical nature experience for sure!
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 Victoria Falls Trail details, along with more information on traveling to Dominica, please reference the following links (to pages on our website):
Dominica Hiking – Victoria Falls
For information on the Caribbean’s Nature Island, check out our Dominica Vacations page
For an overview of what the Caribbean has to offer intrepid vacationers, take a look at our Active Caribbean Travel home page
