Dominica

Dominica is a small Caribbean island nation, nestled between Martinique and Guadeloupe. Dominica’s nickname is “The Nature Isle of the Caribbean”, due to its incredible natural beauty. Almost the whole country is forested, and it boasts an extensive national park system, including the Morne Trois Pitons rainforest, which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.

A trip to Dominica will give you a chance to experience wondrous waterfalls and mud ponds, and fauna such as parrots, iguanas and rare butterflies. It is also an extremely mountainous nation, making it a popular hiking destination. Other natural hot spots include Dominica’s Boiling Lake, the world’s second-largest hot lake, and the Champagne Reef. Apart from spectacular beaches and volcanoes, Dominica has a large number of rivers.

The island is so extraordinary in its nature that most exotic locations of the “Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” movie were filmed there.

With so many rivers, mountains, and beaches in Dominica, you don’t have to search very hard to find an extreme adventure. Go river tubing or kayaking, go canyoning through the rainforest to a secret waterfall or tackle the longest in the Caribbean Waitukbuli National Trail. 

Dominica is the only country on the planet where sperm whales reside year-round. Both dolphins and whales live pretty close to shore, though the absolute best season is November through March.

Dominica is a vibrant tapestry of European and African cultures, with the Caribbean’s only remaining population of pre-Columbian Carib Indians. Properly known as the Kalinago, Dominica’s indigenous people inhabit a 3,700-acre territory or reserve on the eastern coast of the island.