Hiking to the Boiling Lake on Dominica is by far one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. The trail is about seven miles each way and took us seven hours to hike, we stopped a few times along the way. It was an all day hike and at one point I didn’t think I’d make it; the terrain was really challenging for me. We had the best guide on the island, Nahjie, who not only lives in Laudat (which makes the Boiling Lake in his ‘backyard’) but holds the record for hiking to the Boiling Lake in one day – Nahjie has hiked to the Boiling Lake three times in one day, AMAZING!!!

The Valley of Desolation is surreal, it’s so alive with boiling volcanic activity, steaming, sulfur smells, a rainbow of mineral colors, and dangerous in places. Nahjie showed us a spot where the sulfur turned into a mud and makes an amazing facemask for cleaning the skin. So we did the rest of the hike in a sulfur mud mask.

Hands down my favorite thing to do on Dominica is soak in one of the natural hot spring pools.

When we stayed in Trafalgar we where in walking distance to a handful of different spas in Wotton Waven; Trafalgar Falls – a short hike down to the ‘Father Waterfall’s’ river for a natural soak in the river, Rainforest Shangri-la Resort – has a little hike down to 3 small pools along the side of a river for a private soak (all above photos are of Rainforest Shangri-la's pools), Screw’s – has hand built pools from river rocks each pool has a different temperature with cooling waterfalls, plays great reggae, stays open till 10 pm, serves fresh fruit, and is a popular social hangout for Dominicans (Screw’s is my favorite.) There are a few more hot spring spas in the Wotton Waven area but I didn’t get a chance to go to all of them.

PS This is a link to photos of Screw's Spa Here.

Middleham Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls on Dominica. The trail entrance to Middleham Falls is in Laudat and has a well-marked sign that makes it easy to find. I recommend picking up a copy of Bradt’s Travel Guide of Dominica by Paul Crask, this is a fantastic guide with clear directions and tips.

The Middleham Falls hike takes about an hour each way, has a well-maintained path with steps and bridges, and is an enjoyable hike through the rainforest. I saw an Agouti (looks like a Guinea Pig) for the first time, some of the larges Chataignier Trees I’ve ever seen, and had a chance to break my FiveFinger hiking shoes in on this trail. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Dominica.