4 Best Sights in Elsewhere on Dominica, Dominica

Quite possibly the most visited natural attraction on the island, this emerald-green pool fed by a 50-foot waterfall is an easy trip. To reach this spot in the vast Morne Trois Pitons National Park, you follow a trail (an easy 20-minute walk) that starts at the side of the road near the reception center. Along the way, there are lookout points with views of the windward (Atlantic) coast and the forested interior. This spot is popular with cruise-ship tour groups, so choose your timing carefully. And wear a swimsuit, because you can (and will want to) take a dip.

In 1903, after centuries of conflict, the Caribbean's first settlers, the Kalinago (more popularly known as the Caribs), were granted approximately 3,700 acres of land on the island's northeast coast. Here a hardened lava formation, L'Escalier Tête Chien (Snake's Staircase), runs down into the Atlantic. The name is derived from a snake whose head resembles that of a dog. The ocean alongside Carib Territory is particularly fierce, and the shore is full of countless coves and inlets. According to Carib legend, every night the nearby Londonderry Islets transform into grand canoes to take the spirits of the dead out to sea.

A chief administers the Carib Territory, where about 3,000 natives reside. The reservation's Catholic church in Salybia has a canoe as its altar, which was designed by Dr. Lennox Honychurch, a local historian, author, and artist.

The Kalinago people resemble native South Americans and are mostly farmers and fishermen. Others are entrepreneurs who have opened restaurants, guesthouses, and little shops that offer exquisite baskets and handcrafted items. Craftspeople have retained their knowledge of basket weaving, wood carving, and canoe building through generations. They fashion long, elegant canoes from the trunk of a single gommier tree.

Quite possibly the most visited nature attraction on the island, this emerald-green pool fed by a 50-foot waterfall is an easy trip to make. To reach this spot in the vast Morne Trois Pitons National Park, you follow a trail that starts at the side of the road near the reception center (it's an easy 20-minute walk). Along the way, there are lookout points with views of the windward (Atlantic) coast and the forested interior. If you don't want a crowd, check whether there are cruise ships in port before going out, as this spot is popular with cruise-ship tour groups.

Translated to "Devil's Peak," this dormant volcano dominates the northern end of the island, rising 2,826 feet above sea level and sloping down to Toucari Bay and Douglas Bay just north of Portsmouth. A trail—a strenuous four-hour hike—starts at Tanetane, near Portsmouth, and ends at Vielle Case on the northeast coast. The access road, which is long and rough, twists by coconut, cocoa, and banana groves; passes by fern-festooned embankments and bubbling sulphur springs. It continues over rivers and through villages with brightly painted wooden houses that are almost as colorful as all the flora and fauna.