The Most Beautiful Country You’ve NEVER Heard Of... 🌿 (Dominica Documentary 🇩🇲)

Welcome to Dominica. This beautiful island nation is nestled in the heart of the Caribbean and is part of the windward island chain. In the north there's Guadeloupe and in the south there's the French island of Martinique. The whole country is home to only around 72,000 residents and it's nicknamed the nature island thanks to the abundance of natural beauty and unspoiled landscapes. Despite being an island nation, Dominica isn't really a beach destination. Instead it's a paradise for adventure lovers thanks to the sheer abundance of hikes and waterfalls. Indeed the island is home to nine volcanoes which are active which means it has the highest number of active volcanoes anywhere in the Caribbean. It also has 365 rivers and 18 named waterfalls. You might also recognize the landscapes of Dominica because they were used to film some of Pirates of the Caribbean. In this video we're going to show you the best things to do in Dominica including hidden gems, where to eat and the top attractions you can't miss. The first written record of Dominica dates all the way back to 1493 when Christopher Columbus spotted the island and named it for the day of the week on which he first saw it. Of course there were already pre-European people on the island namely the Kalinago who still reside there to this day. From the 1700s to the 1900s Dominica was passed back and forth between the English and the French as a colony. It was finally granted its own independence in the latter half of the 20th century and is now an independent country. We've just arrived at Freshwater Lake in the middle of Mont de Trois-Pitons National Park. This lake has an ancient Kalinago legend associated with it that there's a one-eyed monster that lives in the lake. Hopefully we won't see that. It was also said back in the day to be bottomless because it's very deep. In reality it's up to 55 feet deep in some places. This area is also full of amazing fauna and flora. We've already seen wild orchids and lots of unique species of plant. The trail only takes around an hour or so to complete but because it rains quite often up here it can often be slippery so do be sure to wear really good hiking shoes. On route you'll see so many amazing plant species, palms, ferns, pothos, alocasias and we've even already seen lots of lizards. Even though I'm wearing hiking shoes, the normal ones I wear, I wasn't looking out for where I was stepping and I stepped straight into a bog. It's funny because we were just saying this is considered to be a rather easy hike here in Dominica. It's only a trail of around an hour allegedly but in Martinique this would be considered moderate to difficult. Good thing the cord's here. I think this is the best hike we've ever been on. We're surrounded on all sides by really lush jungle. We can hear the bird calls, we've seen so many animals, the flowers are beautiful. It's honestly, I think there's four other people on this whole trail right now. We're now walking down again before we walk up to the third peak. I think it's the final one. If we hadn't stopped to take so many photos of all of the beautiful nature I think it would have just taken us an hour. When we got back to the road from the trailhead we realised that we'd accidentally done the 2.5 hour route but it's still very doable and to be honest the best views are at the end so I definitely recommend doing it. Now back to the car for our next destination. Good Vibes Only is a gorgeous cafe with breathtaking views run by friendly owner Froggy. Here you can get local stews and fresh juices. Midland Falls is only around a 10 minute drive away from Freshwater Lake and so it's really easy to combine the two. When you arrive do be aware that there's a building site going on right in front of the start of the trailhead at the moment and so even though you think that you might be in wrong place you're actually in the right place. They're building these hobbit like houses you know from Lord of the Rings. It's very unusual but anyway the hike is going to take us around 45 minutes so let's go. Even though we're not that far away from Freshwater Lake the difference in altitude means that the environment here is completely different and you'll get to see a different kind of rainforest. We've almost reached Midland Falls as you can probably hear on the audio the waterfall is really loud so I think it's going to be really impressive. I do think that the trail probably took more than 45 minutes to walk but obviously that's fine. If you do want to do this make sure that you're quiet during the hike because you might see lots of local wildlife. We saw several of the red rumped agouti. Unfortunately they're so fast it was really hard we couldn't capture it on camera but they're a local really large rodent. They're really red, red brown in colour and really cute. This is when you see me fall over. Made it. We are almost there but first we have to go down here and it is way steeper than it looks on video. Midland Falls are truly spectacular. There's not just one waterfall but a number of waterfalls. There's lots of little ones down there and then the first one is this huge amount of water followed by a second cascade. It's truly stunning. It's really nice to put this viewing platform here for a bit of extra safety even if coming down was very slippery. While we were walking through the forest we actually ended up meeting someone who's Kalanago and he walked us through a few of the supplies he was collecting for the day for his basket weaving crafts. And so you get different colours? Yeah that's bamboo. Okay yeah we saw some further down. Yeah and that's another vine. Now we get deeper in the forest. So that's a laundry basket. Oh my gosh it's so nice. Yeah that's another. And how long does it take you to? Two days. So it's kind of like a process. So you can only collect during certain times of the month. Wow. If you really want to see a waterfall in Dominica but you're travelling with kids or don't want to do a long hike then you can head to Trafalgar Falls because the walk here is only around 10 minutes and the falls are genuinely spectacular. The best day to go is on a day when cruise ships aren't visiting because this is one of the more popular destinations but hopefully because there's no cruise ship today we'll be able to see the falls without too many other people around. I'm pretty sure that the area around Trafalgar is really known for its rich mineral deposit waters which turns the water orange. I think it's iron here I'm not too sure but yeah the water is very orange even though it's a spring water. So I would say that my verdict is that Trafalgar Falls is definitely worth it because it's amazing to see two waterfalls side by side. With that being said I don't think that they can really compare to Midland Falls that we went to earlier because the reward of seeing the waterfall at the end of a long hike was just amazing for me like I think that really made it special. This is still beautiful too though. We've just arrived at Tears Hot Springs. It's a beautiful set of spas in the mountains here in Dominica. I think the cost was around 10 US dollars per person. It's really nice. We mainly have the place to ourselves as there aren't very many other visitors. There's hot and cold baths here and the hot ones are genuinely like bathtubs. We actually ended up spending the entirety of our time in Dominica staying in the same guest house which was located just a short drive away from Rozo and offered home-cooked meals for an extra fee. Most mornings we actually began our day having breakfast in Rozo which is the capital of Dominica but more on that in a bit. We're now headed down to Emerald Pool which is meant to be one of the most beautiful natural pools under a waterfall on the island. The hike only takes 10 to 15 minutes so I think we can do it in trainers. Let's go and see what it has to offer. So far we've managed to see all of these birds although unfortunately some of them are quite quick so we haven't been able to capture them on camera but this one in particular landed on the door of the car yesterday when we were having a picnic and this one is one of the most common ones but one of the hardest to capture because the hummingbirds are really fast. I would say all in all that Emerald Pool is even easier to reach than Trafalgar Falls. The only thing to bear in mind is that just like Trafalgar Falls on days when the cruise ship docks here it can get very busy and so you want to come here as soon as it opens to see the pool without anyone in it as we've done. There are now people swimming because it's very nice crystal clear water although it's not very warm. Rosalie Bay is nestled in the eastern part of the island and is a beautiful bay that's known for its long beaches and breathtaking views onto the sea. We then carried on down the eastern coast of the island to reach our next hike of the trip. We've just begun the hike to Surrey Surrey Falls. This is definitely the toughest hike we've done so far as there is very little indication of the path. If you look closely you'll see the areas where people have walked before but there are several river crossings, there's no ropes to help you down the steep steep ravine to get here but hopefully the waterfall reward will be worth it. I think this is the most beautiful picnic spot we've ever been to. The noise of the water, the jungle, the blue sky, amazing. Well you're only going to see half the hike because I slipped on a rock in the first set of falls and hurt my toe and I don't know if it's sprained or broken. As it turns out my toe was actually broken but since there's not much you can do for a broken toe we just carried on the trip as planned with a bit more rest time and some paracetamol. Roso is the capital of Dominica and for an amazing bird's eye view of it I definitely recommend heading up to Mourne Bruce Garrison for sunset. Here you can see the entire town laid out below. One of the most fine dining experiences on the island can actually be found in the form of Lacu Melrose House. They even had several vegetarian options on the menu and everything was really really tasty but it was definitely on the pricier side of things. Portsmouth is the second largest town in Dominica and it's only home to around 3,600 residents which just shows you how small the island is. It's located in the northwest corner and it's really famous for being home to a historic fort, lots of colourful fishing villages and it's also the departing point for tours up the Indian river. You have to go on a guided boat tour to do this and I don't think we have time during our trip but I've heard it's very nice. If you head directly north along the coastline from Portsmouth then you'll come to Carberrits Head. This area is actually home to an 18th century English garrison and now is part of the Carberrits National Park. You do have to pay to enter but you can use your weekly pass for this. Once you get up to Fort Shirley you'll be rewarded with amazing views over the rest of the island spread out below. I also find that it's so well maintained here, all of the historical details are really well preserved and there are also information panels everywhere to give you more explanations. We're also the only people here which is really surprising considering that it was only a 10 minute walk from the car park or 20 minutes for me because of my maybe broken toe situation. Perhaps rather unexpectedly Fort Shirley ended up being one of the best places to see birds on the entirety of the island. We saw banana quits, lots of hummingbirds and it was just the perfect photo opportunity. As its name would suggest, Cold Soufrière is actually a cold sulfur spring and the walk down from the road takes 10 to 15 minutes. Because the north of the island is a lot less touristic than some of the other places that we visited, here you'll often get the trail all to yourself which means that you can definitely get to see some of the local wildlife more easily. This is one spot where you can definitely smell the sulfur before you even see it as the scent is really quite potent, pungent and unique. I've never actually heard of a cold sulfur spring before but it works much the same as a hot spring, only the water is cold. We then drove along the sole road which encircles the north of the island, soaking up the breathtaking views and even meeting some of the local residents. To be honest, at this point it was obvious that we were really happy to have a 4x4 as these were some of the steepest roads I've ever been on. While Dominica isn't particularly well known for its beaches as many are volcanic and coarse, the best beaches on the island can be found in the beautiful village of Calabici. Soufrière is a delightful fishing village with colourful homes that's near Dominica's marine reserves. Even when it's raining on the rest of the island this area is often still sunny, making it a great place to enjoy golden hour after a long day of exploring. The most iconic building in the village dates back to the 18th century and is a catholic church built out of local volcanic rock. We then carried on down the road to its very end to reach our final destination of the day, Scots Head. Scots Head is situated on the southern tip of Dominica and boasts a population of just under a thousand residents. It's best known for its peninsula which is connected to the rest of the island by a single stretch of shingle. We then had dinner at Time on Time restaurant which is family owned and serves up all kinds of local catches of the day. sad about but we do have some really fun activities planned for today. We're currently on the syndicate nature trail which is a really beautiful trail in the northwest of the island. It's around 15 minutes to reach a waterfall but the real draw here is the potential to see some local birds especially the jacko which is endemic to the island. It's a really beautiful kind of parrot. Already in the car park we saw a number of yellow quits which are named for their yellow bellies and also some hummingbirds so let's go and see if we can spot some parrots. This trail already feels really different from all of the other hikes we've already been on. The jungle is more dense and lush. I'm not sure if it's because it just rained last night or because the rainforest is very different here but hopefully that's a good sign that we'll see lots of things because we've already seen some lizards on the path. I don't know if we're going to have any luck spotting some of the wilder and rarer birds today but if you want to learn even more about the birds in the local region then you have to contact Dr Birdie. He's a specialist. How long have you been doing this for? Got it all my life since I was 11. I love love birds but I more got into it when I was like 19, 20 something about here and I co-authored the book Dominica's Birds and I also co-authored the document and that's you know that refers to the the IBA, Important Bird Areas. I did that as well. Wow. Yeah and I just guide. Very difficult to get me but we try. We tried to book a tour with him but he's currently with some other people. We've just come across him in the forest but thank you much for your time and have a good rest of your day. Hopefully we'll catch you next time. Lovely talking to you Sophia. Thank you. That means that if you do want to see him you should contact him a few weeks at least in advance. Just as I was starting to give up hope of seeing one of the local parrots a flock of them flew directly in front of our car and we even managed to pull over in time to capture them on camera. This was genuinely a highlight of our trip and honestly one of the best wildlife moments I've ever experienced. We're now headed to Cindergut Falls. This area is actually separate from the Cindergut Trail and so you'll have to pay an entrance fee that isn't included in the weekly pass however it's said to be very beautiful and we have seen a lot of wildlife on the trail already. So there are four river crossings to get to the falls but luckily there are these ropes. This hike has been amazing and especially because there's no one else here we just have the falls to ourselves. It's one of my favourites on the whole island. There are a few things to know before visiting Dominica and I'll run through them now. The first is that Dominica isn't the same place as the Dominican Republic. They're not even pronounced the same because Dominica as you can tell is pronounced more with an e sound. The next is that the local currency is the East Caribbean dollar. This is fixed to the US dollar and you can actually pay for a lot of things in the US dollar but you'll usually get your cash back in East Caribbean dollars. You can sometimes even pay in euros and on that note Dominica is largely a cash-based economy and so you'll need cash to pay for most things including restaurants, bars and even every fuel station on the island bar too. English is the official language which makes getting around really easy and while we're on the subject of getting around the best way to get around and see all of the waterfalls, go on the hikes, visit the little villages is to rent your own car. We rented with courtesy vehicles but there are a number of other options on the island. If you want to get around without a car then you can take a private taxi or a bus. You'll recognise the buses because they're normally private drivers and they all have plates beginning with an h. I don't have any food! Sorry I'm a bit distracted by this new visitor. Anyway as I was saying getting around is quite easy but internet can be a little patchy and so I definitely recommend downloading google maps offline. The other thing to note is that everything is done on whatsapp so even if you don't have any data or your cell plan working you can normally whatsapp businesses to reserve things in advance and if you want to go to most meals you definitely should do this because a lot of restaurants only open on request and sometimes have weird opening hours. The final point I have to make is that the plugs there are the same that they use in the UK but I always travel with the universal travel adapter because you never know when it might come in handy. Thank you so much for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe for more travel content.