Before walking the trail, please pop into Spanny’s Bar and make a contribution towards trail maintenance – it is just a couple of dollars and, as you will see, it is worth it.

Despite displacing tribal peoples who arrived before them, the Kalinago represent the last vestiges of pre-Columbian life in the Lesser Antilles and, in Dominica, they still cling to a piece of land they call home. In the modern world, an important source of income to the Kalinago comes from tourism. Traditional larouma basketware is sold from roadside stalls and craft shops throughout the island and the Kalinago Barana Auté, a model village constructed as both a tourist site and memorial to how Dominica’s indigenous people used to live, is very popular with visitors.

Former Kalinago Chief, Irvince Auguiste, decided to take the concept of the Kalinago Barana Auté one step further. Rather than a ‘model village’ dedicated to the past, his vision was to create a living village dedicated very much to the present. Located along the Pagua River, Touna Auté is an original concept and a fascinating experience. From the moment you arrive, it strikes you that this is a ‘tour’ with a difference. Touna Auté is a real village, with real people living in it, who willingly open up their homes and share their lives with visitors. In fact, this is a prerequisite of living here.

Irvince’s warm welcome is followed by a stroll around the village, to the homes of basket weavers, gardeners, fruit juice makers, and cassava bread bakers. Kids run around, meat is smoked in outside kitchens. Visitors are encouraged to take their time, stop and chat, learn something new, relax and feel at home in the village. It is even possible to stay overnight, share a meal and exchange stories with a Kalinago family. Touna Auté is exprimental and still evolving. With hard work, luck, and the support of locals and visitors, it should become a living project that successfully links past with present, and introduces both Dominicans and travellers to the every day existence of the island’s indigenous people.

House of Hope

There is no safety net for children born with mental or physical problems, nor are parents usually equipped nor able to care properly for them. Delices is far from unique in this respect with no state funded social services, nor a pool of expertise on hand to provide the help, guidance and training that is needed. Instead, this kind of care is either provided by family, local and international volunteers, or religious organisations.

The House of Hope was set up several years ago and was run from a rented house in the village. With financial assistance provided by the state and also through private donations it has recently moved to a newly constructed building on the outskirts of Delices. It currently has five permanent residents with a range of physical and mental problems. There are six members of staff who give their time voluntarily to care for Lydia, Cristobel, Darcy, Marissa, and Melissa. They do an extraordinary job.

In my guide book I try to encourage people to travel positively and, if they can, give something back to the place that has given them an opportunity to escape, have a great adventure, enjoy nature, and relax. The House of Hope is just one of many small organisations that are run by a handful of loving and caring people from local communities who do their best to help others, often against seemingly overwhelming odds and minimal resources. Page 50 of the current Bradt Dominica guide has a list of such groups. If you can do something to help them, please try. The House of Hope has a website: www.houseofhope-delices.org/wordpress. Email and phone contacts are: houseofhopedelices@gmail.com  +1 767 446 2263 or +1 767 446 2208. And here is the House of Hope newsletter in Pdf format.

Some sections of the trail are in poor shape and clearly suffering from neglect. It is becoming quite overgrown and signage is too limited, especially in the middle section where the trail makes numerous short river crossings and can be extremely difficult to follow.

A guide is an absolute must on this hike – attempting it without one will almost certainly end up with you getting lost somewhere between the river crossings in the midddle and the Victoria end of the hike. This presents a bit of a problem as there are not that many certified guides who are familiar with this trail. Jungle Bay and KHATTS offer guided hikes here, as does Octave Joseph of the Hide-Out Cottage in Geneva.

When the trail is properly maintained this is a really lovely hike. It has a couple of strenuous climbs and some of the river crossings may not be for the faint-hearted (!) but I highly recommend it. The forest is beautiful (a real fern fest), views of the spectacular Jacks Waterfall are always breathtaking, and the rivers and river pools add that extra element of adventure. Starting from Geneva also means you have the added bonus of the Victoria Falls and a picnic along the White River as a reward at the end.

The trail is in good condition with a couple of exceptions: a landslide at the foot of the steep descent into the Valley of Desolation from the summit of Morne Nichols, and a landslide towards the summit of the ascent out of the second section of the Valley of Desolation, just a short distance from the Boiling Lake itself. Both areas are passable as local guides have created diversionary routes (the first landslide is a regular occurrence in any case and the route changes frequently here). As with all sections of this trail, hikers should exercise caution and be keenly aware of the trail, sticking to it and not putting themselves at risk in areas which may be a little more hazardous than usual because of climatic conditions. Some sections of the trail are a little overgrown because of recent rains, and some are very muddy, but all-in-all the trail is in good shape and the hike is as challenging and enjoyable as always.

I recommend hikers take a guide with them to the Boiling Lake, regardless of individual expertise or experience. The route, though obvious in most sections, becomes confusing in the last third (the Valley of Desolation to the Boiling Lake) where it is also the most hazardous. Local guides (whether certified or not) know this trail very well and offer local knowledge as well as a level of safety and assurance. Certified guides have  been trained in Emergency First Aid will be able to present ID upon request.

Be sure to set off early so that you can take your time and enjoy it more. I recommend no later than 8.30am from the trail head itself. Remember, it is not a forced march (!) and there is much more to it than being able to say afterwards you have done it. Take time to enjoy the Boiling Lake hike and the diversity of natural habitats along the way, as well as the challenge itself.

Happy trails.

The trail is a little overgrown from Soufriere Sulphur Springs to Tete Morne which is surprising as I know people use this as a functional track. There have been a few landslides and the undergrowth is high in places. It is, however, passable. The route from the village of Tete Morne to Palmiste is in pretty good condiditon as it is used daily by farmers. Once at the top of Palmiste it is extremely difficult to find the trailhead down to Bois Cotlette if you haven’t been here before. Ask the farmers and they will show you, but bear in mind there is unlikely to be anyone up here on Sundays or public holidays – so don’t get lost. The old Carib track down to Bois Cotlette from Palmiste is pretty treacherous in places and has worn away. It is very steep and a walking pole always helps as a brake ! Try to protect yourself from bete rouge too as they are very prevalent here in this dry forest environment (I’m itching as I write ….).

Before heading back to Soufriere, take time to visit the old Bois Cotlette estate. It is quite beautiful and resoration is painstakingly slow and expensive. Your patronage will help. The track from Bois Cotlette to Soufriere is a wide vehicle track and easy going.

This is a hike with a difference and always worth the effort.

The trail is in pretty good shape. There is a tricky stretch after 30 minutes when it falls away and you have to pass over the edge of a boulder (it has always been like this), the three rope climbs up rock faces are as daunting as ever and should always be tackled carefully (someone should consider replacing the ropes more regularly). The kaklen climb on the final approach is great (muddy) fun but it has suffered a couple of slides and is a little treacherous in places.

If you haven’t hiked up Morne Trois Pitons before, take along someone who has, and you really shouldn’t even think about climbing it alone. It was my fourth time and I still regret the decision that was made to cut away a lot of the kaklen and replace it with log steps. The best steps are those that are cut from tree fern, they give you a much better grip. Wooden logs are slippery and forever threaten to up-end you, especially on descent. Climbing through kaklen takes a little longer for sure, but it allows for three points of contact and is much more fun.

We saw all four species of hummingbird – they were in abundance towards the summit. We also spotted a trembler, a mangrove cuckoo, and we were also fortunate to see a mountain whistler in full voice perched on a branch just a few feet in front of us. Sitting on a rock at the summit, taking in the scenery, I felt like staying there all day.

Not one of Dominica’s most popular hiking destinations, Boeri is commonly a lonely stroll where you are accompanied by the occasional hummingbird, the song of the mountain whistler, and the intermittent rustling of creatures unseen in the dense foliage along the trail. A short walk (the sign says 45 minutes but it usually takes a little less), the narrow path climbs steeply up a ridge where superb views of the Freshwater Lake and the Rosalie River valley are on offer, before plunging downwards again to the head of the Clark River. This is always a tricky stretch over slippery rocks that forever threaten to catch you unawares. I take it at a snail’s pace every time. A little overgrown and debris strewn from rains, the route is more hazardous than usual right now.

I have never been to Boeri at this time of year and was amazed to see the lake completely full, all the way up to the tree line and not a boulder in sight. Spilling over into the margins around, the final approaches were submerged and required a short wade. Sadly, and presumably destroyed by adverse weather, the pretty wooden shelter is no longer standing and you are currently greeted by a pile of rotting timber and a somewhat shaky platform (so watch it). The lake was beautiful yesterday, looking altogether a different place with its high water line, yet retaining that unmistakable air of spookiness nevertheless. Happily, no monsters to report.

The trail is in pretty good shape. There are a couple of stretches where heavy rain has made slopes a little rubble strewn, but it’s nothing major. The main problem at present is the condition of the steep wooden steps that descend to the falls (about ten minutes after the main trail junction and a couple of minutes before you reach the viewing platform). For some time now the railings have been broken and now they have either gone completely or are in seriously bad shape. The wooden steps themselves are still sturdy enough but have a layer of mildew and are often covered with leaves (as you’d expect in a rainforest during the rainy season) making them a little treacherous. The railings really need fixing up asap so there is some sort of support during descent and ascent – especially before the cruise ship tours begin again. So if you are hiking the trail soon, please take care when you reach this section.

It was a really beautiful walk and I was lucky enough to see an agouti (just a little fella, perhaps a juvenile), two jaco parrots and a sisserou, which surprised me as you don’t often see sisserou this far south. The waterfall pool, as ever, was freezing !!