CARIBBEAN ALTERNATIVES


Love St Lucia? Why not try Dominica?


While St Lucia’s emblematic Pitons and breathtaking landscapes make it a favourite for travellers, Dominica — to the north — is no less spectacular. Its rugged interior is a wonderland of winding gorges, sulphurous springs and lush forests, all fit for adventure. Dominica’s beaches are as seductive as anywhere else in the


Caribbean: sunseekers head for the fine sands of Hampstead or the coconut-littered shores of Batibou, while snorkellers will find much to discover along Champagne Reef, named for the underwater fumaroles that let out streams of fine bubbles. The island’s wild interior also beckons. Nature-lovers will find themselves drawn to Morne Trois Pitons National Park, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is dominated by the now-dormant Trois Pitons volcanoes, in whose shadows lies a host of geological wonders. Titou Gorge is a winding canyon with plunge pools that make it a magnet for canyoneers. The Valley of Desolation is a vast sweep of land that leads hikers to the Boiling Lake, one of the world’s largest hot lakes with otherworldly views. Should hiking through the tropical heat prove too much,


Dominica has no shortage of spots to cool off. Emerald Pool is a lush swimming hole in Morne Trois Pitons, while Trafalgar Falls is a soaring pair of cascades, ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ falls, with a plunge pool beneath the latter. But perhaps the most epic waterfall is Victoria Falls, which thunders 165ft into a gorge below, as it cuts through a rocky valley near the village of Delices.


Love the Bahamas? Why not try the


French Antilles? Picture the castaway beauty of the Caribbean, laced with a touch of Gallic glamour. This lush quartet of islands — Guadeloupe, Martinique and the tiny isles of St Martin and St Barts — are relatively under-explored by British travellers. The landscapes are far more dramatic than the low-lying sands


of the Bahamas, and there are few better places to appreciate it than Guadeloupe’s La Soufrière volcano. At over 4,800ft high, it rewards hikers with sweeping views of sinuous bays, lush hills and mangrove forests. But not all of Guadeloupe’s appeal is on land: oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once proclaimed Pigeon Island one of the world’s finest diving spots; travellers dive at his namesake reserve to see turtles, coral reefs and tropical fish. Martinique, while smaller, packs no less of a punch. The island


has the aesthetics of a Hollywood star with some of the finest experiences in the Antilles: unwinding on the Grand Anse des Salines beach; diving to the wreck of the Nahoon, now a thriving reef, or hiking the mountains, where hummingbirds flit between branches and jaw-dropping coastal views peek through the trees. Tiny St Martin is divided between France and the Netherlands, and promises a blend of French, Dutch and Creole cultures. Philipsburg is the capital of the Dutch half, famed for the candy- coloured houses on the boardwalk. On the French side is Marigot, with its boulangeries and lavish 19th-century villas. But for the ultimate in Caribbean glamour, head to tiny St Barts, where the rich and famous let down their hair on gold-sand beaches.


NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER – CARIBBEAN COLLECTION 9


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