Nature Island Treasure: Dominica’s Waitukubuli National Trail

Words by Jesse Serwer—

When it comes to eco-tourism, Dominica is tough to beat. With its rugged, unspoiled terrain and lack of large-scale hotel developments, the island tends to attract a more active bunch to its shores than other Caribbean isles. They don’t call it the “Nature Island” for nothing. Adding to its wilderness-buff appeal is the new Waitukubuli National Trail.

Created just within the last few years, Waitukubuli (the Kalinago name for Dominica, meaning “tall is her body”) is the first long-distance walking trail of its size in the Caribbean. With 115 miles covering the entire length of the island, from Scott’s Head in the south to Cabrits National Park in the north, trekking the full trail is a true test of endurance. Fortunately for visitors with more modest hiking appetites, it’s divided into 14 easily manageable segments..

Over five days last month, teams from the United States, Trinidad and Antigua tackled the trail for the first-ever Nature Island Challenge, participating in a variety of competitions, from boating to a traditional Kalinago nuts and marbles game (watch the video below for more on that).

From what we’ve seen in the webisodes documenting each day of the challenge (watch them all here), it was quite an adventure. So much so that NBC’s World of Adventure Sports will air highlights during its broadcast tomorrow afternoon (June 8) at 4 pm EST. As avowed Dominica-philes, ourselves, we’ll be tuning in.