The Nature Island — boiling lakes, rainforests, and Creole soul
Roseau is the capital of Dominica, the Caribbean island that chose rainforest over beach resort — and the result is an island that feels genuinely wild and unhurried compared to its sun-lounger neighbours. The Boiling Lake, a 60-metre cauldron of blue-grey water above a volcanic vent, is one of the world's strangest hikes. Dominica's Creole culture runs deep: Jing Ping music, the Wob Dwiyet skirt, and the Sisserou parrot (on the national flag, endemic to Dominica) are unlike anything else in the Caribbean.
The Kalinago people (Caribs) successfully resisted European colonisation longer than any other Caribbean island — Dominica remained under Kalinago control until the French attempted settlement in the 18th century. Britain and France fought over the island repeatedly; the 1805 Battle of Roseau saw the French briefly capture the town before British forces retook it. Dominica gained independence in 1978 and remains the only Eastern Caribbean island with a surviving Kalinago Territory — 3,700 acres of rainforest reserved for the island's indigenous community. Hurricane Maria in 2017 destroyed 90%…