Morne Trois Pitons National Park

Listen first. Water is moving somewhere close by. It drips from fern fronds, runs over black stones, and falls in a steady hiss into a pool you cannot yet see. The air is warm and wet. It smells of moss, leaf mould and, on some trails, a faint trace of sulphur. Underfoot, the ground is soft, dark and often slippery. This is Morne Trois Pitons National Park, the green volcanic heart of Dominica, a short drive inland from Roseau.

The park takes its name from a mountain. Morne is an old Creole word for a hill or mountain, and the name means the mountain of three peaks. On a clear day you can pick out its broken summit rising above the forest. Clear days up here are not common, though. Cloud gathers around the high ground most afternoons. Rain is part of the place. The mountain and the forest around it make up the core of a protected area of roughly seven thousand hectares.

Dominica was declared a national park in 1975, and this was the island's first. In 1997, UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List. That made it the first natural World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean. The listing recognised two things together: the volcanic landscape, and the forest that covers it. Here is the first surprise for many visitors. This small island is still geologically young and active. The ground beneath this rainforest is hot.

That heat shows itself in many ways. The park holds fumaroles, which are vents that release volcanic steam and gas. It holds hot springs, streams that run warm, and mud that bubbles. Several volcanic centres lie within or close to its borders. None of this is hidden away in a crater you can only see from a plane. It sits right beside the walking trails. You may smell it before you see it, as a breath of rotten-egg air rising through the trees.

The most famous expression of this heat is the Boiling Lake. It is often described as the second-largest hot lake of its kind in the world. It is a flooded fumarole. Water collects in a basin, and volcanic gases heat it from below. The surface is a cloudy grey-blue, and it rolls and bubbles. Clouds of vapour drift across it, so you may wait several minutes for a full view. Reaching it is a serious hike, usually a full day out and back.

On the way to the Boiling Lake, the trail crosses the Valley of Desolation. The name is honest. Here the volcanic gases have stripped away most of the forest. What remains is bare rock and steaming vents. The streams run in strange colours — milky white, rusty orange, a grey that looks almost like ash. Small, tough plants hold on at the edges. After hours in deep green forest, the change is sudden. It is a clear reminder of what lies beneath the whole island.

Now turn back to the forest itself, because it is the other half of this story. As you climb, the vegetation changes. Lower down, tall rainforest trees form a high canopy, with buttress roots spreading across the ground. Higher up, the trees become shorter and more twisted. Near the summits, you find what botanists call elfin woodland. This is a low, mossy, wind-shaped forest, often wrapped in cloud. Every surface seems to carry something growing on it.

Look up and around you, and you will see layers of life. Ferns grow from tree trunks. Bromeliads, plants related to the pineapple, sit in the forks of branches and collect rainwater. Orchids hang from the bark. Tree ferns open their wide fronds like green umbrellas. In the leaf litter, you may see small frogs and lizards. Birdsong comes from every level of the canopy, from the ground to the treetops.

The forests of Dominica are home to two parrots found nowhere else on Earth. The larger one is the Sisserou, also called the imperial parrot. It is the national bird, and it appears on the national flag. The smaller one is the red-necked parrot, known locally as the Jaco. Both are rare and hard to spot. More often you will hear them — a loud, harsh call from high in the trees. If you hear one, stop, stay quiet, and scan the canopy slowly.

Water shapes almost every visit here. The park holds freshwater lakes in the high ground, including Freshwater Lake and Boeri Lake. Rivers cut deep channels through the volcanic rock. Titou Gorge is a narrow slot of dark stone, where visitors swim upstream through cool water toward a small waterfall. Emerald Pool, on the park's edge, is a short, easy walk to a waterfall dropping into a green basin. And there are other falls, tall and loud, tucked into the valleys.

This forest has also faced hard times. In 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Dominica with enormous force. It stripped leaves and branches across much of the island and caused deep damage to homes and lives. In the years since, the forest has been growing back. As you walk, you may notice fallen trunks, gaps in the canopy, and young growth filling the light. The recovery is visible, and it is still going on.

A few practical thoughts will make your time here better. Visitors usually need a site pass for the park's main attractions. For the Boiling Lake, a local guide is strongly recommended, because the trail is long, steep and muddy, and conditions can change quickly. Start early, before the afternoon cloud and rain. Wear shoes with real grip. Carry water, a rain layer and a dry bag for your phone. And treat the steaming areas with care — the ground there can be thin and very hot.

Before you move on, take a moment to stand still. Notice the sound of water, which never really stops here. Notice how the light comes down green through layers of leaves. Feel the damp air on your skin, and the warmth that rises from this volcanic ground. As you walk back toward the road, and toward Roseau, keep listening. A parrot may call. A stream may hiss over warm stones. The mountain of three peaks is still there behind the cloud.