Dominica has the second-largest boiling lake in the world.
One of the most well-known attractions on the island is Boiling Lake. It was found in 1870 and is a flooded fumarole within a volcanic crater. Depending on the area's volcanic activity, the lake water changes hue. The eight-mile trek to get there takes you through the appropriately titled Valley of Desolation and some genuinely untamed nature. This is no easy walk; simply getting to the lake will take you four to six hours. Put on your walking boots and prepare to get messy.
Boiling Lake, the world's second-largest of its kind, is a flooded fumarole from a volcano in the Valley of Desolation – words that seem to depict life on another planet yet precisely convey what you'll find if you're brave enough. The lake, which is 200 feet broad and unknown in-depth, is surrounded by whirling clouds of mist and resembles a cauldron of rapidly seething greyish-blue water superheated by the molten lava beneath the surface of the surrounding rock. The spectacular sights that surround Boiling Lake rival its majesty, with clear views of the ocean, the neighboring island of Martinique, and ageless topography carved by erosive and volcanic forces of nature over 200 million years of its creation. The surrounding area is also home to some of the toughest organisms on the earth, including tiny lizards and a few bug species.
