Dominica: Hike Fest 2024 welcomes over 100 hikers, turns out massive success

Roseau, Dominica: Dominica’s annual “Hike Fest 2024” has come to a successful end after a thrilling month of activities in May 2024. From hiking various segments of the Waitukubuli National Trail to the night hike, the festival turned out to be a unique blend of history and nature.

The festival was hosted by the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association (DHTA) and turned out to be a great success. As per the reports, one of the things that made it great is the participants as the festival this year was based on the hikes that incorporated history that’s one of the beautiful things about Dominica.

Executive Vice President of DHTA- Ria Williams said that the hiking trails in Dominica were like they are walking in the path of their ancestors and that is an exhilarating feeling to have for the first hike.

Notably, the festival also invited high schools to participate and the young ladies from Convent High School have participated and showcased their skills. Williams outlined the data and added, ”We had 54 hikers for the first hike, and for the second hike, we had a group here from Martinique and they are coming back next year, and we had 74 hikers for the third hike and there were 54 hikers for the last hike”

For the night hike, Dominica received 80 hikers which was the biggest night hike ever. The festival is distinguished by the vast number of trails that cater to both the abilities and interests of individuals.

Vice President highlighted that Dominica is blessed with so many things including rivers, rainforests, oceans, and hiking trails which are extremely challenging. The trails attract hikers who do not traditionally hike, they’ll do a long walk from now and then, people who want that thrill also visit Dominica.

The success of this year’s festival is gained with the collaborative efforts between local hiking groups and the DHTA as they made it accessible to as many people with varying levels as possible. The hiking clubs have also played an instrumental role in walking the trail despite the conditions or how long it really takes.

Notably, for normal, the hiking takes 4 hours, and for others, it takes a half to five. DHTA also planned on building up on the success of this year’s hike fest and stated that the marketing plane would be given more importance.

For 2025, the DHTA has been planning to do is select the hiking trails early with the formal launch probably around the Creole Festival to attract more hikers not just from the Caribbean region, but from the French West Indies.