We booked this tour online through Ken Hinterland Tours, as suggested by Cruise Critic members. The company was wonderful to work with, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, always checking to make sure everyone was keeping up and everyone was safe.
This is a great day trip if you do not mind getting a little dirty. The tour starts off with a drive to Ladaut(sp?), a small town (I never saw it) up in the rain-forested mountains of Dominica. We came to a small campground with bathrooms and a woman selling crafts. The groups that booked the tour through the cruise ships were discussing the hike, so Kent (our guide) whispered that we should start the hike so we could stay ahead of the crowd. There were six of us in the group: a couple from New Orleans, two guys from Minnesota, my boyfriend, and me.
The trail has some well-maintained areas, with fir trees laid down for traction, and some areas that are just mud (sometimes 6 inches deep). Other parts of the trail go right through streams.
After about 1.5 to 2 hours of hiking, we arrived at Middleham Falls. You can hear it further back because it is the largest waterfall on the island (200 feet high?), and our guide said it was running especially fiercely that week. Be very careful as you climb down the rocks and into the water; it's steep, and it was like battling a hurricane when we were there.
We were allotted an hour at the falls and then headed back to the trailhead. A short drive took us to Ti Tou Gorge, a cavelike river with a waterfall at one end. The water is about 15 feet deep, so you need a flotation device, because the flow of the water is strong and can wear you down. There are a few rocks under the water high enough to stand on, and you can also grip the sides of the cave.
Ti Tou is very refreshing, cold, and difficult to swim in, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; there's nothing like swimming upstream in a dark cave!
From Ti Tou Gorge back to the van, there is a small group of locals selling fresh fruit. Buy some--it's a great snack after your workout, and it's cheap ($2 for half a coconut and four sticks of sugarcane). ${QuickSuggestions} Don't buy new hiking boots; they will be ruined. Just wear old, comfortable athletic shoes that breathe and have decent tread. There are slippery areas because it rained often during the hike, and the rocks and tree roots became slick.
I highly suggest booking a Middleham Falls hike through Ken Hinterland Tours and not through a cruise. The price is the same whether you have one, two, three, or four people ($180), so the more people you have, the cheaper it is for each person. We posted a thread on Cruise Critic looking for people to join us to split the price of the hike.
Be prepared to get dirty! Wear comfortable clothes that dry quickly. Don't be afraid to use your hands in the dirt to pull and balance yourself.
This is a hike for healthy, fit people! Don’t attempt it if you are in poor shape; it requires a lot of balance, climbing up roots of trees, and walking through foot-deep streams and deep mud.
If you can handle it, put forth the effort to climb down to the waterfall’s base.
Bring a waterproof camera. ${BestWay} There is no public transportation, so walking or hiring a driver is your best bet. Due to the fact that Dominica is close to third-world, you're best bet is to pay for a guided tour of some kind to ensure you don't get lost and to ensure you have a local who knows his way around the uncharted island.
From journal Rainforest Hike in Dominica