Marigot: the last land of the indigenous Caribbean

On the wild east coast of Dominica, Marigot remains the gateway to the only Caribbean territory still inhabited by direct descendants of the natives of the island.

A car remains necessary to reach the Kalinago territory from the Marigot area.

The Kalinago Territory, the only indigenous reserve remaining in the eastern Caribbean, preserves traditional villages where weaving techniques and dugout canoes are still passed down through generations.

A short distance away, the wild Atlantic coast of Dominica features high waves and rocky shores, contrasting sharply with the calm waters of the island's Caribbean side.

Proceeding inland, one reaches the rainforests of Dominica, among the best preserved in the entire Caribbean, inhabited by endemic parrots that are legally protected.

As evening approaches, local markets come alive with trade in tropical fruits and fresh-caught fish along the Atlantic coast of the island.

The Kalinago, indigenous people who gave their historic name to the Caribbean, survive today on a reserve of roughly fifteen thousand hectares granted by British colonial authorities in 1903, unique in its kind across the region.

Dominica, nicknamed the 'nature island' for its near-complete absence of large white sand beaches in favour of volcanic forests, remains the least touristy and most authentic among the eastern Caribbean islands.