Dominica Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens were laid out in 1891 on former sugar land below Morne Bruce to trial crops for the colony, and forty acres of lawn and specimen trees survive. Two things draw people: the aviary holding sisserou and jaco parrots as part of the recovery programme for both, and a school bus still lying under the baobab that fell on it during Hurricane David in 1979, left where it landed as a memorial. Jack's Walk climbs from here up Morne Bruce.

What you actually see

• The parrot aviary - sisserou and jaco held for the recovery programme.
• The crushed bus - the vehicle left under the baobab that fell in 1979.
• The specimen trees - the collection planted from the 1890s onwards.
• Jack's Walk - the path climbing from the gardens up to Morne Bruce.

When to go

Year round; open daily during daylight. Mornings are cooler and better for the aviary. Hurricane damage has thinned the collection since 2017.

Honest expectations

Successive hurricanes have destroyed much of the original planting and the gardens are patchy. Labelling is limited and inconsistent. The aviary is small and the birds are not always visible.

Nearby

Morne Bruce is above, and Roseau's historic district is west.