Laudat is a small village in the interior of

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, located between 3 mountains:

Morne Watt Morne Watt or Watt Mountain is a mountain consisting of one or more stratovolcanoes at the south end of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean Sea. With an elevation of , it is the third highest mountain in Dominica after Morne Diablotins and Morne Tr ...

, Morne Micotrine ( Morne Mackak), and

Morne Trois Pitons Morne, Morné, Mörne, etc. may refer to: People * Morné (given name) * Morné (surname) * Arvid Mörne (1876-1946), a Finnish author and poet Places * Morne a Chandelle, a village in the Sud-Est department of Haiti * Morne-à-l'Eau, a commu ...

. With a population of just above 300 people, Laudat is referred to as a "gateway" because it is the sole entry point to many of the islands sights, including the

Boiling Lake The Boiling Lake is a flooded fumarole located in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a World Heritage Site on the island of Dominica. The lake, located east of Dominica's capital Roseau, is filled with bubbling greyish-blue water that is usually ...

, Fresh Water Lake, and Titou Gorge. Perched about 1200 feet above sea level Laudat has a cool climate and views of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. It is located approximately 20 minutes from the capital,

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

and is at the end of the road (there is no alternative but to turn around to exit). The road to Laudat used to be a hair-raising ride up the mountains, around blind hairpin turns with sharp drop-offs into the jungle canopy; however, the road has been improved and may be completed by the time of this writing. Laudat has seen many changes over the past years, including the aerial tram (this tram closed in 2012)taking visitors from the village up into the high mountains--making possible what was previously a journey by foot. Titou Gorge was also altered over the last decade, and is now smaller and more developed. It is still a swimming place, and small waterfalls of hot and cold water stream into the gorge. There are some overnight accommodations available in the village. Laudat receives some of the highest rainfalls in the Caribbean, about 900 cm a year. The air is often misty and cool - a change from the heat of lower-lying areas.

Development

The Dominica Geothermal Development Company has explored Laudat as a site for the production of

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

energy since 2019.

References

Populated places in Dominica {{Dominica-geo-stub