Dotted with impoverished fishing villages and graced with a couple of hiking trails around the island's highest peak, rocky northern Dominica isn't nearly as compelling as the rest of the island and needn't be a priority if you're on a short visit. While the Caribbean coast has some decent black-sand beaches around the towns of Mero and Portsmouth , they're secondary to the north's main points of interest. The extensive ruins of Fort Shirley in Cabrits National Park , and the Caribbean's only modern-day Carib homeland, the Atlantic-facing Carib Territory , can both be visited as a daytrip from Roseau.