Around Doca (Near Terre Rouge)

This is a nice walk, north of Port-au-Prince, where the landscape is quite different from the area around Kenscoff (South of Port-au-Prince).

To get to the starting point of the walk, follow the main road towards Hinche and in the Town of Terre-Rouge, just meters before the police station on the right side, take a steep road up. A 4WD car is required for these 2 kilometers. If you don't have a 4WD car or the skills, you can park at the police station and add 2x 2 km to your hike, which should add around 1 additional hour. The police is usually quite welcome to keep on your car so it's not a bad parking spot.

Either you drive or walk the road, just follow the road. Soon you'll see a cell phone tower and that's where the hike starts. There is usually a guard at the cell phone tower and probably will not mind keeping an eye on your car for a few dollars.

The hike is basically in 3 parts and (more or less) triangular in shape:

Part 1: From the start, there is a bit of climbing, but is generally a long and slow track going down the mountain. In most cases, it follows the main track, but keep an eye on the GPS to make sure you don't miss an exit. When you get close to the river, the track gets more steep until you cross the riverbed. As there is usually no water, crossing it should be fine. You might want to take a water and food break in the shade before you start the next section.

Part 2: From the riverbed, a narrow track leads up the mountain. As there are a few tracks leaving the same point, keep an eye on the GPS. We've tried to find the least steep track going up. After a few hundred meter climb, you get to the ridge of the mountain and it will get a bit easier, but you continue going up. Take some breaks and enjoy the landscape while you catch your breath.

Part 3: This part of the track start more or less when you make a sharp corner in a village. From here, there is not that much climbing or descending, but it's far from flat. Soon after you start this section, you will get to the main "road" in this area. There might be a taptap come by if you want to bail out, but don't count on it. The road is probably better to do on foot then by car due to the loose rock. When you are about half-way this section, you'll come into an area where you find houses with walls around. At the 3rd or 4th walled house, you may get a chance to buy some drinks. After about another kilometer, you leave the road and follow a small track up the mountain and eventually get back to same place that you passed by at the start of the walk. From there, it will be easy to make it all the way back to the cell phone tower.

I hope you will enjoy this walk as much as we have.