Jamaica

Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean, a mountainous country of 14 parishes where limestone karst and the Blue Mountains rise steeply behind narrow coastal plains. British sugar plantations shaped its settlement and its people, and independence came in 1962. It gave the world reggae and dancehall, and remains a significant bauxite producer.

Known for reggae and dancehall, Blue Mountain coffee, jerk cooking, bauxite mining and Cockpit Country karst.

Highlights

  • Blue Mountain Peak, Portland and Saint Thomas parishes: Jamaica's highest point at 2,256 metres, and the summit of the range whose cool, shaded slopes produce Blue Mountain coffee. Walkers usually leave Portland Gap before midnight to reach the top around sunrise.
  • Port Royal, Kingston: The English harbour town at the mouth of Kingston Harbour that was a base for privateers, Henry Morgan among them. A 1692 earthquake sank much of it, leaving an underwater archaeological site still being studied.
  • Bob Marley Museum, Saint Andrew, Kingston: Marley's home and Tuff Gong studio at 56 Hope Road, kept close to how he left it in 1981. Bullet holes from the 1976 attempt on his life are still visible in the walls.
  • Seven Mile Beach, Negril, Westmoreland: The unbroken sand running north from Negril town along Long Bay, nearer four miles than the seven in its name. Small hotels and beach bars replaced its fishing grounds from the 1970s onward.

Places in Jamaica

Coming up

  • Mon 19 Oct: National Heroes Day
  • Fri 25 Dec: Christmas Day
  • Sat 26 Dec: Boxing Day
  • Fri 1 Jan: New Year's Day
  • Wed 10 Feb: Ash Wednesday
  • Fri 26 Mar: Good Friday
  • Mon 29 Mar: Easter Monday
  • Sun 23 May: Labour Day

Getting around

Kingston and the corporate area run on JUTC buses, and licensed route taxis and minibuses cover the rest of the island. Every public passenger vehicle is licensed by the Transport Authority, and only approved fares may be charged — ask the fare before you ride. JUTC's cashless SmartFare card speeds up boarding, with the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre as the network's hub.