Ocho Rios

Ocho Rios is a unique Jamaican island with extremely wonderful people. While there are some areas of the island where people will push you to buy, buy, buy, most areas are relaxed and full of culture and history.

The name Ocho Rios translates to Eight Rivers or if you look at it from an adulteration point of Las Chorreras, The Spouts. Regardless, the name comes from there being so many beautiful waterfalls in Ocho Rios, the most famous being Dunn’s River Falls.

This particular waterfall cascades down over terraces of rock, heading down toward the sea. Reaching upwards of 600 feet, visitors can walk up the fall by using steppingstones while walking under a gentle shower from the falls. When visiting Dunn’s River Falls during the week, you will often find some type of celebration to include music, dancing, food, and music!

Located in St. Ann’s parish about 60 miles from Annotto, this port was formerly used for fishing and banana export. Today, Ocho Rios is a large resort community, making it a favorite destination for tourists. Although some areas of the town remain poor, other areas are actually quite beautiful. Many of the buildings are colonial-period to include the Anglican Church and the Geddes Memorial Church.

Additionally, Ocho Rios features a number of interesting historical sites and museums. In fact, one in particular has some marvelous artifacts on display; many large column pieces beautifully carved that were just uncovered in 2003. Other fun activities include water sports such as boating, skiing, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, and swimming. However, other people enjoy swimming with the dolphin, horseback riding on the beach, golfing, playing tennis, and even playing polo.

Then, you might consider visiting Rio Nuevo, a site when in 1658 the Spanish and British troops fought over possession of the land, Port Maria, which is found on Pagee Beach where you will find numerous buildings from the colonial period, all well preserved, or Discovery Bay, a great port that features beautiful parks. Ocho Rios also has its own circus, many fine restaurants with incredible food, and places where you can go dancing at night.

Other enjoyable things to do while visiting this part of Jamaica is to take a tour of the plantations, with some which are still working to include Brimmer Hall and Prospect Estates. These plantations still produce many of the island’s primary exports to include bananas, coconuts, and citrus. However, you definitely want to get up into the rainforest area where you will see “tree people”. These people take actual leaves, branches, and flowers and adorn themselves to look like a tree. The costumes are so elaborate it is hard to imagine these are even people. However, as they move about to have their picture taken, the goal is to be tipped, which is how they earn their living.


Last Updated: 10/19/2006 3:14:00 PM

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