Destination Jamaica - South Coast...off the beaten track!


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South Coast Attractions

Black River Area

Treasure Beach

Mandeville

South Coast: Mandeville Attractions

Mandeville offers relief from the humid coastal climate. A cool climate makes it popular with residents returning to Jamaica after years abroad. A number of Britons also choose Mandeville as a perfect place to retire.

Considered the most English of all of Jamaica’s towns, Mandeville boasts flower shows and gardens. Afternoon tea is still an important ritual. Resident Carmen Stephenson, for one, will welcome you into her garden of rare orchids, meticulously organized in rows of pinks, whites, and purples (by appointment only). Founded in 1865, the Mandeville horticultural society is the oldest organization of its kind in the Caribbean.

Locals sell peppered shrimp near the town of Middle Quarters. Photo by Vic Hanna

Visit the Manchester Golf Club, the oldest in the western world, which was constructed soon after the game was invented in Scotland.

Don’t miss the chance to sample the coffee at Jamaica’s Standard Products’ coffee factory nearby in Williamsfield. Next door at the Pioneer Chocolate Factory, see how chocolate and cocoa butter are produced. In Shooter’s Hill, piquant “Pickapeppa” sauce is manufactured. The spicy sauces aged in oak barrels have been bottled for more than 75 years and distributed worldwide.

A bit higher into the hills above Mandeville, the town of Christiana features extraordinary natural attractions such as Gourie Caves near Coleyville. Situated in a forest reserve, the Gourie cave system is the most extensive on island. Visitors might also hike through ginger lilies down an 800-foot gorge to Christiana Bottom to discover two spectacular swimming holes fed by the Rio Minho River. One of the holes is said to have no bottom at all. Tours are available. Check with your front desk.

Before leaving Black River town for more adventuring, take note of the restored houses and Georgian architecture on a 30-minute walking tour. It begins on High Street.

A journey south of Christiana and Mandeville takes a visitor through flatlands into villages like Knockpatrick, Lancaster and Pratville. See houses still built according to the Arawak Indian tradition of wattle and daub (mud layers atop a stick framework). Turn north once more. The road to St. Jago leads to Milk River Bath, one of Jamaica’s famous mineral spas. Mineral waters (nearly constant at 92°F) are praised as a treatment for arthritis, gout, and other ailments. It is said the relative radioactivity of the waters has been found to be 54 times as active as that found in the springs of Baden, Switzerland. Baths are open to the public.

Back down to the coast, between Milk River Bath and Alligator Pond, a 15-mile stretch of beach with unusual gray sand provides remarkable photo ops. Centuries-old Arawak Indian drawings and carvings decorate caves near Alligator Pond. Think twice about going down for a dip at God’s Well, a short walk from South Coast Road. Folklore says those who go down don’t come up. A less spooky choice, scenic Canoe Valley, zigzags through a palm swamp to the Caribbean Sea. Underground Gut River spills into a sparkling cavern near the sea, frequented by manatees.


	Appleton Estate Tour Day Trip to YS Falls Gazing at Lover's Leap Golfing at Manchester CC Hiking to Gourie Caves Middle Quarters Shrimp Photos at Bamboo Avenue Relaxing at Milk River Spa Safaris on the Black River Snorkeling at Pelican Bar

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