Black River
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Black River

Black River

Georgian port on the south coast, gateway to the island's biggest wetland and to YS Falls.

The town was the first place in Jamaica to get electricity, in 1893, paid for by the logwood dye trade that made it rich — and the Georgian and Victorian merchant houses along the waterfront, some restored and some sagging, are what is left of that.

The reason most people come is the river itself. The Black River Great Morass behind the town is the largest wetland in Jamaica, some 250 square kilometres of mangrove and sawgrass, and the boat trips upriver go looking for American crocodiles — there are a few hundred in the system, and on a good morning you see several without much trouble. The water is dark from the peat rather than dirty, which is where the name comes from.

Inland, YS Falls is the best of the island's waterfalls to actually swim at: seven cascades in private farmland, with pools, a rope swing and far fewer people than Dunn's River. Appleton Estate, the rum distillery, is twenty minutes further up the same valley and has been making rum since 1749.

The Pelican Bar, a shack on stilts on a sandbar a kilometre out to sea, is reached by boat from here or from Treasure Beach along the coast.

Guide

Activities

Three things sit within half an hour of each other here, and together they make the best day on the south coast.

The Black River Safari goes four miles up the Great Morass among the mangroves, looking for American crocodiles — there are a few hundred left in the system and the boats find them most mornings. Go early: better light, better wildlife, fewer boats.

YS Falls, twenty minutes inland, is the waterfall worth swimming at — seven cascades on a working farm, with pools, a rope swing and a fraction of the crowd at Dunn's River. Appleton Estate is up the same valley, distilling rum since 1749, and runs tours with rather more tasting than most people expect at eleven in the morning.

Offshore, the Pelican Bar stands on a sandbar a kilometre out: a shack of driftwood and thatch selling Red Stripe and fried fish, reached by boat from here or from Treasure Beach. Agree the return time with your captain before you get out.