Kingston and the South
Kingston is Jamaica’s capital city and cultural centre. With the largest natural harbour in the Caribbean (and seventh-largest in the world), Kingston is also an industrial centre where Georgian architecture mixes with modern office blocks while, on the outskirts, spreading suburbs house the hundreds of thousands who increasingly work in the city. Although most tourists head for the beaches and resorts, Kingston has much to offer in the way of sightseeing.
The National Gallery of Art has a colourful display of modern art and is recommended. Hope Botanical Gardens contain a wide variety of trees and plants and are particularly famous for orchids. A band plays here on Sunday afternoons. There is a Crafts Market on King Street and the Port Royal, on top of the peninsula bordering Kingston Harbour, is a museum to the time when Port Royal (Jamaica’s ancient capital city that was submerged under the sea after an earthquake in 1692) was known as the ‘richest and wickedest city on earth’ under the domination of Captain Morgan and his buccaneers. The White Marl Arawak Museum is also worth seeing; here, visitors can see artefacts and relics of the ancient culture of the Arawak Indians. The grounds of the University of the West Indies, built on what was once a sugar plantation, are open to the public. Caymanas Park is a popular racetrack, where you can bet on the horses every Wednesday and Saturday and also during public holidays.
A short drive to the west of Kingston, Spanish Town is the former capital of Jamaica. The Spanish Town Square is said to be one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the Western hemisphere. The Spanish Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega is the oldest in the West Indies.
Mandeville is set amid beautiful gardens and fruits, at the heart of Jamaica’s citrus industry, 600m (2000ft) above sea level and the highest town on the island. Mandeville offers cool relief from the heat of the coast, and has a golf course, tennis and horse riding facilities. The town is the centre of the bauxite industry, and is a good starting point for trips to the surrounding areas.
On the south coast are Milk River Spa, a naturally radioactive mineral bath with waters at a temperature of 33°C (86°F); Lover’s Leap in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a sheer 18m (60ft) cliff overhanging the sea; Treasure Beach and the resort of Bluefields.
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