Abeokuta Paradise Nature Park is the closest I’ll get to visiting Nigeria for a bit. When the first indentured Nigerian labourers were taken to Westmoreland, Jamaica after Emancipation, they noticed the similarities of their plantation to the beautiful plains and highlands of Abeokuta in southern Nigeria. Thus, when the Abeokuta Paradise Nature Park was officially opened on January 5, 2003 by the Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica, it was renamed to honour its resilient ancestors. Located in Dean’s Valley/Water Works, Westmoreland, the park occupies 15 acres of land and possesses the oldest swimming pool in Jamaica which is nearly 500 years old! In fact, this is possibly one of the world’s oldest infinity pools and nears Olympic pool dimensions at an astounding 71 feet long and 47 feet wide, ranging from 4 to 10 feet in depth. Here’s what to expect at this hidden gem and historic slice of paradise.
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Cost + How Find Jamaica’s Abeokuta Nature Park
The cost to visit in 2025 is JM$500 per person for locals, and US$10 for foreigners. Abeokuta is a private residence which is perhaps why it isn’t well advertised, and there are no signs to find it. Nonetheless, it didn’t prove too difficult to find using Google Maps. Driving along A2, make a right turn at Ferris Cross onto B8 and then it’s the 4th right turn across from a bar and carwash. This minor road is basically a dirt track but still navigable by an ordinary small car. No 4WD is required. When you get to a fork along this dirt track, continue straight. If you get to the roadside waterfall pictured below, you may want to turn around as this route is more challenging. As you can imagine, I saw this waterfall so I’d taken the more difficult route initially. However, a helpful motorist recommended that we turn around and take the easier route within a minute or two. Overall drive-time from the turnoff at A2 by Ferris Cross to Abeokuta took me 5 minutes.
Abeokuta Paradise Nature Park in Westmoreland, Jamaica was visited in the 1990s by well-known Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka, who was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Abeokuta Paradise Nature Park is open daily from 9am until 6:30pm. The gate will likely be closed when you get there but the owner will come out to let you in and collect the admission fee. If not, just toot your horn to get his attention. Open-air parking on a grassy lawn is available. Restrooms are provided but there’s no food or drink on sale, so take everything you may need. If it’s your first time, the Rastafarian owner, Owen ‘Bredda Man’ Banhan, will show you around on a brief nature tour and then the idyllic property is all yours to enjoy. Go early so you can bask in its beauty alone like I did. The crowds won’t roll in until early afternoon.
The Great House Ruins & Olumo Rock
Ruins of the 18th-century Dean’s Valley Water Works Estate still remain on Abeokuta’s grounds, and you can see what’s left of its great house that was fashioned from thick pure-cut stone and brick. These were uncovered by Banhan and his wife who worked assiduously to clear the thick jungle-like vegetation which covered everything when they acquired the property in the 1980s. The Dean’s Valley Estate was a sugar plantation that once covered 2,200 acres. From Abeokuta, it is said that the migrant Yoruba labourers could see a huge rock that reminded them of Olumo Rock in their homeland. However, that “rock” is actually a mountain.
Swimming in Jamaica’s Oldest Pool
Water from the nearby Sweet River is channeled to Abeokuta via an old aqueduct that is a quarter-mile long. The water is said to be rich in minerals such as calcium, iron and magnesium, and may relieve minor aches, pains and skin irritations. While I didn’t fact-check the mineral content of the water, what I’m sure of is that the beautiful elysian grounds will leave you awe-struck; awe-struck that the fresh mineral water flowing into this pool has been doing so for five centuries! You can get a massage under the tiny waterfalls which take water into and out of the pool, or take your adventure up a notch by swinging into the pool’s 10-feet depths from a black rope suspended from a large tree on the pool’s fringes.
The grounds felt serene and spiritual, filled with lush ferns, crotons, palms, ginger lilies and other tropical plants. Surely, the garden of Eden could have been right here in Jamaica. If you’re not a fan of the deep pool, take a splash in the smaller and shallow “Kiddies’ Pool” located next to the owner’s house instead. I forgot to take a picture of it.
Wrap Up
Abeokuta is a must-visit spot for nature and history lovers alike. It’s been on my list of places to visit for a long time and was included in my Jamaican guide Sightsee Jamaica on Amazon. In fact, it was on my partner’s list of places to visit too, which is why I made Abeokuta the start of his birthday celebration this year given that we would be staying in this corner of Jamaica. I’ll share more about that hotel stay in 2024 (hint: it’s on this list of best boutique hotels in Jamaica!). Have you visited Abeokuta before or would you like to? Sound off in the comments section below and feel free to share + bookmark this post for later.
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