Experience Life Off the Grid at Animal Farm

Nestled in the Montpelier Hills near Montego Bay, Jamaica lies the alluring Animal Farm and Nature Reserve. This 40-acre sanctuary sits in a lush rainforest valley which is supplied by the Great River, one of Jamaica’s fastest flowing rivers. Dr. Geoffrey Williams, the owner of Animal Farm, acquired the thickly wooded land in the 1990s and transformed it into a beautiful off-the-grid farm. Animal Farm is solar-powered, harvests water from the Great River and uses bio-gas for refrigeration and cooking. Animal Farm opened to guests in 2000 and quickly became a naturalist and ecotourist’s paradise, teeming with ferns, towering trees, flowering plants and beautiful exotic birds. Today, one can escape the hustle and bustle of city life with a stay in one of the farm’s eco-cottages, or enjoy an edutaining farm tour, hiking, birdwatching, bamboo rafting excursion or even a self-guided tour through the farm at one’s own pace. In this article, I recap my weekend getaway and share why Animal Farm deserves a spot on your Jamaican bucket list.

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Montego Bay Cultural Centre, Saint James

Good things in life are discovered by chance, and that’s how I ended up spontaneously visiting the Montego Bay Cultural Centre. On my first ever visit to Jamaica’s second city, my morning commute to school led through the Sam Sharpe Square and I happened to look out the window just as we were passing the cultural centre the first morning. I finished school early that same day and after alighting from a taxi in Downtown, I realized I was on what appeared to be the other side of the building.

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