Millbank Falls, Portland

By some stroke of luck, my favourite parish of Portland in the northeastern side of Jamaica remains lush, green and untouched by mass tourism. Portland is home to the Jamaican Blue and John Crow Mountains which has species not seen in other parts of the island, let alone the entire world. It houses the Windward Maroons, an indigenous group of Jamaicans who are direct descendants of runaway Africans and Amerindians. The Jamaican Maroons are a proud people and have called the rugged inhospitable mountains home for over three centuries. Their governance is largely independent of mainstream Jamaica, they live off of and respect the land, and have managed to preserve their rich heritage and traditions to this day. It’s in this region of Jamaica that Millbank and its majestic waterfalls are located: the Upper Rio Grande Valley which is Windward Maroon country. Here’s how that adventure went.

Continue reading “Millbank Falls, Portland” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle45 Comments

Mayfield Falls, Westmoreland

Mayfield Falls is a delightful series of 21 widely-spaced mini cascades along the Mayfield River, a tributary of the Cabarita River in rural Westmoreland, bordering on the parish of Hanover. In fact, most of the attraction lies in Hanover, but you know how Westmoreland is always stealing Hanover’s attractions, or we pass everywhere off as Negril for the travel brochures. Anyway, I knew about this waterfall long before I ever heard of Benta River Falls, but somehow ended up visiting there first– likely because it was more accessible. Both attractions are located on the same road, but are 20 minutes apart in terms of driving time give or take. I went to Mayfield Falls as a staff trip one month ago. One of my colleagues was recounting a previous staff trip to the falls which they held several years ago and I encouraged her to plan a second trip. The date ended up even clashing with work but.. errr, here’s how the trip went. 🙂

Continue reading “Mayfield Falls, Westmoreland” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle18 Comments

Noisy River Falls, Manchester

Travel in the time of ‘Rona is such an interesting experience. I visited this beauty tucked away in the north Manchester hillsides in a little district called Oxford last weekend and like nearly all my trips to date, I had a lovely time. It really doesn’t take much to make me happy at all. Anyway, back in primary school (in Kingston at least) they taught us that the parish of Manchester has no rivers, and I’m really appalled at this ‘fact.’ I wonder what they taught the children from the parish of Manchester who grew up next to these rivers. This is the second such ‘fictional‘ river in the parish of Manchester I’m visiting, and I’m sure I’ll get around to its other two rivers eventually.

Continue reading “Noisy River Falls, Manchester” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle24 Comments

Konoko Falls, Saint Ann

Konoko Falls is a tourist attraction nestled in the hilly outskirts of popular resort town Ocho Rios. The Arawakan word for rainforest, konoko, lends its name to this 600-feet cascading waterfall and garden, formerly known as the Mahoe Falls and Coyaba Gardens; coyaba is also an Arawakan word meaning heaven. Both names are fitting, even more so given that Taino artefacts have been found here, suggesting that the area was once a settlement.

Continue reading “Konoko Falls, Saint Ann” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle22 Comments

Turure Water Steps, Trinidad

Happy New Year! I hope it’s everything you wish it to be and more. Welcome to my first blog post of 2020. Visiting the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago (well, really just Trinidad and to be specific, mainly northern Trinidad) is a sentimental trip for several reasons. My boyfriend of one + year is Trini so it was lovely meeting his family even though I’ve already met two members during their trips to Jamaica. Visiting during the festive season was special. My heart was full seeing all the decorations; their malls come alive at Christmastime, and parang music and their culture of paranging is so sweet, for want of a better adjective. It’s just my luck that my boyfriend’s aunt is a parang singer and we rang in 2020 paranging and watching the fireworks of Port of Spain from several miles away. That’s enough to make this trip memorable, but there’s more.

Continue reading “Turure Water Steps, Trinidad” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

Fish Dunn Falls, Portland

Last month I decided to see what lies beyond the road to Holywell and what awaited was a pleasant surprise. I’d intended to visit at least one more waterfall from the parish of Portland going by this list of all the waterfalls in Jamaica, but ended up seeing three: Cascade waterfall, an unnamed pair and this mesmerizing beauty named Fish Dunn/Done Falls in the community of Silver Hill.

Continue reading “Fish Dunn Falls, Portland” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle32 Comments

Cascade Falls, Portland

Jamaicans are so matter-of-fact when it comes to naming places. Cascade waterfall, also called One Drop Falls, is located in a tiny rural district by the name of– you guessed it– Cascade. What Cascade lacks in breadth it makes up for in height measuring over 100 feet tall! The waterfall is visible from the main road and that seems to be where most people are content with getting their view of this beauty. Of course, that wouldn’t be adequate for an adventurous soul like myself.

Continue reading “Cascade Falls, Portland” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle20 Comments

A Complete List of Jamaica’s Waterfalls

When I visited my first waterfall in January 2016, I didn’t realize this would become the start of a new hobby (some would say obsession based on my Instagram account and I learnt recently that ‘waterfall girl’ is the name I go by in a few of my colleagues’ minds). I fell in love with Jamaica that much more, finally seeing the side of the island only tourists or the very adventurous post about.

Continue reading “A Complete List of Jamaica’s Waterfalls” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle53 Comments

YS Falls, Saint Elizabeth

YS Falls is the twelfth Jamaican waterfall I’ve visited and written about on here, and I couldn’t be happier. Waterfalls are my favourite natural feature and like the other eleven falls, YS didn’t disappoint. YS Falls is located near Jamaica’s South coast and is part of a river which emerges from limestone caves and springs high up in Breadnut Valley, St. Elizabeth. The YS River is the main tributary of the great Black River, the longest navigable river in Jamaica and also the widest. Consider taking a combined tour to the YS Falls and Black River Crocodile Safari.

Continue reading “YS Falls, Saint Elizabeth” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle12 Comments

Breadnut Valley Falls, Saint Elizabeth

Magic happens when local female travel bloggers get together, and Breadnut Valley happened to be the first destination of hopefully many future linkups. Breadnut Valley Falls are a series of mesmerizing cascades and turquoise pools set in Breadnut Valley, Maggotty, St. Elizabeth parish. For an off-the-beaten path waterfall, surprisingly little hiking was involved! With that said, let’s talk about:

Continue reading “Breadnut Valley Falls, Saint Elizabeth” →

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle13 Comments