Dunn’s River Falls 

Photo: Courtesy of @TinaFreckles  

Ocho Raios: A One-Stop Shop of Natural Beauty 

Located on the north coast of Jamaica, Ocho Rios is a former fishing village turned resort destination. With a bustling cruise ship harbor, the popular bay beach is lined with hotels. Opportunities to check out nature are not far, as the surrounding area is home to a rainforest, rivers, and waterfalls. 

Ocho Rios Bay Beach 

Ocho Rios Bay Beach, also known as "Turtle Beach," is the central beach of Ocho Rios. It runs parallel to Main Street and stretches from the all-inclusive resort Moon Palace Jamaica on the east side to Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Pier on the western end (youtube.com). Ocho Rios Bay Beach's crystal-clear water, brilliant-white sand, and gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea make it popular with locals and tourists alike.  

The shady trees, picnic areas, changing stations, snack shops, and motorized and non-motorized water sports activities create an ideal location for family trips as well as parties and weddings (udcja.com). Beach chairs and lockers are also available (facebook.com), and there are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby. Many also enjoy watching the impressive cruise ships sail in and out of the port (vacationidea.com). 

Mystic Mountain 

Located in the heart of Ocho Rios, Mystic Mountain offers a plethora of fun activities and captivating site-seeing opportunities. Visitors can explore the forest's rich ecosystem and sparkling river streams or enjoy the spectacular views (visitjamaica.com). Mystic Mountain offers three unique and exhilarating excursions: Sky Explorer, Bobsled Jamaica, and Canopy Zip Line.  

The Sky Explorer is a state-of-the-art chair lift that "sends guests soaring above the treetops up 700 feet to the top of Mystic Mountain" (visitjamaica.com). From this vantage point, you get a magnificent view of the nearby Dunn's River Falls as well as the wonders of the heart of the canopy and the tropical seaside rainforest (visitjamaica.com).  

Featuring a 1000m long gravity drive through the rainforest on custom-designed, high-tech sleds, Bobsled Jamaica is the park's signature attraction (visitjamaica.com). Accessible through the Sky Explorer, "the Bobsled is a thrilling ride through dense tropical landscapes and coastal features on sleds that evoke Jamaica's Olympic team" (visitjamaica.com). 

Glide from one platform to another on a flight through the lush rainforest canopy (visitjamaica.com). The Canopy Zip Line tour ends at the mid-station of the chairlift, where you can catch a ride back to the top or bottom (projectexpedition.com). 

Dunn's River Falls  

Dunn's River Falls is a unique, terraced, 180-foot-high and 600-foot-long mountain waterfall with lagoon pools (google.com). This world-renowned natural phenomenon is Jamaica's national treasure.  

Incredibly, "It continuously regenerates itself from deposits of travertine rock, the result of precipitation of calcium carbonate from the river, as it flows over the falls. The small dome-shaped cataracts are usually associated with thermal spring activity found in limestone caves. This, combined with its location near to the sea, gives Dunn's River the distinction of being the only one of its kind in the Caribbean, if not the world" (visitjamaica.com). 

The waterfall's base empties directly into the sea (one of the few in the world to do so) at Little Dunn's River Beach. A brisk, hour-and-a-half hike will take you on an "exhilarating adventure through lush surroundings, with pools you can swim in dotting the way to the summit" (sandals.com). The thick green vegetation bordering the falls keeps hikers refreshed and the water cool.  

Climbing the waterfall itself is also a popular tourist activity and is often performed with the help of tour guides from the park (en.wikipedia.org). "The climb can be relatively hard so is often undertaken as a hand-holding human chain led by a guide to make it easier" (en.wikipedia.org). Stairs follow alongside the falls for those who do not want to get wet or cannot manage the rocky, uneven terrain of the actual waterfall (en.wikipedia.org). 

Dolphin Cove 

Alongside Dunn's River Falls, you can swim with a family of bottlenose dolphins in Dolphin Cove. Home to other marine life such as rays, eels, sharks, and tropical birds, Dolphin Cove is surrounded by four acres of lush tropical rainforest (whatsinport.com). 

In Summary 

Ocho Rios' seaside, rainforest, river, and waterfall beauty are well worth the visit. 

Sources: 

en.wikipedia.org 

facebook.com 

projectexpedition.com 

sandals.com 

udcja.com 

visitjamaica.com 

whatsinport.com 

youtube.com