Negril

Jamaica's shrine to permissive indulgence, Negril has metamorphosed from deserted fishing beach to full-blown resort town in little over two decades. American hippies first started visiting what was then a virgin paradise in the 1970s, setting the tone for today's free-spirited attitude, but these days, the presence of deliberately risqué resorts like the infamous Hedonism II has ensured that Negril is widely perceived as a place where inhibitions are lost and pleasures of the flesh rule. The traditional menu of ganja and reggae draws a young crowd, but the north-coast resort ethic has muscled in too. All-inclusives of every ilk pepper the coast and hotels line every inch of the beach, while hustling has increased to an irritating degree.

But Negril shrugs off such minor issues and remains supremely chilled-out. Pristine miles of sand, comprehensive watersports facilities, open-air dancing to first-rate live music, a wide range of eating and drinking joints, gregarious company, and the best sunsets on the island are all on offer here. Many foreigners have stayed on permanently, blurring the distinctions between tourists and locals and making for a relaxed, natural interaction that's a refreshing change from other resorts.

There are really two Negrils. The West End is the site of modest cottages and character-filled local restaurants. The other Negril is on the East End, along the road from Montego Bay; the best hotels line this panoramic beachfront. The town center itself offers little of interest.

Which One's For you: Negril or Montego Bay?
Negril, especially during the past 2 decades, has become the most serious touristic competitor to Montego Bay. These two resorts are markedly different in what they offer: Despite some new first-class hotels opening up, Negril is not anywhere near the same league as Montego Bay when it comes to posh hostelries.

For the serious golfer, Montego Bay wins again; it offers some of the finest courses in the Caribbean. And for those who view sightseeing as part of their holiday, Montego Bay offers the most diversified attractions in Jamaica; Negril, other than its beaches, is not blessed with great sights.

What does Negril offer, then? There is no more laid-back place in all the Caribbean for sunning by day and "sinning" when darkness comes. For those who want to literally hang out, Negril also offers the only officially sanctioned nude beach in all Jamaica. Negril is a sensual, fun-loving Eden where you can find shelter in everything from a Rastafarian hut to an overcrowded Jacuzzi where fellow guests might all be naked. If you like hallucinogenic brownies and 11km-long (6 3/4-mile) beaches but hate fancy French brasseries, Negril is the place for you.

For some reason, Negril is also becoming increasingly attractive as a family destination.

One caution: Though the temptation to take a moonlit walk on Negril's beach is powerful, resist. It's possible you could be mugged at night, or worse.

Charms of this Region

Bloody Bay
Talcum white sand. Warm, clear water. Is there really more to life?

Inns
Small and intimate, rustic yet well appointed, Negril has hundreds of places to play, and stay…from budget bungalows to luxurious suites, there’s an inn to suit to all tastes…and pockets!

Hair Braiding
Be ‘Negrilized’ with a fabulous new do tipped with beads and shells for a true island look to match your island experience.

Live Music
Live Reggae…Every night. All night. Jam and rock to your favourite tunes, at the beach, on the cliffs – anywhere…in Negril, there’s always something to make you dance.

Limitless Eating Options
You’ll never want for a hearty meal in Negril. Along the beach or the cliffs, the next delicious meal is never more than a few steps away.

The Seven Mile Beach
Stake out a blanket-sized spot of paradise or meander along soft foot-friendly white sand. The beach is lined with funky eateries oozing ice cold drinks by day and sizzling hot reggae by night.

Mellow Vibes
Kick off your shoes and smile with strangers. Sleep in the sun or play sports for hours. Rediscover the simple side of life at a casual laidback pace…anything goes and everyone’s welcome.

Bike Rentals
With the sun on your back and the wind in your hair, you can zip around town, discovering local haunts and making new friends.

Animal Hill

General History: You won't find the community of Animal Hill on any map of Jamaica, but it is a real place, with an interesting history and a warm, caring neighbourly feel. Animal Hill is not far from Fat Hog Quarter, in the interior of Hanover, a rural area whose citizens are primarily small-farmers and cattle rearers. The name "Animal Hill" was originally an unkind nickname given to the area intended to make fun of the people that lived there. In the early twentieth century there were a number of families: Hoggs, Mares, Stairs, Lyons, and Wolfes, living close together within the small community. Perhaps in defiance of the mal-intended if amusing nickname, the residents embraced it, and now, passing through Hanover, although there are no signs, almost anyone can direct you there. Of the original families with animal names, only the Stairs still live in the area, the others having died or moved away. Animal Hill is also a primary source of one of the tastiest varieties of yams grown in Jamaica; the Lucea Yam, which is the main crop grown in the area.

Cousin's Cove

General History: Cousin's Cove, a small inlet along the Hanover coastline, is unknown to most tourists, but is as important to Jamaican heritage as it is beautiful. In the mid-seventeenth century, as part of the Cromwellian system of land grants for military service, one John Samuels acquired a parcel that included the pristine, secluded cove.

Samuels, who arrived in the West Indies after fleeing the law in England, named the cove in honour of his cousin, Frances, whom he married. Samuels and his bride found new freedom and prosperity in the colony, where he built a stately home and maintained a productive plantation.

Interestingly enough, archaeological work in the area is not centred on the great house ruins, but rather focused on the material evidence of Taino occupation, which is extremely rare in the western Caribbean as a result of centuries of colonialism. Recently, investigations by the University of the West Indies Archaeology Department revealed a burial ground and some cave paintings by the Tainos, the pre-Colombian indigenous people of Jamaica. At the burial ground, valuable discoveries, such as the unearthing of the remains of a young Taino, offer support to the theory that the Tainos were technologically more advanced than their distant cousins, the Arawaks of South America. Since the initial finding, numerous pottery shards, carvings and paintings have been discovered, giving the scientists insights into the lifestyle and traditions of this now extinct race.

Famous For: Not famous at all, Cousin's Cove has a small white sand beach, used primarily by fishermen, but open to all who choose to stop!

Must See: Pack a lunch, wear sensible shoes, and go hiking in the small wooded hills behind the cove. If you make a day of it, the whole experience of getting there will be a delightful addition to a true Jamaican adventure.

Say Hello To: Ask around for the "Black Shop" run by Byron. Behind his shop is a fisherman's beach where many residents sit and idle away the day after the early morning catch comes in.

Grange Hill

General History: Grange Hill, in the deep rural hills of Westmoreland, is a thriving community and the second largest commercial centre in the parish. The town is located in west central Westmoreland, in an area long used for horse breeding and rearing.

Even today, a number of notable breeders still operate horse farms here. Most of the people in Grange Hill work in agriculture or in tourism, as the town lies on the fringes of Westmoreland's sugar belt only about three miles away from the sugar factory at Frome. With the resort area of Negril only fifteen minutes drive away, many others commute to staff the hotels, restaurants and bars in that town. The people of Grange Hill, however, maintain the spirit of independence and self-sufficiency that is characteristic of country folk in Jamaica; and although most work for the two large industries, many families maintain a 'family ground', small farms where market produce is grown to feed the family and to supplement the household income.

Interesting Story: The Police Station in Grange Hill is not called the Grange Hill Police Station as almost all community outposts of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are called. The Morgan's River Police Station, as it is called, sits in the centre of town, named for the river that passes close to the community. The tributary, Morgan’s River, eventually joins the Cabaritta River flowing into the sea near Savanna-La-Mar. It was named for the infamous pirate and Jamaica's first Lieutenant Governor, Sir Henry Morgan. Incidentally, the area never took the river’s name and, apart from the Police Station, nothing else seems to bear that name.

Famous For: The fertile soil in Grange Hill has earned the area its island-wide reputation for producing some of the best crops available. In addition, the area has been one of the most recognized horse breeding areas in Jamaica and even today, one of the best racehorse breeders in Jamaica still maintains a small ranch there.

Must See: Down Belle Isle road just beyond the town centre, there is an impressive stone mausoleum containing the remains of an old planter family. Since Grange Hill is a predominantly pedestrian and bicycle community, a short excursion to find this monument may be an interesting experience!

Negril

General History: Casual. Carefree. Chill. Negril doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It just is that laidback…and it’s the only place on earth like it. On one side, the longest continuous stretch of talcum-soft beach in Jamaica and, on the other, lofty, rugged cliffs protruding into the clearest, bluest water imaginable.

Endless water sports and other activities if you want to play, or the sun, palm trees and isolation if you don’t. With everything combined, Negril is the tropical paradise that seems to exist only on television commercials and travel agent posters, a place where sun-lovers roll out of bed straight onto the beach, sipping fresh natural juices and rocking to reggae music that pulsates in sync with the ocean’s waves.

The self-styled ‘Capital of Casual’ is a relatively young town, having blossomed in the late 1970s following an influx of North American hedonists and hippies. Attracted to the easy-going vibe and the naturalistic consciousness of the small Rastafarian community there, the word spread, and soon the tiny fishing village began playing host to hundreds.

Over the years, visitors to Negril have traditionally been minimalists seeking pure relaxation, and higher levels of consciousness. A few times a year, however, the town comes alive when swarms of American college students flock to the seven-mile stretch to soothe their mid-semester stresses. Then, Negril becomes an international party zone, where nubile bodies sizzle on the beach by day and the bars and clubs sizzle by night. After the Spring Breakers have come and gone, Negril slips back into its mellow mood. The routine is almost always the same – after a day on the beach, an afternoon nap, sunset on the cliffs, and an easy-going live reggae band playing at night, its time again for tropical pleasure seekers to sleep and do it all again the next day.

In Negril, life seems to move more slowly, troubles seem to work themselves out, and stress is as alien a concept as snow. Maybe the tone of the town is fixed by its layout – there are only two roads in Negril, Norman Manley Boulevard, the ‘beach road’ and West End Road, the ‘cliff road’. Maybe it’s set by an old edict that states that no building may be taller than the tallest coconut tree. Whichever it is, Negril is, as it always has been, a shoes-optional, shirt-if-you-must getaway, a retreat from the ordinary to the spectacular.

Interesting Story: Many visitors to Negril end up afflicted with severe cases of what locals call ‘negrilitis’. The condition is certainly not fatal or even mildly dangerous, causing only a welcome change in perspective. Most simply put, ‘negrilitis’ is a state of absolute relaxation. It is brought about by two or more days spent in the town – whether on the beach or on the cliffs – and is alleviated only upon departure!

Famous For: Seven miles of white sand beach. Spectacular sunsets from 30-foot cliffs. The most mellow, laid-back people in the world. Live Reggae Music every night. Negril is famous because it is as close to paradise as you can get on earth…

Must See: Located as the most westerly point on the island, the most incredible sunsets can be watched in Negril daily.

Say Hello To: All around the world, vacationers have fallen in love with Negril’s special charms. One of the best things about Negril is the fact that the town has maintained its personalized, intimate character despite the developments that have boosted it to a top international tourist destination. Most hotels, restaurants and bars are owner-operated, and if you strike up a friendship, more than likely it will be an enduring one that enriches your Jamaican experience. In Negril, say hello to everyone you meet – in this town you never know who will end up being a life-long friend!

Petersfield

General History: In the heart of the sugar producing regions of central Westmoreland is the community of Petersfield, a no frills one-street rural town that is home to many of the workers of the Frome Sugar Estate.

Petersfield is one of the older townships on the island; in fact, it was incorporated as early as the late seventeenth century as a dormitory community for estate workers on the nearby Roaring River Estate. One Peter Beckford, for whom the town is named, owned the Roaring River Estate at the time. The Beckford family arrived in Jamaica shortly after the restoration of King Charles in England, and over time, they built one of the largest fortunes in the West Indies.

Some will argue that not much has changed in Petersfield since the seventeenth century, probably because the pace of life here is much slower than most places in Jamaica. During the day the street is virtually empty, and only on weekends does the town display any bustle at all! The people of Petersfield, however, maintain a sense of pride in the fact that theirs is a quiet, respectful community, probably because as one young man replied when asked what the most outstanding thing about his town was, "decent people live here."

A few kilometres away from the centre of town is one of the most stunning attractions in Jamaica, the Roaring River and Roaring River Cave. Named for the loud, seemingly untraceable echoing flow of the subterranean parts of the river, the Roaring River is the most important source of water in central Westmoreland and the Georges plain since it provides the parish capital Savannah-La-Mar and other towns with their water supply.

Interesting Story: The main street through the town of Petersfield stretches over a mile long, and at one end is home to a Community Health Centre, and has at the other end the town cemetery. Maybe that is a coincidence…

Famous For: The Roaring River is a marvellous wonder hidden deep in the Westmoreland cane country. The river is a subterranean channel that runs for miles underground before appearing, almost miraculously at a spot near to Petersfield. Lush green vegetation abounds, and water lilies glide gently along the waters surface, destined nowhere in particular. Just beyond the emergence point of the river, almost carved into the cliff is the mouth of the Roaring River Cave, a series of subterranean limestone caverns with a small mineral spring inside. Visitors cannot enter the caves without the guidance of a member of the Roaring River Citizens Association, a local community group that maintains the attraction through the contributions for organized tours.

Must See: Just outside the Roaring River cave is a deep freshwater sinkhole, which residents of the area will tell you is bottomless. Swimming is permitted here, and the water is crisply refreshing and remarkably pure. There is another blue hole further up the road, set within a calmingly landscaped private garden, where visitors are welcome for a small contribution.

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Links & Sources:

• WCities
• Wikipedia
• Frommers
• Rough Guides
• Lonely Planet
• Jamaica Touristboard