Call or email for assistance planning your trip: +1 (212) 203-0064 | reservations@moonjamaica.com
Holywell National Park (entry US$5, or US$1.50 for residents) sits atop Hardwar Gap, affording a view of St. Andrew Parish to the south and St. Mary and Portland to the north. The birding is excellent in the 50-hectare park, which borders Twyman’s Old Tavern Coffee Estate on the north side and is a haven for migratory birds in the winter months.
The Waterfall Trail is also about 1.2 kilometers long, meandering along the mountain edge and then following a stream with a small waterfall at the end.
Shorter and less strenuous trails include the Shelter Trail (600 meters), the Blue Mahoe Trail (350 meters), and the Wag Water/Dick’s Pond Trail (630 meters).
Rustic accommodations in cabins at the park are available through the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT) (29 Dumbarton Ave., Half Way Tree, tel. 876/920-8278 or 876/920-8279, jamaicaconservation@gmail.com, www.greenjamaica.org.jm).
Dustry Bed & Breakfast (US$100 d) offers rustic accommodation at the home of expats Andrew and Lisa Gordon, self-described hippies who have been living in the Blue Mountains since the 1970s. The rustic homestead cannot be seen from the road and is best suited for the fit and adventurous, as it requires a 10-minute walk uphill to reach.
Mount Edge Guest House, run by Michael Fox, has six units with hip names: Gong (US$60) is a stand-alone cottage with a double bed and private bath. Rock (US$50) has a double bed and a single bed and private bath. View (US$60) has a king bed, space for an additional single and a private bath. Roost (US$60) has a double bed with private bathroom, mountain and city views.
Starlight Chalet & Health Spa (US$80) is a quaint retreat past Hardwar Gap. Reach Starlight Chalet by heading north from Hardwar Gap. Where the road forks, keep to your right and go straight ahead until you reach Section.
Holywell National Park provides cabins and tent sites bookable through the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT). Book at least two weeks in advance for a weekend stay in one of three self-contained cabins (two one-bedroom units with open layout for US$50, one two-bedroom unit for US$70; resident rate US$34 for one-bedroom, US$45 for two-bedroom).
"Barbeque" Heritage Gardens of Cold Spring (US$250 for entire cottage with up to 6 guests, US$120 for two in the Master Suite, US$90 for single room, add US$10 per person for breakfast, US$20 per person for three meals) is an old coffee estate with large barbecues, the flat areas where coffee is laid out to dry, hinting at the property’s illustrious past as an important co
The Gap Cafè & Gift Shoppe (cell tel. 876/539-1771 or 876/579-9526) runs as a bed-and-breakfast inn with a one-bedroom apartment (US$100) containing two twin beds, a private bath, kitchen, and TV room.
