Top Places to Visit in Jamaica

Jamaica is derived from the Arawak Indian term that stands for “land of wood and water”. Being the third largest island in the Caribbean, its heritage mixed with breath-taking landscapes attracts tourists most from all sides of the world.  

Just like any travel place in the world, Jamaica offers the best places that one must see in plan of a vacation. But before booking your trip, make sure to prepare first your pen and paper and jot down these places that you must never forget to visit while in Jamaica. 

MONTEGO BAY. Probably you might be hearing about this place before. No doubt, because Montego Bay is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Jamaica. It offers all the activities and luxuries you are expecting in a trip on a Caribbean Island. Being the largest beach resort in the area, here you can experience beach vacation and nightlife at its best. Montego’s top attractions include Rum Jungle, Rose Hall Great House, Club Mobay, Seaforth, Sandy Bay, Windsor Caves, Bob Marley Experience and Theatre and a whole lot more. Several activities that you can enjoy are kayaking, golfing, rafting, canopy tour, and partying. 

LOVER’S LEAP, ST. ELIZABETH. Lover’s Leap is found at the edge of Santa Cruz Mountains, the lookout provides an amazing view of the mountains where it meets the Southern Coast of the island. With a 1,700 vertical drop, you can enjoy the fantastic beauty of the Caribbean Sea while feeling on top of the world. The name of the tourist attraction came from a famous legend of this place. In the 18th century, there were two lovers, Mizzy and Tunkey, who faced great opposition of their relationship. Their master, Chardley liked the girl and wants to have her. The lovers run out to avoid being separated but they were cornered on a steep cliff. But instead of facing separation, they jumped off the high cliff together. 

Just imagine how romantic it would be standing on a high that witnessed one great story of love. 

DUNN’S RIVER FALLS. Considered as one of the island’s national wonders, Dunn’s River Falls received one of the most number of visits every year. This spot provides once-in-a-lifetime view of a 1,000 feet view of water rushing down a stair-like steep. It is also known for being the most unique waterfalls in the Caribbean. 

NEGRIL.  It is a small but widely dispersed beach island town in Jamaica. List of attractions to visit constitutes of Grange Hill, Bloody Bay, and Cousin’s Cove. There are also array of activities that you can enjoy like underwater exploration, golfing, shopping, and water sports. 

Jamaican Giant Swallowtail Butterfly: Endemic Specie in Jamaica

One of the largest butterflies in America, the Jamaican Giant Swallowtail Butterfly has an average size of 3 inches and a wing span than can reach up to 6 inches.  It can only be seen in Jamaica and is declared endangered since 1996. 

Appearance

It has most of the times dark colored with yellow and blue spots on its wings and bands on its body. Male Swallowtail has hair scales found on their hand wings near the abdomen. What makes Swallowtails different among other butterfly is their unique organ called the “osmeterium”. The osmeterium acts as weapon for predators. It emits a fouls smell once threatened by predators. Jamaican Giant Swallowtail Butterfly also has tails on their behind legs and are migratory insects.  Little is known about their mating and reproductive behavior.

Habitat

Being endemic in America, Giant Swallowtail Butterfly can be found especially in the eastern end of the Blue Mountains and Cockpit Country in Jamaica. Their habitat is due to their behavior of wanting to dwell in remote and undisturbed areas of the wild. Some also say they also like to live on wet limestone forest. You can also sight swallowtail butterfly on lower montane rainforests. 

Food

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly usually eats leaves of trees and flowers in the forest.  They also lay their eggs on the undersides. 

Conservation 

Conservation efforts have been made and are still implemented to protect the total extinction of this endemic creature in Jamaica. Threats to the diminishing number of Swallowtail is said to be due to loss of habitat and illegal collecting of the insect for commercial purposes. The government has captive breeding to increase its number. They also made plans to protect the endemic creature like making a protected habitat for them.