The Blue Hole

Where Dunn's River is a staircase you climb in a chain of hands with a thousand cruise passengers, the Blue Hole is the opposite: a series of deep turquoise pools in a narrow limestone gorge upstream of Ocho Rios, reached down a rough track, with rope swings, cave ledges and drops of various heights to jump from. Guides take small groups from pool to pool, and the water is startlingly blue where it is deep. There is a small cave behind one fall and a series of cascades above. It has become popular enough to be organised, but it retains the feel of a river people have always swum in rather than a built attraction.

What you actually see

• The main pool - deep turquoise water below a jump ledge.
• The rope swing - out over the deepest section.
• The upper cascades - smaller pools and drops above the main hole.
• The cave - a small chamber behind one of the falls.

When to go

December to April is drier and the water bluest. After rain it runs brown and the jumps are closed. Mornings are quieter, before excursion groups arrive from the cruise pier and hotels.

Honest expectations

The jumps are real and the rock is unforgiving; guides encourage them and people are injured. There is no lifeguard and depth varies with water level. The access track is rough. Multiple operators run the same river with similar names and differing standards, and touts on the road try to intercept visitors before they arrive.

Nearby

Dunn's River Falls is twenty minutes; Ocho Rios is the base.