Judgement Cliff

The earthquake of 1692 that destroyed Port Royal also brought down a section of hillside in the Yallahs valley, burying an estate below, and the scar it left is still bare rock three centuries later. The name comes from the story attached to it afterwards: that the estate's owner was a cruel man and the slide was judgement on him. Whether any of that is true is unknown, but the name stuck and the cliff is a landmark in the parish.

What you actually see

• The scar - bare rock on the hillside, still unvegetated after three centuries.
• The valley - the Yallahs running below the slide.
• The scale - a slide large enough to bury an estate.
• The story - the judgement tradition attached to it since 1692.

When to go

December to April is the drier season with the clearest views. Morning light shows the scar best. Heavy rain makes the valley roads difficult.

Honest expectations

It is viewed from the road at a distance; there is no site, no path and no interpretation. The story about the estate owner is tradition, not record. The visit is a photograph and ten minutes.

Nearby

Yallahs is south on the coast, and the Blue Mountains rise north.