Milk River Bath

The spring at Milk River was found in the eighteenth century and has been used ever since for its mineral content, which is unusually high: the water carries dissolved salts and a level of natural radioactivity that is frequently described as among the highest of any spa water measured anywhere, which is why bathing is limited to short timed sessions rather than a long soak. The bathhouse is a plain 1940s building with private tiled tubs, each filled from the source at around thirty-two degrees. It sits in flat, hot country near the Milk River estuary, an area better known for crocodiles and birdlife than for visitors, and it is very quiet.

History

The spa has belonged to the Government of Jamaica since it opened in 1794. A story tells that in the 17th century an enslaved man, beaten and left for dead, came back fully healed, and his master promised never to punish him again if he showed where the cure had come from (Wikipedia, Milk River Bath).

What you'll find

• The private tubs - individual tiled baths filled from the source.
• The mineral content - among the most concentrated of any spa water.
• The 1940s bathhouse - plain, functional and largely unchanged.
• The estuary country - flat wetland with crocodiles and waterbirds nearby.

When to go

December to April is drier. Sessions are timed, generally to around fifteen minutes, and staff enforce it because of the mineral concentration. The spa keeps set hours. It is rarely busy at any time of year.

Good to know

Sessions are strictly limited and short, which surprises people expecting a leisurely spa; the limit exists for a reason and is not negotiable. The building and the attached hotel are basic and worn. It is two hours from Kingston through unremarkable country with little else nearby.

Nearby

Alligator Hole and the manatee sanctuary are twenty minutes; Kingston is two hours east.

Key facts