Morant Point Lighthouse

Morant Point marks the easternmost land in Jamaica, and the lighthouse standing there was cast in England, shipped out in sections and erected in 1841 by Kru men from West Africa, among the free Africans brought to Jamaica after emancipation, which makes it one of the oldest cast-iron towers of its kind still standing anywhere. It is around thirty metres high, painted in red and white bands, and rises from flat coastal scrub and cane land with nothing else around it. The keeper will usually let visitors climb the internal spiral stair for a tip, and from the gallery the view runs along both coasts and inland to the Blue Mountains. The road out passes through old sugar estate country.

What's there

• The cast-iron tower - shipped from England in sections and raised in 1841.
• The climb - the internal spiral stair to the gallery.
• The view - both coasts and the Blue Mountains inland.
• The easternmost point - flat scrub and cane at the end of the island.

When to go

December to April is drier and the tracks passable. Mornings are clearest and cooler. The keeper is usually on site during the day but there are no set hours, so the climb depends on finding someone.

Practical notes

The road out is long, rough and poorly signed, with unmarked turns through cane fields; a four-wheel drive and local directions help. There are no facilities of any kind. Whether you can climb depends entirely on the keeper being there. St Thomas is the least developed parish and services are sparse.

Nearby

Bath Fountain is an hour inland; Morant Bay is an hour west.

Key facts