Dry River Falls, Portland

Dry River Falls is located in Jamaica’s Upper Rio Grande Valley, a section of the Blue & John Crow Mountains UNESCO World Heritage Site with the island’s highest concentration of waterfalls. Over the years I’ve had three daytrips into this densely forested and culturally rich region of Jamaica, and while my heart was full on the trips home to Kingston, I left feeling so exhausted. As such, I spent one night camping in Portland last month in order to check three new cascades from my bucket list of 60+ Jamaican waterfalls. Here’s how part two of this adventure went + how to find Dry River Falls (catch part 1 here if you missed it).

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How to Find Dry River Falls

Our campsite in Portland

Dry River Falls is located in the Jamaican Maroon community of Comfort Castle, nestled in the beautiful Upper Rio Grande Valley. This important river divides the Blue & John Crow Mountains range in two, and sustained our African and Taino ancestors who relied on the river for domestic purposes, irrigation, fishing and even as a hiding place from British soldiers. Comfort Castle is located about 3 hours (110km) from Kingston or 4 1/2 hours (220km) from Montego Bay, but is well worth the effort. My friends and I stayed overnight in Ginger House at the Katawud Village campsite, then walked to the Comfort Castle community square to find someone who could take us to Dry River Falls affordably. We were a little worried that we wouldn’t find a guide since it was raining that morning, but fortune favours the brave. If you’d like, I’d be happy to provide a contact for my guide who was very helpful and taught me a lot about his lovely community. I recommend having a guide for this waterfall.

Walking past open farmlands to Dry River Falls

From Comfort Castle’s square, we walked for approximately thirty minutes to get to Dry River Falls. The trail led past houses and open farmlands with banana trees, pineapples, and cows and goats grazing, before giving way to dense rainforest. For most of the journey, we couldn’t hear any water and worried if the waterfall may be dry after all like its name. Thankfully, that was not the case.

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Enjoying Dry River Falls

Can you spot the raindrops & ripples?

Our efforts were rewarded with a breathtaking waterfall which cascaded into a clear but deep turquoise pool. This pool was shrouded by palm trees, tree ferns and an abundance of other tropical plants. It rained intermittently for the hour or so that we spent at the waterfall, so we had to come up with ingenious ways to keep our phone lenses dry. The water was delightfully cold and clear enough to observe dozens of tiny fish and snail-like crustaceans known locally as bussu. Bussu is found almost exclusively in the Rio Grande, Swift River and Buff Bay river valleys, where it is prized for its aphrodisiac properties, made into soup and stews, and sometimes becomes the centre of attention in an eponymous food festival held in the community of Swift River. We found several cracked shells left in a pile on the rocks, suggesting that previous river-goers had had a small feast recently but none of us were so inclined to try bussu– at least, not uncooked. My friends and I had the entire place to ourselves, including all the surrounding pools like the one below which looked so inviting!

Wrap Up

Well, there you have it. Part 2 of my first Upper Rio Grande Valley camping trip! I’ll certainly be back– I have other trails and waterfalls in this area to visit such as the Corn Puss Gap Nature Trail, Bernard Spring Falls, Secret or Sacred Site Falls, Scatter Falls, more of the White River Falls cascades and maybe even Old Nanny Town one day. This rugged corner of Jamaica will always have my heart. Have you ever visited Dry River Falls, or another landmark in the Upper Rio Grande Valley? Sound off in the comments section below! ‘Til next time.

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