Climbing a travertine waterfall (Jamaica)
Dunn’s River Falls is a popular attraction on the island of Jamaica. It’s a waterfall you can climb from bottom to top in the water. You can catch a tourist taxi from the pier to take you there. (They can wait for you and take you other places that people usually visit in the area as well).
When you get to the site, you cross a small driveway with lovely crown of thorns plants on the side. Then you go through the gate of the site and the falls are off to the right. There is a restroom right outside the entrance to the right if you need it. Your first move should be to go to the line to climb the falls if you intend to do that. They take up to around 50 people at a time to climb the falls. The guided climb is included in the entry to the park.
Pro Tip: Bring your own water shoes or they won’t let you go on the waterfall. Flip flops and bare feet are prohibited for safety reasons.
After signing a waiver, because this is a potentially dangerous activity, you’ll be lead down the beach where the falls empty into the sea. From there, they’ll have everyone join hands in a line and start climbing the falls, following the guide. There is also a guide in the back to make sure no one is left behind.
Pro Tip: It doesn’t really seem to matter whose hand you hold so don’t fret about it. The chain will be broken and re-formed several times on the way up. Additionally, one of the guides will go to help if anyone gets stuck or disconnected. They also assist people in the more difficult areas.
The guides all spend some part of the morning scrubbing the rocks on the paths up the falls with brushes to remove any built-up algae so that the rocks are less slippery, so follow the path they set rather than go off on your own.
The waterfall slide
There are several stops on the way up to get pictures and video. There is a short water slide, and place you can fall backward into the water. If you find you do not like climbing the wet rocks for some reason, there are several places you can leave the falls and get on the pathway easily.
Finally, you reach the top and there is a sign you can take a picture with indicating you climbed the falls. You can buy the video if you want (was $40 when I did it) and tip your guide.
If you aren’t climbing the waterfall, there are many viewpoints for the falls. From many of these, you can watch the people climbing the falls easily.
Here’s my video (on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfbIUpz-Cak )
There is also a tranquility garden with a little stream running through it. There are some birds and a lot of banana spiders there (which are quite large but harmless).
Finally, there is a craft and snack area and some other fountains. Plus some other small attractions mainly for kids if you want to spend more time there. There are also a few small food and bar huts there if you are hungry or need a drink.
