If you want to discover one of the hidden gems of Ocho Rios, skip the tourist-favourite Dunn’s River Falls and get irie in Jamaica with a trip to Irie River.
This off-the-beaten-path river with tumbling cascades weaves through lush jungle and gardens filled with pimento and ginger lily flowers and leads you further up to one of the famed blue holes in Jamaica.
The water is truly an unbelievable blue and this less commercialized area lets you live out a Tarzan fantasy as you swing through the air on a rope to plunge into the middle of the cold pool.
Less adventurous types can jump from slightly lower heights or just climb in, although forcing yourself into the chilly water can be an exercise in sheer willpower.
Climb atop the falls for a photo op
Then head on up to the falls, also known both as Secret Falls or Island Gully Falls, to see a beautiful cascade that is truly Instagram-worthy.
In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to not want to take videos and photos every five seconds!
Currently, only a few private tours head here so you could possibly have the whole place to yourself. (Remember to bring a little cash.)
You can buy food or prepare your own on the banks of the Irie River and give a little ‘smalls’ (street slang for a cash tip gesture) to your guide and the divers at the blue hole who will perform scary dives for your enjoyment.
Get to Irie Falls: Head east toward Evelyn street. Pass by the gas station (on the right in 3km).
Continue onto A3. Turn right just after the entrance to Couples San Souci and across the road from White River Bay.
Head up along the road for nearly two kilometers. Take a slight right. Your destination will be on the right.
A day at Irie River and Falls is a perfect family, friends or couples' day out - and even if you're traveling solo, you'll make some new friends along the way.
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