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On the west side of Montego Bay, the B8 winds inland at the
small community of Reading, access point to a brace of
well-signposted natural attractions. Set amid cool and
vividly green hills, Lethe Estate (ph 876/956-4947)
offers a jitney tour of its grounds (US$12) as well
as a 45-minute rafting trip down the gushing Great
River.
You'll pay US$68 per two-person raft if you need
transportation from MoBay, or US$38 if you get here
independently. Back on the B8, turn off at the small village
of Anchovy for the Rocklands Feeding Station (daily
2-5pm; US$8;ph 876/952-2009), regularly visited by more than
a hundred species of birds, including orange quits, vervains
and the long-tailed doctor bird, the national bird.
Hummingbirds will perch on your outstretched finger to drink
sugar water here; feeding peaks at around 4.30pm, when the
air thrums with tiny wings.
About three miles further along the B8 is Montpelier,
a scattered rural community 2000ft above sea level and
surrounded by citrus groves, arable land and cattle. Here,
the B8 forks: to the right is an incredibly pretty route
over the interior mountains to Shettlewood and on to
Savanna-la-Mar in Jamaica's far west.
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The left fork takes you to Belvedere Estate (Mon-Sat
10am-4pm; US$10 ph 876/956-7310, an attractive and
well-organized fruit and cattle farm that does good business
with tour operators and can also be enjoyably explored
independently.
The standard tour of the estate is unusually imaginative,
with a traditional mento band and samplings of jerk pork and
sugarcane juice. The coconut, citrus and banana fields are
impressive, and the waterfall and pool provide excellent
swimming.
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Jamaica
Travel Guide
Montego Bay, Kingston, Ocho Rios, Negril, Blue Mountains, Portland
Caribbean Travel Guide
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