Dunn’s River Falls is a famous waterfall near Ocho Rios, Jamaica and a major Caribbean tourist attraction that receives thousands of visitors each year.
At about 180 feet high and 600 feet long, the waterfalls are terraced like giant natural stairs. Several small lagoons are interspersed among the vertical sections of the falls.
The falls empty into the Caribbean Sea at the western end of a white-sand beach.
Climbing the waterfalls is a popular tourist activity and is often, but not exclusively, performed with the help of tour guides from the park. It takes about 1-1.5 hours to climb with short breaks for photographs and video recordings taken by the guides. There are also stairs alongside of the falls for those who do not want to get wet or are unable to manage the rocky, uneven terrain of the actual waterfall.
The falls are bordered by lush, green vegetation that shades the area from the sun and keeps the area, and climbers, cool. The climb can be relatively hard so is often undertaken as a hand-holding human chain led by a guide to make it easier.
History
The falls were the location where the Battle of Las Chorreras took place in 1657, when the British defeated a Spanish expeditionary force from Cuba. When you visit, be sure to view the a plaque placed at the bottom of the falls. The Jamaican Historical Society placed it there in commemoration of the historical event
Geology
Dunn’s River is a short stream dropping only 55 metres (180 ft) from its source to the sea. It is fed by spring water rich with calcium carbonate. Because it deposits travertine, it forms a sequence of tufa terraces. Such waterfalls are described by geologists as “a living phenomenon” because they are continuously rebuilt by the sediments in spring water.
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