Drum Magazine Issue 3 | Page 109

YOU KNOW Mountain master or downhill maniac? Whatever your poison, biking is the perfect way to see Jamaica. Ride through cane fields, rivers, pastoral valleys, or pin it headlong down mountain single track. If you’re feeling more adventurous, plunge your bike and body into Jamaica’s refreshing waterfalls. With a honeycomb of over 1,200 limestone caverns, Jamaica will interest casual cavers and experienced spelunkers alike. You can wander through developed ‘show caves’ such as Nonesuch in Port Antonio, ramble along easily accessible grottos like Clarendon’s Jackson Bay Cave, or rappel into the depths of others, notably Quashie River Sink, Trelawny. For a more off-the-wall adventure, definitely try the famous Chukka Canopy Tours, which take participants through the Jamaican rainforest using ‘zip lines’ across the treetops. The canopy tours feature an intricate harness system of pulleys on horizontal traverse cables, supervised by experienced guides, allowing participants to swing up to 50 yards between platforms high in the trees at leaf level. The traverses have you swinging through the Laughlands River Gorge, a giant valley carved from the surrounding mountain by ancient waters (a sparkling river still flows through it). Jamaica’s rivers also offer countless adventures. They cascade from green hilltops, crisscrossed with trails leading to misty forests and seldom heard bird songs. White water rafting on the Great River on Montego Bay takes you over waterfalls, around boulders, and through rapids. Whilst rushing down this wild and untamed part of the Great River you will experience totally undisturbed nature. If you’re not exhausted yet, there is still horseback riding, all-terrain vehicle tours, windsurfing, water skiing, glass bottom boat rides, snorkelling, scuba diving, jet skiing, river fishing, and deep sea fishing, and much, much, much more. But don’t take our word for it. Organise your own Jamaican adventure and find out for yourself. www.visitjamaica.com