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Nestled in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site to date, this beautiful botanical garden is named for its cinchona trees which were first planted in 1868. Cinchona trees are used to make quinine, a medicine used in the treatment of malaria, the serious mosquito-borne illness which has been eradicated from Jamaica since 1965. Located at between 4500 and 5500 feet above sea level, Cinchona Botanical Gardens boasts the record of Highest Botanical Garden in the Western Hemisphere. For these reasons, Cinchona has long been on my Jamaican bucket list but visits require either a 4×4 or hiking with an experienced guide. As such, I finally accomplished the trek with the illustrious company of Trekkers Adventures JA. Here’s how this adventure went + why you should visit!
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How to Find Cinchona Botanical Gardens
The Old Military Hospital at NewcastleMy hike leader began this trek from Newcastle, a training camp for JDF soldiers nestled at 4,000 feet above sea level in the Blue Mountains National Park. Newcastle was founded in 1841 by British Major General Sir William Maynard Gomm when he observed that deaths from yellow fever were much fewer in the mountains than at Up Park Camp, an army barracks on the Liguanea plains. At Newcastle, we got to admire a bit of history with the recently reroofed military barracks, regimental badges, an old canon and a quaint but abandoned military hospital.
Catherine’s Peak in the distanceAfter Newcastle, our next landmarks were: a signboard for the Catherine’s Peak trail, the Clifton Mount Estate and finally the Clydesdale National Forest Park. Catherine’s Peak stood tall and majestic; its 4,430ft summit easily spotted by radio masts. This Peak also lends its name to one of Jamaica’s most popular brands of bottled water which is bottled at a nearby plant. Next up, the Clifton Mount coffee estate did not disappoint with its stunning great house and impressive garden. I enjoyed passing by the factory and seeing the actual wooden coffee export boxes, a bit different from my previous tour of this coffee estate.
Daily writing prompt
Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?
From there, the trail undulates through several hills and valleys, offering breathtaking views of the sweeping mountains and its tiny districts in which the main economic activity is growing and harvesting Blue Mountain coffee. We visited St. Peters and got breathtaking views of these rural communities:
- Resource
- Hall’s Delight
- Chestervale, an old police training ground at 3,370 feet above sea level, now mostly used by cadets
- Westphalia, the highest inhabited district in Jamaica at 4,800 feet above sea level! A sobering fact is that the Hall’s Delight and Westphalia Primary Schools first got flush toilets in 2021! Prior to that, they only had pit latrines.
Clydesdale Forest ParkNext up was the Clydesdale National Forest Park which I’ll give its own post in coming weeks. Clydesdale was the first coffee plantation in Jamaica, but is now used for ecotourism and camping. Its derelict great house, barbecues and coffee works are still visible. Articles speak to an old waterwheel on the property but I did not notice one on my visit. However, I was happy to see hundreds of young pine trees as part of the Clydesdale reforestation efforts. Dozens of pine trees are felled every December, as wealthy Jamaicans often decorate their homes with real pine trees every Christmas.
Entrance to the Cinchona Botanical Gardens is free, much like this botanical garden and the Hope Gardens. Under the care of a single caretaker, Cinchona is open seven days a week from 6am to 6pm but closed on major public holidays. At this point, I will point out that there are easier ways to approach Cinchona: you can drive to St. Peters and start hiking from there. You can also approach from the Mavis Bank route but again, please hike or use a 4×4 and ensure you are comfortable with narrow roads, reversing where necessary to allow larger vehicles to pass and mud, lots of it. It rains here almost every single day.
Exploring the Gardens
Cinchona Botanical Garden is as beautiful as I imagined. At 4500 to 5500 feet above sea level, this garden sits in a majestic cloud forest; you can see and feel the mist envelope you and watch your breath turn to vapour. That’s not something you’d expect to experience in a tropical country, but Jamaica truly has it all– what a diverse country! In fact, this hike took me across 1,000 feet in a few hours where I witnessed a change from cacti, hot humidity and mosquitoes to pine trees and cloud forest. Amazing! You can see all the way out to New Kingston and the Kingston Harbour from here.
It’s tempting to romanticize Cinchona because the location is breathtakingly beautiful and fragrant, but the garden itself requires a lot of development. For starters, there are only one or two remaining cinchona trees at this eponymous garden, yet no signs have been erected to point out their names or significance. The buildings at Cinchona are in dilapidated condition, and the sanitary facilities are limited to pit latrines with no handwashing stations. Gazebos, benches and organized campsite facilities are needed to maximize the recreational potential of this park. The roads are terrible, but perhaps that’s for the best as only the truly determined and adventurous will make the trek. Government sources state that renovations are imminent, but seeing is believing.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time at Cinchona. We were greeted by a light drizzle which quickly progressed into a heavy downpour and enhanced the elegance of this tropical montane park. Under the prowess of a single caretaker, the Cinchona flower beds were spilling delightful bromeliads, ferns, orchids, hydrangeas and other flowers. Their distinguished stone walls were the perfect frame to ponds filled with colourful water lilies. There are also dozens of towering trees and a neat bamboo walk, one of the few reminders that you’re still on a tropical island.
What better way to end this strenuous hike than with brunch! Trekkers organized a filling buffet-style brunch for us with continental and Jamaican favourites, some of which had a unique twist. The menu included: stewed chicken, BBQ cow liver, beans stew in coconut milk, cheese omelettes, sardine omelettes, steamed cabbage, fried dumplings, French toast and pancakes, accompanied by orange juice and porridge. Everything was delicious.
Wrap Up
Thankfully, Trekkers had had a contingency plan in place for us to be shuttled back and I didn’t have to hike in the downpour which lasted several hours. The heavy rain made it very clear just how treacherous and remote a location this is, as we arrived home wet and hours later than planned but in one piece. The seclusion of Cinchona precluded a visit all these years, so I’m happy to finally have checked Jamaica’s fourth and final botanical garden from my bucket list. That being said, I must revisit someday. Cinchona has certainly risen to the top of my favourite Jamaican hikes, second only perhaps to the Blue Mountain Peak which I visited in 2017.
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