Portland, in the northeastern corner of the island, has as its capital Port Antonio, a town of two harbors surrounded by jungle, rivers and mountains. In the late 19th century, the American entrepreneur Lorenzo Dow Baker began from here the export of bananas to the United States —the germ of the future United Fruit Company—, and the banana trade brought the first ships with tourists. At its peak, the weekly maritime traffic of Port Antonio came to surpass that of the English port of Liverpool.
Those 'banana boats' turned Port Antonio into the birthplace of Jamaica's elite tourism. In 1946, the actor Errol Flynn arrived by accident when his yacht, the Zaca, ran aground in a storm; in love with the place, he bought Navy Island and hundreds of acres of land in the region. That glamorous heritage coexists with a leisurely, authentic charm that has made Portland the favorite parish of those seeking the least crowded Jamaica.
Portland concentrates some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Jamaica. The Blue Lagoon, a few minutes from Port Antonio, is a lagoon about 60 meters deep whose waters change from deep blue to emerald green, fed by freshwater springs that mix with the sea. In the interior, Reach Falls unfurls its turquoise-green waters through the jungle of the John Crow Mountains, and Boston Bay offers one of the few real surf beaches in the Jamaican Caribbean.
The mightiest river in the east, the Rio Grande, rises in the Blue Mountains and is the setting of the famous traditional rafting on bamboo rafts, the most emblematic activity in the area. Originating in the transport of bananas down the river, this ride was popularized as a tourist attraction by Errol Flynn himself, and today it's a must in Portland.
Boston Bay, on the east coast of the parish, is considered the birthplace of Jamaican jerk, the method of grilling over embers with a mix of spices —allspice, Scotch bonnet chili, thyme— that is today a national dish. Its legendary pork and chicken stalls have operated since the 1940s and perfected a tradition whose roots go back to the cooking of the Maroons, who smoked meat to preserve it in the mountains.
Tasting an authentic jerk in Boston Bay, facing the sea, is one of the most sought-after culinary experiences in Jamaica, and it has made this corner of Portland an essential stop for food lovers.
Inland, Portland rises toward the Blue Mountains and the John Crow Mountains, which form the UNESCO World Heritage National Park. In its heights is Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 m), the highest point in Jamaica, whose final climb crowns the roof of the island.
These mountains were the heart of the Windward Maroon resistance. Here Nanny Town rose, the community founded around 1723 and led by the legendary Nanny of the Maroons —a National Hero of Jamaica—, famous for her tactical genius and her spiritual leadership in the guerrilla war against the British. Destroyed in 1734 and later rebuilt nearby (Moore Town), the Maroon community of Portland preserves to this day its culture, its drums and its memory, recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage.