Jamaica · The heart of the island
Up in the green hills of Saint Ann, about 90 minutes inland from Ocho Rios, the little village of Nine Mile is where Bob Marley was born and where he was laid to rest. For reggae fans it is a place of pilgrimage, and for everyone it is a window onto the real, rural Jamaica that the coast can hide.
The visit centers on Marley's family home and mausoleum, told by guides who knew him or grew up on his music, and it is wrapped in the symbols, colors and stories of the Rastafari movement that shaped him. There is usually live music, and the welcome is warm.
Just as memorable is the drive itself, winding up through lush hills, banana groves and country villages far from the resorts. We like to pair Nine Mile with a day around Ocho Rios and Dunn's River Falls for a fuller picture of the island.
