YS Falls in Jamaica

Getty Images/Vetta

YS Falls

Top choice in Jamaica


Deeply secluded in St Elizabeth parish, you’d be forgiven for thinking YS Falls emerged out of Eden. This series of seven cascades, hemmed in by limestone cliffs and surrounded by lush jungle, are among the most beautiful in Jamaica. The cascades fall 118ft (36m) from top to bottom, separated by cool pools perfect for swimming.

Lifeguards are on duty to assist you with the rope swing above one of the pools and a stone staircase follows the cascades to the main waterfall. There are no lockers available, so keep any valuables with you at all times. The waters of YS (why-ess) were supposedly named after the British plantation owners John Yates and Richard Scott who bought the land from the British Crown in the 17th century. 

Canopy zip line

The more adventurous can fly, screeching, over the falls along a canopy zip line. A tractor-drawn jitney takes all visitors to the cascades, where you’ll find picnic grounds, changing rooms, a tree house and a shallow pool fed with river water.

How much does it cost?

The entry fee for the waterfalls is $20 for an adult and $12 for a child (15 and under). Entrance to the canopy is $49 per adult and $39 per child (12 and under).

How do I get there?

Almost every tour operator in Jamaica (and many hotels) offers trips to YS Falls, but if you want to get here ahead of the crowds, drive yourself (or charter your own taxi) and arrive right when the grounds open.

The YS Falls entrance is just north of the junction of the B6 toward Maggotty. From the A2 (a much smoother road if you’re driving), the turnoff is a mile (1.5km) east of Middle Quarters; from here you’ll head 3.4 miles (5.5km) north to the falls.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Jamaica attractions

1. Bamboo Avenue

3.53 MILES

The soothing sound of a million leaves rustling in the wind is one of the quiet pleasures of this photogenic tunnel of towering bamboo. The 4km-long…

2. Apple Valley Park

4.29 MILES

Owned by Patrick Lee and his lovely Chinese-Jamaican family, this is a little triumph of green sensibility and community tourism. The park grounds consist…

3. Appleton Rum Estate

6.41 MILES

You can smell the sweetness of molasses wafting from the Appleton Estate well before you reach it, almost a mile northeast of Maggotty. The largest and…

4. Tombstone

6.64 MILES

If you're heading west from Santa Cruz, you're bound to pass though Lacovia, 8km away. Incongruously plonked in front of the Texaco gas station at the…

5. Crossroads

6.78 MILES

Accompong is centered on the crossroads overlooked by a tiny square, where the Presbyterian church looks over a small monument that honors Cudjoe, the…

6. Peace Cave

6.79 MILES

One of Accompong's attractions is a one-hour trek down to the Peace Cave (guided hike about US$35), where Cudjoe signed the 1739 peace treaty with the…

7. Accompong Community Centre & Museum

6.79 MILES

Across from the little square facing the crossroads that you first arrive at in Accompong, this museum is a veritable peek into the Afro-Caribbean world’s…

8. Bickle Village

7.09 MILES

Uphill from the Parade Ground is Bickle Village, with several traditional thatch-roofed homes, a Maroon burial ground nearby, a small herbal garden where…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica/south-coast-central-highlands/attractions/ys-falls/a/poi-sig/1110144/1332803",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "position": "superzone"
    }