May Pen
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May Pen

May Pen

Clarendon parish capital and south-coast road junction, close to the Milk River mineral baths

May Pen is the capital of Clarendon parish, situated on the south coast highway between Kingston and Mandeville. It's a busy market town and road junction rather than a destination in itself, but it serves as a gateway to the Milk River mineral baths — reportedly the most radioactive therapeutic waters in the world, though the radioactivity level is said to be harmlessly low — and to the scenic Canoe Valley Wetlands, one of Jamaica's important bird areas.

Most travellers pass through May Pen without stopping, which is understandable. If you have time, the central market on a Saturday morning gives an unfiltered view of how a Jamaican country town actually operates. South of town, Halse Hall is one of the best-preserved 17th-century great houses on the island, and the Denbigh showground hosts Jamaica's biggest agricultural fair every August.

Guide

Day Trips

The real reason most travellers stop in May Pen is the south coast. The Milk River Bath spa, with mineral water reputedly the most radioactive in the world (at harmlessly low levels), sits about 30 minutes south. The Canoe Valley wetlands, one of Jamaica's most important bird areas, is in the same direction. Spanish Town and Kingston are an easy run east; the south-central hill town of Mandeville is half an hour west.

Guide

Eating Out

May Pen is a market town, and eating here means local Jamaican food. Jerk chicken, curry goat, and fried fish are easy to find at roadside stalls and small restaurants along the main road.

Guide

Getting There

May Pen lies on the A2 highway, roughly an hour's drive west of Kingston and 35 minutes east of Mandeville. The Toll Road (T1) bypasses the town and is the quickest option from Kingston. Buses and shared taxis to and from Kingston, Mandeville and Spanish Town are constant and inexpensive.

The nearest international airport is Norman Manley (KIN) in Kingston, about 60 km east.

Guide

Things to Do

May Pen itself is a market town that most travellers pass through, but the surrounding parish of Clarendon hides some genuinely worthwhile detours: a 17th-century plantation house, the country's longest river, and the radioactive Milk River mineral baths. Time it for a Saturday morning market or, better, the late-July Denbigh Agricultural Show and the town becomes a destination in its own right.