# Buff Bay, Portland Parish – Communities, Villages & Map > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/ Development area · Portland Parish # Buff Bay Buff Bay is a development area (Social Development Commission) of Jamaica in Portland Parish. It covers **131.2 km²**. It is divided into 8 communities. 74 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 4 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 131km² - 8communities - 4mapped services ## Where is Buff Bay? Buff Bay lies in [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 7 other development areas: [Annotto Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-mary/annotto-bay/), [Green Island](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/green-island/), [Lucea](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/lucea/), [Papine](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-andrew/papine/), [Spanish River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/spanish-river/), [Stony Hill](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-andrew/stony-hill/) and [Wag Water](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-mary/wag-water/). By area it is the 33rd largest of 131 development areas in Jamaica. It covers 16.1% of [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/). The centre of Buff Bay is about 23 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. It is about 26 km from Port Antonio, the main town of Portland Parish. The centre point is at 18.1824° N, 76.6987° W. Source: [Jamaica Social Development Commission (sdc.gov.jm) via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-jam). ## Things to see in and around Buff Bay OpenStreetMap lists 14 named sights in Buff Bay: 7 caves; 6 attractions; 1 museum. - Charles Town Museum and Safu (Asafu) Yard · museum - Bremen Valley · attraction - Fish Dun Falls · attraction - Orange Vale Plantation Ruins (18th c.) · attraction - Plum Valley · attraction - Prior Park · attraction - Quao’s Village · attraction - Burley Cave · cave - Charlestown Cave · cave - Harmony Holes · cave - Johnsons Field Holes · cave - Leighfield Wood Cave · cave - Plum Valley Cave · cave - Skibo Road Cave · cave Source: [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). Named attractions, museums, viewpoints, historic sites and natural features mapped in OpenStreetMap. Places of worship are not listed. ## Know before you go: Buff Bay - Time zoneUTC−5, no daylight saving · America/Jamaica - CurrencyDollar (JMD) - Country calling code+1-876 - LanguagesEnglish - Plug typesType A, B - Driving sideLeft ### Nearest airports - Tinson Pen Airport (KTP) · Tinson Pen25 km - Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) · Kingston29 km ### Nearest railway station Old Bog Walk Railway Station (Bog Walk), about 34 km from the centre. ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:30) and shortest in Dec (about 11.0 hours, sunrise around 06:30, sunset around 17:33). Source: [GeoNames country and time-zone files (CC BY 4.0)](https://www.geonames.org/); [Wikidata (CC0) — plug types, mains voltage, driving side; retrieved 2026-11-02](https://www.wikidata.org/); [OurAirports (public domain)](https://ourairports.com/data/). Airports with scheduled passenger flights; straight-line distances. Daylight is calculated for the 15th of each month in local standard time. Check entry and visa rules with official government sources before travelling. ## Communities of Buff Bay Community Area km² Localities Services [Balcarres](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/balcarres/) 21 11 0 [Bangor Ridge](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/bangor-ridge/) 30 13 0 [Belvedere](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/belvedere/) 19 16 0 [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/buff-bay/) 14 6 4 [Charles Town](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/charles-town/) 9.2 5 0 [Spring Hill](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/spring-hill/) 16 7 0 [Tranquility](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/tranquility/) 4.4 8 0 [Windsor Castle](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/windsor-castle/) 18 8 0 Source: [Jamaica Social Development Commission (sdc.gov.jm) via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-jam); [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). ## Villages and localities in Buff Bay Open gazetteers list **74 villages, towns and localities** in Buff Bay. The largest with a recorded population: Buff Bay (2,757). Settlements here lie between about 15 m and 735 m above sea level (median 273 m). - Ann Grove - Avocat - Balcarres - Bangor Ridge - Belvedere - Berwick Spring - Birnamwood - Brooks - Buff Bay - Buff Bay River - Canning Park - Carlton Gap - Charles Town - Charles Town (Maroons) - Cherry Hill - Cool Shade - Cotton Tree Pen - Craig Mill - Craigmill Estate - Dawson Castle - Endeavour - Fairfield - Fort Stewart - Free Field - Galloway - Happy Hut - Harmony Hall - Harmony Hill - Hart Hill - Hopeton - Ipswich - Kildare - Lady Hill - Laing - Lancaster - Lancaster House - Leighfield - Logie Almond - Longville - Lovely Grove - Lovely Grove and Alexander Garden - Mahoe - Mammouth - Manhertz Gap - Marvan - Mount Granby - Mount Holstein - Mount Pleasant Gap - Mount Saint Bernard - Mount St. Bernard - Mount Vernon - Mulleth Hall - Orange Vale - Pleasant Hill - Pleasing Prospect - Prior Park - Ramble - Rectory - Rose Hill - Shantamee - Silver Hill - Smithfield - Spring Garden - Spring Hill - Starapple Grove - Strathenover - The Rectory - Tranquility - Vinery - Wakefield - White River - Whitehall - Windsor Castle - Woodstock Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). ## Landscape and landmarks of Buff Bay Named natural and historic features inside Buff Bay, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 11 rivers and streams. - Back River - Belle Spring - Buff Bay River - Crooked Gut - Mahoe Spring - Shentamee River - Spanish River - White Gully - White River - White River - White River ### Coast and islands 1 headland. - Palmetto Point ### Hills and mountains 5 hills; 3 mountain passes; 2 mountains; 1 peak; 1 valley. - Silver Hill Peak · 1,590 m - Haycock Hill · 1,039 m - Bremen Valley · 1,037 m - Fox Gap · 973 m - Juniper Gap · 737 m - Harmony Hill · 682 m - Mount Holstein · 630 m - Durham · 628 m - Vinery · 454 m - Mt St Bernard · 399 m - Mount Olympus · 281 m - Rose Hill Gap · 219 m ### Getting around 1 railway station. - Windsor Castle Station Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/). Places of worship are not listed. Elevations are from the GeoNames terrain model and are approximate. ## Weather in Buff Bay and the best time to visit In Buff Bay, the warmest month is Aug (average 28 °C) and the coolest is Jan (26 °C). About 927 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (170 mm) and the driest Feb (19 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **November to July**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 26 33 Feb 26 19 Mar 26 29 Apr 27 41 May 27 111 Jun 28 89 Jul 28 69 Aug 28 104 Sep 28 127 Oct 28 170 Nov 27 87 Dec 26 49 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Hospitals, banks and other services in Buff Bay Places mapped inside Buff Bay in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - Petrol pumps1 - Schools1 - Pharmacies1 - Restaurants1 Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). Coverage depends on what has been mapped; contact details are not shown. ## Quick answers - Where is Buff Bay?In Portland Parish, Jamaica - What borders Buff Bay?Annotto Bay, Green Island, Lucea, Papine, Spanish River, Stony Hill and Wag Water - What is there to see in Buff Bay?Bremen Valley, Burley Cave, Charles Town Museum and Safu (Asafu) Yard, Charlestown Cave - What time zone is Buff Bay in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Buff Bay?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Buff Bay?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Buff Bay?74 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Buff Bay?Settlements lie between 15 m and 735 m - What is the highest point in Buff Bay?Silver Hill Peak (1,590 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Buff Bay?November to July - How many petrol pumps are in Buff Bay?1 mapped - What is the P-code of Buff Bay?JM0502 (OCHA common operational dataset)