# Balcarres Community, Buff Bay, Portland Parish – Villages > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/balcarres/ Community · Buff Bay # Balcarres Balcarres is a community of Jamaica in Buff Bay, Portland Parish. It covers **21.3 km²**. 11 named villages and localities are recorded here. - 21.3km² - 413 mtypical elevation ## Where is Balcarres? Balcarres lies in [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/), [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 6 other communities: [Bangor Ridge](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/bangor-ridge/), [Belvedere](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/belvedere/), [Castleton](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-mary/wag-water/castleton/), [Enfield](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-mary/annotto-bay/enfield/), [Spring Hill](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/spring-hill/) and [Tranquility](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/tranquility/). By area it is the 151st largest of 775 communities in Jamaica. It covers 16.2% of [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/). The centre of Balcarres is about 21 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. The centre point is at 18.1731° N, 76.7176° 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 Balcarres ### Nearby, outside Balcarres - Harmony Holes · cave, Belvedere2.1 km - Fish Dun Falls · attraction, Spring Hill2.6 km - Johnsons Field Holes · cave, Belvedere4.0 km - Leighfield Wood Cave · cave, Bangor Ridge4.3 km - Prior Park · attraction, Belvedere4.4 km - Orange Vale Plantation Ruins (18th c.) · attraction, Belvedere5.0 km - Quao’s Village · attraction, Charles Town5.5 km - Bremen Valley · attraction, Bangor Ridge5.8 km - Plum Valley · attraction, Belvedere6.1 km - Charlestown Cave · cave, Charles Town6.3 km - Plum Valley Cave · cave, Charles Town6.4 km - Charles Town Museum and Safu (Asafu) Yard · museum, Charles Town6.6 km 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: Balcarres - 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 Pen23 km - Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) · Kingston27 km ### Nearest railway station Old Bog Walk Railway Station (Bog Walk), about 32 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. ## Villages and localities in Balcarres Open gazetteers list **11 villages, towns and localities** in Balcarres. Settlements here lie between about 244 m and 735 m above sea level (median 413 m). - Avocat - Balcarres - Fort Stewart - Galloway - Harmony Hill - Logie Almond - Lovely Grove - Lovely Grove and Alexander Garden - Mount Pleasant Gap - Mulleth Hall - Silver Hill 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 Balcarres Named natural and historic features inside Balcarres, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Hills and mountains 1 hill. - Haycock Hill · 1,039 m 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 Balcarres and the best time to visit Using the climate of 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/). ## Nearest hospital, bank and fuel from Balcarres Need Nearest mapped Distance Hospital Annotto Bay Hospital · Annotto Bay Town Centre 12 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.27284&mlon=-76.76204#map=17/18.27284/-76.76204) Bank Scotiabank · Annotto Bay Town Centre 12 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.27047&mlon=-76.77056#map=17/18.27047/-76.77056) ATM Scotiabank · Constant Spring 16 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.05239&mlon=-76.79267#map=17/18.05239/-76.79267) Petrol pump Texaco · Buff Bay 9.0 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.23358&mlon=-76.66111#map=17/18.23358/-76.66111) Hotel Starlight Chalet · St. Peter's 10.0 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.08830&mlon=-76.68706#map=17/18.08830/-76.68706) Mall Manor Park Plaza · Constant Spring 16 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.05219&mlon=-76.79283#map=17/18.05219/-76.79283) School Buff Bay High School · Buff Bay 8.5 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.22547&mlon=-76.65946#map=17/18.22547/-76.65946) College The MICO University College · Lawrence Tavern 15 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.13112&mlon=-76.85077#map=17/18.13112/-76.85077) Police station Castleton Police · Castleton 11 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.17228&mlon=-76.82395#map=17/18.17228/-76.82395) Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). Straight-line distance from the centre of the division, within 40 km. ## Other communities in Buff Bay - Bangor Ridge - Belvedere - Buff Bay - Charles Town - Spring Hill - Tranquility - Windsor Castle ## Quick answers - Where is Balcarres?In Buff Bay, Portland Parish, Jamaica - What borders Balcarres?Bangor Ridge, Belvedere, Castleton, Enfield, Spring Hill and Tranquility - What is there to see in Balcarres?Harmony Holes, Fish Dun Falls, Johnsons Field Holes, Leighfield Wood Cave - What time zone is Balcarres in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Balcarres?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Balcarres?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Balcarres?11 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Balcarres?Settlements lie between 244 m and 735 m - What is the highest point in Balcarres?Haycock Hill (1,039 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Balcarres?November to July - Where is the nearest hospital to Balcarres?Annotto Bay Hospital, about 12 km from the centre - Where is the nearest bank to Balcarres?Scotiabank, about 12 km from the centre - Where is the nearest ATM to Balcarres?Scotiabank, about 16 km from the centre - Where is the nearest petrol pump to Balcarres?Texaco, about 9.0 km from the centre - What is the P-code of Balcarres?JM050201 (OCHA common operational dataset)