# Rio Grande, Portland Parish – Communities, Villages & Map > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/ Development area · Portland Parish # Rio Grande Rio Grande is a development area (Social Development Commission) of Jamaica in Portland Parish. It covers **257.4 km²**. It is divided into 8 communities. 55 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 4 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 257km² - 8communities - 4mapped services ## Where is Rio Grande? Rio Grande lies in [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 8 other development areas: [Drivers River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/drivers-river/), [Golden Grove](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/golden-grove/), [Mandeville](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/mandeville/), [Port Antonio Urban Centre](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/port-antonio-urban-centre/), [Port Morant](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/port-morant/), [Red Hills](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/red-hills/), [Seaforth](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/seaforth/) and [Swift River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/). By area it is the 7th largest of 131 development areas in Jamaica. It covers 31.6% of [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/). The centre of Rio Grande is about 36 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. It is about 8.9 km from Port Antonio, the main town of Portland Parish. The centre point is at 18.1025° N, 76.4762° 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 Rio Grande OpenStreetMap lists 11 named sights in Rio Grande: 4 waterfalls; 4 caves; 2 archaeological sites; 1 attraction. - Approximate Site of Nanny Town · archaeological site - Approximate Site of Nanny Town · archaeological site - Bernard Falls · waterfall - Great Cascade · waterfall - Nanny Falls · waterfall - Scatter Falls · waterfall - Rafting on the Rio Grande · attraction - Don's River Sink · cave - Foxes Cave · cave - Paton Cave · cave - Spring Garden Sink · 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: Rio Grande - Time zoneUTC−5, no daylight saving · America/Jamaica - CurrencyDollar (JMD) - Country calling code+1-876 - LanguagesEnglish - Plug typesType A, B - Driving sideLeft ### Nearest airports - Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) · Kingston38 km - Tinson Pen Airport (KTP) · Tinson Pen39 km ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:29) and shortest in Dec (about 11.1 hours, sunrise around 06:29, sunset around 17:32). 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 Rio Grande Community Area km² Localities Services [Bellevue](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/bellevue/) 18 1 0 [Comfort Castle](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/comfort-castle/) 33 5 0 [Durham](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/durham/) 88 10 2 [Fellowship](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/fellowship/) 23 13 1 [Moore Town](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/moore-town/) 48 5 0 [Mount Pleasant](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/mount-pleasant/) 19 9 0 [St. Margarets Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/st-margarets-bay/) 8.5 6 0 [Windsor](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/windsor/) 19 6 1 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 Rio Grande Open gazetteers list **55 villages, towns and localities** in Rio Grande. The largest with a recorded population: Moore Town (1,119). Settlements here lie between about 15 m and 404 m above sea level (median 164 m). - Alligator Church - Altamont - Bellevue - Berridale - Bourbon - Brunton Hall - Burbon - Burlington Estate - Comesay - Comfort Castle - Constant Spring - Coopers Hill - Cornwall Barracks - Cornwall Barracks (Maroons) - Cuffie Head - Darley - Dumphries - Durham - Expectation - Fellowship - Fishbrook - Fountainbleau - Garland Grove - Ginger House - Golden Vale - Golden Valley - Grants Level - Gravesend - Hermitage - Isleworth - Johns Hall - Jupiter Fording - Kewgreen - Little Spring Garden - Maidstone - Manchester - Millbank - Moore Town - Moore Town (Maroons) - Mount Olive - Mount Pleasant - Newington - Panton - Retirement - Rothiemurchas - Saint Margaret’s Bay - Samba Hill - Seamans Valley - Stanton Harcourt - Still Further - Toms Hope - West Retreat - Whydaw - Windsor - Wydah 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 Rio Grande Named natural and historic features inside Rio Grande, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 35 rivers and streams. - Annies River - Anns Spring - Back Rio Grande - Besa River - Bird River - Bossue River - Catalina River - Cattawood Spring - Corn Husk River - Cuffies Spring - Daniels River - Daniels Spring - Dons River - Dry River - East Branch of the Back River - Fall River - Guava River - Guava River - Gutter Spring - Jacobs Brook - Mocho Toms River - Mosquito River - Nanny River - Negro River …and 11 more. ### Coast and islands 1 headland. - Welshwomans Point ### Hills and mountains 20 hills; 5 mountains; 1 peak; 1 valley. - Sugar Loaf Peak · 2,132 m - Stoddards Peak · 1,650 m - Two Claw Peak · 1,014 m - Hog Grass Bump · 939 m - French Plant Hill · 856 m - High Peak · 821 m - Redwass Hill · 564 m - Joe Hill Peak · 499 m - Bullet Tree Bump · 482 m - Orange Hill · 482 m - Young Gal Hill · 479 m - Sweat Hill · 414 m - Pumpkin Hill · 407 m - Izuzu Hill · 358 m - Lime Bump · 358 m - Candia Hill · 355 m - Patoo Hill · 323 m - Kirby Hill · 263 m - Park Mount · 206 m - Gun Barrel Hill · 195 m - Hooper Hill · 134 m - Joe Hill · 99 m - Rural Hill · 99 m - Watch Hill · 98 m …and 3 more. ### History 1 ancient site. - Nanny Town ### Getting around 1 airfield; 1 bridge. - Ken Jones Aerodrome - Rio Grande Bridge 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 Rio Grande and the best time to visit In Rio Grande, the warmest month is Aug (average 28 °C) and the coolest is Feb (26 °C). About 980 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (180 mm) and the driest Feb (18 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **November to June**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 26 35 Feb 26 18 Mar 26 27 Apr 27 40 May 27 117 Jun 28 101 Jul 28 75 Aug 28 111 Sep 28 131 Oct 28 180 Nov 27 94 Dec 27 51 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Hospitals, banks and other services in Rio Grande Places mapped inside Rio Grande in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - Hotels2 - Schools1 - 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 Rio Grande?In Portland Parish, Jamaica - What borders Rio Grande?Drivers River, Golden Grove, Mandeville, Port Antonio Urban Centre, Port Morant, Red Hills, Seaforth and Swift River - What is there to see in Rio Grande?Approximate Site of Nanny Town, Approximate Site of Nanny Town, Bernard Falls, Don's River Sink - What time zone is Rio Grande in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Rio Grande?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Rio Grande?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Rio Grande?55 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Rio Grande?Settlements lie between 15 m and 404 m - What is the highest point in Rio Grande?Sugar Loaf Peak (2,132 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Rio Grande?November to June - What is the P-code of Rio Grande?JM0508 (OCHA common operational dataset)