# Swift River, Portland Parish – Communities, Villages & Map > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/ Development area · Portland Parish # Swift River Swift River is a development area (Social Development Commission) of Jamaica in Portland Parish. It covers **137.6 km²**. It is divided into 5 communities. 65 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 2 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 138km² - 5communities - 2mapped services ## Where is Swift River? Swift River lies in [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 7 other development areas: [Green Island](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/green-island/), [Mandeville](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/mandeville/), [Papine](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-andrew/papine/), [Red Hills](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/red-hills/), [Rio Grande](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/rio-grande/), [Spanish River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/spanish-river/) and [Trinityville](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-thomas/trinityville/). By area it is the 30th largest of 131 development areas in Jamaica. It covers 16.9% of [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/). The centre of Swift River is about 27 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. It is about 15 km from Port Antonio, the main town of Portland Parish. The centre point is at 18.1350° N, 76.5853° 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 Swift River OpenStreetMap lists 9 named sights in Swift River: 4 waterfalls; 2 caves; 1 volcano; 1 attraction; 1 national park. - Big Dunn Falls · waterfall - Great Cascade · waterfall - High Fall · waterfall - Summerset Falls · waterfall - Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park · national park - Somerset Falls · attraction - Extinct Volcano · volcano - Rodney Hall Cave · cave - Toki 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: Swift River - 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 Pen30 km - Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) · Kingston31 km ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:30) 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 Swift River Community Area km² Localities Services [Black Hill](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/black-hill/) 7.6 7 0 [Fruitfulvale](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/fruitfulvale/) 57 9 0 [Hope Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/hope-bay/) 18 13 2 [Shirley Castle](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/shirley-castle/) 37 19 0 [Swift River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/swift-river/swift-river/) 18 18 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 Swift River Open gazetteers list **65 villages, towns and localities** in Swift River. The largest with a recorded population: Hope Bay (1,666). Settlements here lie between about 10 m and 670 m above sea level (median 207 m). - Albany - Altamont - Arscott - Bagatelle - Banff - Bellevue - Black Hill - Bloomfield - Book Hill - Byram - Caen Woods - Caenwood - Caenwood - part of - Cashew Ridge - Chancery Hall - Chelsea - Chipps Hall - Chips Hall - Content - Cooling Spring - Dunbar - Fairy Hill - Friendship - Fruitful Vale - Garrick - Georges Field - Grasspiece - Guatamala - Happy Castle - Hermitage Farm - Hope Bay - Hopefield - Industry - Kensington - Lennox - Lincoln - Low Leyton - Mahogany Hill - Mammee Hill - McKeane - Melrose - Mount Edwards - Mount Hermon - Mulberry - New Eden - Newport - Paradise - Peppingford - Pilgrimage - Pleasant Hill - Retreat - Richmond - Rodney Hall - Rural Vale - Sherbourne - Shirley Castle - Shrewsbury - Skibo - Spring Valley - Springfield - Swift River - Twickenham - Union - Warsaw - Whitby 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 Swift River Named natural and historic features inside Swift River, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 9 rivers and streams. - Back River - Cave Bottom River - Daniel Spring - Heartlead Spring - Iron River - Naynay Water - Pumpkin House River - Speculation River - Woman River ### Coast and islands 1 headland. - Savanna Point ### Hills and mountains 7 hills; 3 mountains; 2 mountain passes. - Middle Peak · 2,223 m - High Peak · 2,069 m - High Peak · 1,062 m - Pigeon Hill · 948 m - McGeanys Gap · 799 m - Recess Gap · 693 m - Pimento Bump · 606 m - Mammee Hill · 463 m - Liberty Hill · 411 m - Mount Irving · 397 m - Ancomma Hill · 263 m - Masons Hope · 204 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 Swift River and the best time to visit In Swift River, 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 Swift River Places mapped inside Swift River in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - Hotels1 - 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 Swift River?In Portland Parish, Jamaica - What borders Swift River?Green Island, Mandeville, Papine, Red Hills, Rio Grande, Spanish River and Trinityville - What is there to see in Swift River?Big Dunn Falls, Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Extinct Volcano, Great Cascade - What time zone is Swift River in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Swift River?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Swift River?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Swift River?65 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Swift River?Settlements lie between 10 m and 670 m - What is the highest point in Swift River?Middle Peak (2,223 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Swift River?November to July - What is the P-code of Swift River?JM0510 (OCHA common operational dataset)