# Balaclava, Saint Elizabeth Parish – Communities & Villages > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/ Development area · Saint Elizabeth Parish # Balaclava Balaclava is a development area (Social Development Commission) of Jamaica in Saint Elizabeth Parish. It covers **139.5 km²**. It is divided into 7 communities. 30 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 2 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 139km² - 7communities - 2mapped services ## Where is Balaclava? Balaclava lies in [Saint Elizabeth Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 4 other development areas: [Albert Town](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/trelawny/albert-town/), [Maggotty](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/maggotty/), [Mile Gully](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/manchester/mile-gully/) and [Santa Cruz](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/). By area it is the 27th largest of 131 development areas in Jamaica. It covers 11.5% of [Saint Elizabeth Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/). The centre of Balaclava is about 97 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. It is about 24 km from Black River, the main town of Saint Elizabeth Parish. The centre point is at 18.1820° N, 77.6925° 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 Balaclava OpenStreetMap lists 23 named sights in Balaclava: 23 caves. - Appleton Sinkhole · cave - Appleton Tower Maze · cave - Black River Head · cave - Bogue Spring · cave - Elim Springs · cave - Falling Cave · cave - Funnel Hole · cave - Golding River Cave · cave - Mexico Cave · cave - Raheen Rising · cave - Raheen Sink 1 · cave - Raheen Sink 2 · cave - Raheen Sink 3 · cave - River Maiden Cave · cave - St. Eel Cave · cave - Wallingford Collapse Cave · cave - Wallingford Main Cave · cave - Wallingford River Cave · cave - Wallingford Roadside Cave · cave - Wallingford Sinkhole-1 · cave - Wallingford Sinkhole-2 · cave - Wallingford Tunnel Cave · cave - Welsch Ratbat 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: Balaclava - Time zoneUTC−5, no daylight saving · America/Jamaica - CurrencyDollar (JMD) - Country calling code+1-876 - LanguagesEnglish - Plug typesType A, B - Driving sideLeft ### Nearest airports - Sangster International Airport (MBJ) · Montego Bay43 km - Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) · Boscobel80 km ### Nearest railway station Ipswich Railway Station (Disused) (Merrywood), about 14 km from the centre. ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:34) and shortest in Dec (about 11.0 hours, sunrise around 06:34, sunset around 17:37). 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 Balaclava Community Area km² Localities Services [Aberdeen](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/aberdeen/) 19 3 0 [Balaclava](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/balaclava/) 30 13 1 [Bogue](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/bogue/) 25 3 0 [Quick Step](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/quick-step/) 22 3 0 [Roses Valley](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/roses-valley/) 11 3 0 [Siloah](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/siloah/) 16 3 1 [Thornton](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/thornton/) 17 2 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 Balaclava Open gazetteers list **30 villages, towns and localities** in Balaclava. The largest with a recorded population: Balaclava (2,862) and Siloah (2,725). Settlements here lie between about 64 m and 440 m above sea level (median 292 m). - Aberdeen - Appleton - Arleigh - Armstrong - Balaclava - Benlomonds - Bogue - Castleton - Chewmanga - Cinnamon - Content - Keynsham - Part of - Lilliput - Marlborough - McLeod Mountain - Mosquito Hill - Oxford - Paradise - Park Head - Phoenix Park - Pullet Hall - Raheen - Raheen Pen & Barnett - Ringtail Hall - Siloah - Spring Head - Thornton - Union - Wallingford - Williamsfield 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 Balaclava Named natural and historic features inside Balaclava, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 1 river or stream. - One Eye River ### Hills and mountains 1 mountain; 1 hill; 1 valley. - Nassau · 339 m - Bogue Hill · 245 m - Nassau Valley · 131 m ### Getting around 1 airfield. - Appleton 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 Balaclava and the best time to visit In Balaclava, the warmest month is Aug (average 28 °C) and the coolest is Jan (25 °C). About 964 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (162 mm) and the driest Feb (23 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **November to April and June to August**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 25 43 Feb 26 23 Mar 26 36 Apr 27 51 May 28 126 Jun 27 91 Jul 28 69 Aug 28 95 Sep 28 128 Oct 27 162 Nov 26 92 Dec 26 49 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Hospitals, banks and other services in Balaclava Places mapped inside Balaclava in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - 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 Balaclava?In Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica - What borders Balaclava?Albert Town, Maggotty, Mile Gully and Santa Cruz - What is there to see in Balaclava?Appleton Sinkhole, Appleton Tower Maze, Black River Head, Bogue Spring - What time zone is Balaclava in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Balaclava?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Balaclava?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Balaclava?30 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Balaclava?Settlements lie between 64 m and 440 m - What is the highest point in Balaclava?Nassau (339 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Balaclava?November to April and June to August - What is the P-code of Balaclava?JM0901 (OCHA common operational dataset)