# Santa Cruz, Saint Elizabeth Parish – Communities & Villages > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/ Development area · Saint Elizabeth Parish # Santa Cruz Santa Cruz is a development area (Social Development Commission) of Jamaica in Saint Elizabeth Parish. It covers **287.6 km²**. It is divided into 9 communities. 78 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 44 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 288km² - 9communities - 44mapped services ## Where is Santa Cruz? Santa Cruz lies in [Saint Elizabeth Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 7 other development areas: [Alligator Pond](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/manchester/alligator-pond/), [Balaclava](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/balaclava/), [Black River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/black-river/), [Junction](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/junction/), [Maggotty](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/maggotty/), [Mandeville](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/manchester/mandeville/) and [Mile Gully](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/manchester/mile-gully/). By area it is the 6th largest of 131 development areas in Jamaica. It covers 23.7% of [Saint Elizabeth Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/). The centre of Santa Cruz is about 93 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. It is about 19 km from Black River, the main town of Saint Elizabeth Parish. The centre point is at 18.0230° N, 77.6726° 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 Santa Cruz OpenStreetMap lists 12 named sights in Santa Cruz: 8 caves; 1 zoo; 1 attraction; 1 monument; 1 archaeological site. - Torrington Castle · archaeological site - Bamboo Avenue · attraction - Baptist Cave · cave - Braes River Cave · cave - Carpenter's Cave · cave - Jamaica Zoo · zoo - Kinowl Cave · cave - Lacovia Tombstones · monument - Pepper Shelter Cave · cave - Peppers Cave · cave - Peru Cave · cave - Phantillands 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: Santa Cruz - 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 Bay59 km - Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) · Boscobel85 km ### Nearest railway station Greenvale Station (Mile Gully), about 19 km from the centre. ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:34) and shortest in Dec (about 11.1 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 Santa Cruz Community Area km² Localities Services [Braes River](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/braes-river/) 50 4 1 [Burnt Savannah](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/burnt-savannah/) 23 6 1 [Goshen](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/goshen/) 12 1 0 [Holland](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/holland/) 27 2 1 [Lacovia](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/lacovia/) 34 11 1 [Leeds](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/leeds/) 28 9 1 [Malvern](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/malvern/) 40 25 5 [Pepper](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/pepper/) 21 8 1 [Santa Cruz](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/saint-elizabeth/santa-cruz/santa-cruz/) 54 13 33 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 Santa Cruz Open gazetteers list **78 villages, towns and localities** in Santa Cruz. The largest with a recorded population: Santa Cruz (8,217), Malvern (3,291) and Lacovia (2,760). Settlements here lie between about 5 m and 706 m above sea level (median 134 m). - Bethlehem - Bideford - Biscany - Boxwood - Braemar - Braes River - Burnt Ground - Burnt Savannah - Bybrook - Cashew - Cashoo - Content - Cornwall - Cuffies Pen - East Lacovia - Eglington - Elgin - Elim - Elphinstone - Georges Valley - Gilnock - Ginger Ground - Ginger Piece - Good Hope - Goshen - Grasmond - Gutters - Hampton - Haughton - Hermitage - Holland - Iver Cottage - Ivor Cottage - Jerusalem - Knoxwood - Lacovia - Lacovia Tombstone - Leeds - Long Hill - Lovely Point - Malvern - Malvern Heights - Malvern Pen - Malvern Well - Maribah - Mitcham - Montrose - Mount Olivet - Mount Pleasant - Mount Plymouth - New Hope - New River - Northampton - Orange Grove - Palmbrook Estate - Park Mountain - Pennycooke - Pepper - Phantilands - Prosper - Retirement - Retrieve - Rocky Hill - Roseberry - Salliwitter - Sallys Hall - Santa Cruz - Schoolfield - Seven Corners - Smithfield - Southampton - Stanmore - Torrington - Unity - West Lacovia - Wharton - Wilton - Woolwich 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 Santa Cruz Named natural and historic features inside Santa Cruz, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 9 rivers and streams. - Blakes River - Braes River - Grass River - Lacovia Gut - Mount de las Uvas River - New River - River Styx - Shaws River - Smith River ### Hills and mountains 2 hills; 1 mountain. - Malvern · 710 m - Mount Olivet · 614 m - Mexico Mountain · 420 m ### Getting around 4 airfields. - Braes River - Elim - Gilnoch - Holland 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 Santa Cruz and the best time to visit In Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz Places mapped inside Santa Cruz in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - Hospitals1 - Banks5 - Petrol pumps8 - Hotels6 - Shopping malls3 - Schools5 - Colleges and universities2 - Pharmacies4 - Restaurants9 - Police stations1 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 Santa Cruz?In Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica - What borders Santa Cruz?Alligator Pond, Balaclava, Black River, Junction, Maggotty, Mandeville and Mile Gully - What is there to see in Santa Cruz?Bamboo Avenue, Baptist Cave, Braes River Cave, Carpenter's Cave - What time zone is Santa Cruz in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Santa Cruz?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Santa Cruz?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Santa Cruz?78 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Santa Cruz?Settlements lie between 5 m and 706 m - What is the highest point in Santa Cruz?Malvern (710 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Santa Cruz?November to April and June to August - How many hospitals are in Santa Cruz?1 mapped - How many banks are in Santa Cruz?5 mapped - How many petrol pumps are in Santa Cruz?8 mapped - What is the P-code of Santa Cruz?JM0907 (OCHA common operational dataset)