Hanover’s capital town Lucea has a rustic charm of its own. On first passing through the town, one immediately knows that this town has an interesting and colourful tale to tell of glorious days in a bygone era. It is a town that is not caught up in a mad rush.

Coves and bays mark the coastline of Hanover. Perhaps the most famous of these coves is Orange Cove. A narrow strip of flat land follows the curves and turns of the gently sloping hillsides and lazy splashes of the sea. The view of rolling hills with their many shades of green – a little olive here, jade there is breathtaking.

The view from the hills is awesome. A climb up the Dolphin Head Mountain provides a wide view of the other parishes in the western side of the island. From the hills overlooking Lucea Harbour, one can get more than a 180-degree vista of the bay. Gentle waves lap the horseshoe shaped shoreline of golden sand that melts like sugar under your feet.

The world-renowned Negril beach stretches from Westmoreland into this parish. Hanover sometimes does not get credit for its beauty and charm, and suffers for being in close proximity to its larger tourism sister, Montego Bay. Many of the rich and famous tiptoe into this parish at the Round Hill Hotel and the Tryall Beach and Country Club thinking that they are in Montego Bay.

Location

Hanover the smallest parish after Kingston and St. Andrew, rounds off the northwestern tip of the island. It lies to the west of St. James and to the north of Westmoreland. The capital Lucea, is situated 25 miles west of Montego Bay (Jamaica’s second city) and midway between Montego Bay and Negril on a beautiful harbour.

Elevations

The highest point is Birch Hill (1810ft or 550.2m), followed by Dolphin Head 1789ft or 543.8m).

Geology

The soil types in Hanover range from an excessively drained reddish brown lorry and clay soil along the coastline to a well drained, moderately deep, reddish brown clayey soil in the foothills.

Coves

Numerous caves are to be found throughout the parish. Notable among these are the Clifton Cave and the Cousin’s Cove Cave. These areas provide a good pastime for the adventurous visitor. The Cousin’s Cove Cave is located 6 miles west of Lucea on the road to Negril. This cave is said to be several miles long and fresh water streams are located several feet inside. This cave contains bat manure that used to be commercially mined several years ago.

There are a number of beautiful coves on the coastline to the parish. Most important of these is the Miskito Cove, which is approximately 7 miles east of Lucea. The cove was named after the Miskito Indians of Central America who used this natural harbour as their main port of entry when raiding the villages of native Tainos. This cove has a very beautiful setting and is suitable for water sports and leisure fishing.

Waterfalls

There are four beautiful natural waterfalls in the parish. These are Paradise Falls situated seven miles south of Lucea on the beautiful paradise plantation. This fall provides an excellent past time for visitors. The other falls are the Kemshot Falls approximately 6 miles southeast of Lucea, the Dry Hill Falls situated 4 miles southwest of Lucea and Mayfield falls.

Rafting

In addition to the Riley River there is rafting on the Great River in Eastern Hanover.

Rivers

Hanover has 7 rivers. These are Riley, Great, Davis Cove, Lucea East, Lucea West, Flint and the Catabarita River that rises near Birch’s Hill, flows south into Westmoreland and winds across the plains to enter the sea in Savanna-la-mar. The Lucea East River is 14 kilometres while the Lucea West River is 12.9 kilometres