Different perspectives from Constitution Hill

Jamaica has some of the most breathtaking mountain sceneries in all of the Caribbean. From east to west, north to south, there are clusters of mountain ranges from which are fantastic views of the seas and the valleys below.

The Cockpit Country in the west is ­fascinating, but there is something special about the clusters in the east, the Blue and John Crow mountain ranges, and all the other clusters in northeast rural St Andrew and parts of St Thomas and Portland.

Recently, I had reasons to be visiting the Dallas Mountains clusters, especially the Constitution Hill community, and despite my vertigo, which took me on a hillside at Chatsworth, I discovered a nice, little spot that has now become one of my favourites.

The road to Constitution Hill is no ­different from the roads to the other hilly and mountainous districts in the east. They are long, narrow, rough, and winding, hugging the hillsides from which huge, yawning valleys invite you to soar to join the John crows. Your constitution has to be strong to walk over them.

The place is a series of hills, mountains even, connected by narrow ridges. The hills consist of steep spurs, sometimes divided by a river or stream, ­meandering around interlocking spurs from different hills. Houses are mostly erected on slopes.

On the way to Constitution Hill, there is a turn-off to Dallas Castle in the Dallas Mountains. Dallas Castle was a plantation owned by Dr Robert Dallas. I heard from a woman living in the area that the foundations of the ‘castle’ are still there.

And prior to my frequenting the place, I knew that the city of Dallas in Texas was named after George Mifflin Dallas, United States vice-president and grandson of Dr Dallas. It is my intention to visit Dallas Castle soon.

Until then, I will continue to enjoy the views from my little spot, ‘way up in the air’. That is what it feels like, for I am looking way down and over across a valley at the bottom of which nestles the village of Chatsworth, where there are the ruins of a ‘great house’. It is the same valley through which the Cane River and its ­tributaries flow.

Pine trees and other evergreens line the crests and sides of the spurs. Clouds ­regularly form on top of the mountains, or the entire range is covered by fog or mists, or both at the same time.

Recently, while I was there, the rain came. I saw it falling on to the trees below me, and I got the feeling I could look through it and count the raindrops. Then, it got heavy, obliterating the views of the mountains. Everywhere was grey, like a huge sheet had descended upon and covered the majestic landforms. In the night the range was a black silhouette against the sky.

And if the mountain views are captivating, so near, yet so far, the words for the vistas of the sea are erratic, but alluring. The view of the sea appears to be framed by two escarpments, creating a basin effect, only that the bottom of the ‘basin’ is punctuated by two peaks that seem to be close to each other spoiling the basin effect.

Yes, on a clear the day the sea at Bull Bay is visible, seemingly going up into the sky. Cargo ships snail to and from Kingston Port, but on a cloudy or overcast day the line between the sea and the sky is blurred. No horizon can be seen. The illusion is gone.

From the western side of the ridge, from which I perched, the hill is on the other side of St Andrew look well populated with buildings. The views stretch from those hills to downtown Kingston, Kingston Harbour, the Hellshire hills and beyond.

All the way from the flat to Constitution Hill there are different views of the Corporate Area. It’s like peeping through a window from different angles. So, if you want to see Kingston city and the mountains in the east from a different perspective, garner some courage and head to Constitution Hill.