Blue Mountain Peak

At 2,256 metres, Blue Mountain Peak is the highest point in Jamaica and the centrepiece of the Blue Mountains–John Crow National Park in the island's eastern interior. The range takes its name from the blue mist that drapes the summits each morning — a product of the dense tropical cloud forest's humidity. The standard ascent departs Penlyne Castle around 2 a.m. to reach the top by sunrise, rewarding hikers with views across the Caribbean and, on clear days, the outline of Cuba roughly 150 kilometres away. The cooler, rain-soaked slopes below the peak sustain Jamaica's world-renowned Blue Mountain coffee crop, grown in microclimates that produce some of the most prized beans in the global market. The park is also home to dozens of endemic species, including the Homerus swallowtail, the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere.