What you can see on the Mandeville cam
The camera turns between two views of the town centre: a busy corner, with the street climbing between shops and fast-food restaurants and the route taxis and minibuses that link Mandeville with the rest of the island, and the town market, its stalls under blue tarpaulins and the people shopping between them. It is a view of everyday life in a Jamaican town, from the morning rush to the evening.
A corner of Mandeville town centre
High above the centre of Mandeville, this camera turns between two views: a junction with a street climbing between shops and a fast-food restaurant, full of route taxis, minibuses and people crossing, and the town market, its stalls covered with blue tarpaulins below the arcades of the old buildings.
It shows the daily life of a Jamaican hill town: busiest in the morning and early evening.
A town in the hills
Mandeville was laid out in the early 19th century around a green, and some of its old stone buildings, such as the courthouse and the parish church, still stand around it. Its cool air drew British officials and, later, many Jamaicans returning from abroad, who built their homes on the surrounding hills. The bauxite and alumina industry, which mines the red earth of the region, has long been one of its main employers.
When to watch Mandeville
Jamaica keeps Eastern Standard Time all year, five hours behind UTC, with no daylight saving. The town centre is busiest in the morning and early evening, when people travel to and from work. Being in the hills, Mandeville often gets afternoon showers in the rainy months, from May to November.
Around Mandeville
The south coast lies below the hills: Treasure Beach, a string of quiet fishing villages, and the cliffs of Lovers' Leap are within an hour's drive. To the west, the Santa Cruz Mountains lead to the farming town of Santa Cruz, in St Elizabeth.
Getting to Mandeville
The town is just off the main highway between Kingston and the south-west, about an hour and a half by car from the capital. Route taxis and buses connect it with Kingston, May Pen, Santa Cruz and Montego Bay.
