Caribbean Travel Dreams Blog

Mystic Mountain Bobsled & Zipline - What Fun!!   During a stay at Breezes Runaway Bay in January 2008, we decided to try something new (and by new I mean less than a year old new).  Mystic Mountain is a multi-million dollar project, very ecologically conscious using minimum impact on the environment during construction.  Just down the road from the famous tourist spot, Dunn's River Falls, is new hot spot with over 3000 feet of track where you can speed through the woods in Ocho Rios in bobsled  a la "Cool Runnings". 

Our adventure started with with a 15 minute Sky Explorer chairlift ride 700' up the hillside with a beautiful view of downtown Ocho Rios.  On this day, there were two cruise ships in port and my guess is the cruisers haven't quite discovered Mystic Mountain (not yet anyway).  Now, I have a fear of heights and the chairlift ride was what I dreaded most, but my fears were gone within minutes of this relaxing, steady ride to the adventures awaiting me up the mountainside.

Once you arrive at the summit via Sky Explorer, there is an open-air pavillion with an exhibit of Jamaican history and culture, a gift shop, infinity pool, lookout tower. and an open air restaurant overlooking Ocho Rios.  This area is the central point where guests can then ride the bobsled and do the zipline tour.  Options at Mystic Mountain include:  1) ride the Sky Explorer chairlift to the summit and just have lunch, swim in the pool, and check out the exhibits; 2) Sky Explorer and bobsled; 3) Sky Explorer and zipline; or 4) what we chose to do - the "tranopy", which included both the bobsled and zipline.

We headed to the bobsled first.  The bobsled are decorated in the black, gold & green colors of Jamaica, very sleek.  Once you're buckled in (one person per car, but I did see them attach two cars together), gravity sets you on you're on your way down through about 300' of  hairpin turns, through, around and above the forest ...  but you are in charge of your speed via levers on the side of the cars .  At the end of the hill, your bobsled is gently hoisted back up a series of inclines to the start of the track.  I realized when I reached this point that I had an involuntary huge smile on my face the entire ride ... captured for prosperity via the photo taken by Mystic Mountain (for purchase in the gift shop).  What fun!

Before heading to the zipline, we opted for a 5 minute chair massage, being offered in the pavillion by a sweet Jamaican girl for $1/minute.  Work out a little kinks and then off to zip through the forest.

The zipline does not involve intense hiking at all.  Since this is a new facility, the equipment and platforms were very new.  There are five traverses, enjoyable, fun, professional staff making those nervous feel at ease.  All in all, a great ending to our "tranopy" adventure ... well ... except for the Sky Explorer chairlift ride back down the hill!