Tek pictures. Mek memories. Leave only footprints.
Jamaica's mountains, rivers, waterfalls, beaches, caves, and forests, and the cultural heritage held within them, are irreplaceable. Tek a Hike exists to help people experience these places — not to consume them. This Pledge is the non-negotiable house rule for everyone on the Platform: hikers, guides, operators, and our own staff.
It is incorporated into our Terms of Service and our Partner Agreement and forms part of the digital waiver every hiker signs at booking.
1. Tek pictures
Photograph as much as you like — that's how you bring the trail home. Two simple boundaries:
- Ask before photographing people, especially in host communities and sacred or ceremonial settings.
- Do not geotag fragile or sensitive sites (nesting areas, undeveloped beaches, cave entrances, lesser-known waterfalls). Share the experience, not the coordinates.
2. Mek memories
Slow down. Notice the bromeliads, the bauxite-red soil, the Doctor Bird, the smell of pimento. Memories don't need a souvenir from the bush.
- Take nothing home from the trail. That includes flowers, fruit, leaves, seedlings, soil, rocks, shells, sand, fossils, driftwood, coral, animal parts, eggs, feathers, and any heritage artefact (Taíno pottery sherds, colonial-era objects, plantation relics, tools, beads).
- Buy local instead. If you want to take something home, buy from village stalls, farmers, and craftspeople along the way.
- Removing protected species or items from a protected area is a criminal offence under Jamaican law (the Wildlife Protection Act, the Endangered Species (Protection, Conservation and Regulation of Trade) Act, the Forest Act, and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act). We will report it.
3. Leave only footprints
We work to Leave No Trace standards adapted to Jamaican conditions:
a. Plan and prepare
- Read the listing fully — fitness level, weather, what to bring, what's not included.
- Carry enough water, food, sun protection, a small first-aid kit, and a sturdy bag for trash you'll generate or find.
b. Travel on durable surfaces
- Stay on the trail. Walk single file in the centre of the path even when it's muddy — widening the path destroys plant edges.
- Don't cut switchbacks. Don't bushwhack new shortcuts.
- At viewpoints, stand on rock, packed dirt, or established platforms — not vegetation.
c. Dispose of waste properly
- Pack it in, pack it out. Everything. Wrappers, peels (yes, banana and orange peels — they take 2+ years to break down and don't belong in Jamaican forests), tissue, sanitary products, cigarette butts, gum, micro-trash from snacks.
- Toilet stops: use established facilities where they exist. Otherwise, dig a small cathole at least 60 m (about 70 paces) from any water, trail, or campsite, and pack out used tissue in a sealed bag.
- Pet waste: if you bring a dog where dogs are allowed, bag and carry out the waste.
- Litter you find: if it's safe to lift, take it with you. Many of our partners issue a small carry-out kit at the trailhead.
d. Leave what you find
- Look at, photograph, sketch — but do not take, move, dig up, or carve.
- This includes flowers (especially the National Flower, the Lignum Vitae, and orchids — all protected), tree bark, palm fronds, ferns, and seedlings.
- Heritage sites — Taíno middens and petroglyphs, Maroon settlements, ruins, monuments, and burial grounds — must be observed from designated viewpoints. Do not climb on them, lean on them, chalk them, or touch carved surfaces.
e. Minimise fire impact
- No campfires unless the listing expressly authorises one and the operator has secured the permits and fire-safety plan.
- No discarded matches, vapes, or cigarettes on the trail. The dry season turns Jamaican forests into kindling.
- If you see smoke from an unattended fire, contact your guide immediately and call 110 for the Jamaica Fire Brigade as soon as you have signal.
f. Respect wildlife
- Observe from a distance. No chasing, feeding, baiting, capturing, or handling.
- Do not approach hummingbirds at their nests, sea turtles on the beach, manatees in the river, or any animal with young.
- Keep dogs leashed and away from nesting beaches and protected areas.
- If you encounter an injured or distressed animal, tell your guide; do not attempt to "help" yourself.
g. Be considerate of other visitors and host communities
- Use earphones for music; the next person came to hear the river and the birds.
- Yield uphill hikers the right of way. Step aside for horses and porters.
- Greet people you pass on the trail. "Wah gwaan" goes a long way.
- Ask before photographing people, support local vendors, follow community-specific rules your operator shares with you, and pay agreed access or guide-tipping fees.
4. Special places, special rules
Some of our most-loved hikes have additional rules. The operator will brief you, but in summary:
- Blue & John Crow Mountains National Park (UNESCO): stay on managed trails, no plant or wildlife collection, observe Maroon Heritage Route protocols. JCDT permits/fees apply.
- Cockpit Country: karst caves are fragile and bat-inhabited — do not touch formations, do not enter without an authorised guide, and do not disturb roosting bats.
- Reach Falls / YS Falls / Dunn's River: wear reef-safe sunscreen, do not stand on coral or moss-covered rocks where prohibited, follow lifeguard instructions.
- Negril Marine Park & coastal hikes: take nothing from the reef or beach; no collecting shells, sand, or coral (alive or dead).
- Treasure Beach, Hellshire, Frenchman's Cove and other turtle-nesting beaches: during nesting season (June–November) keep lights off the sand at night, stay back from nests and tracks, and never touch or photograph hatchlings with flash.
5. What happens if the Pledge is broken
We treat the Pledge with the same seriousness as a safety rule.
- Hikers who breach the Pledge may be refused service or removed from the activity by the guide without refund. Repeat or serious breaches (e.g. removing protected items, harming wildlife, defacing heritage) will result in account suspension or closure and may be reported to NEPA, JCDT, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, the Forestry Department, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, or other competent authorities.
- Operators who tolerate, encourage, or participate in breaches of the Pledge breach the Partner Agreement. We may suspend listings, terminate the agreement, refund affected participants, recover rectification costs, and report the matter to the relevant authorities.
- Tek a Hike will, where appropriate, contribute to remediation costs (clean-ups, reforestation contributions, heritage-site repair) caused by breaches identified through our platform.
6. Our commitments back to you
We hold ourselves to the same Pledge.
- No greenwashing. When we run our own community days, we publish where we go, what we did, and what we packed out.
- Free for community use. Schools, environmental NGOs, JCDT, NEPA, and Maroon councils may use Tek a Hike to coordinate clean-ups, citizen-science hikes, and heritage walks at no platform fee — write to us at hello@tekahike.com.
- A portion of platform fees from each booking is set aside in a transparent fund for Jamaican trail-maintenance, reforestation, and youth-guide training programmes. We publish the balance and grants annually.
- Transparent reporting. If you see something that breaches the Pledge — by a hiker, a guide, an operator, or by us — tell us at hello@tekahike.com or via the in-app "Report" button. We reply within 5 business days.
7. Where to learn more
- National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) — nepa.gov.jm
- Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT) — jcdt.org.jm
- Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) — jnht.com
- Forestry Department, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries — forestry.gov.jm
8. Acknowledgement
Anyone who books, lists, guides, or staffs an experience on Tek a Hike accepts this Pledge. By clicking "I accept" on the booking waiver or by activating a partner listing, you confirm that you have read it, understood it, and will live by it on every trail.
Tek pictures. Mek memories. Leave only footprints.
Tek a Hike Limited Kingston, Jamaica Email: hello@tekahike.com