He heads straight over to greet me, limping slightly from a recent motorbike “mashup”, but no less enthusiastic. Motorbike mashupįlashy is the first to spot me as I drive through the gates. Up until the 1980s, the town’s gates were locked and outsiders had to seek permission to enter, but now visitors can come and go freely. Getting to Accompong involves a short 30-minute drive from the not-so-enchantingly named Maggotty in St Elizabeth parish, and a certain amount of courage as you wind round a succession of treacherous blind corners. Miles from the celebrated white sands and all-inclusive resorts, the town lies in the heart of Cockpit Country, where you can find places with the enchanting names of Me No Sen You No Come, the Land of Lookbehind, Wait-a-Bit and Quick Step. The town is run by an elected “colonel”, the state can only interfere in the case of a capital crime, and residents continue to live a peaceful life - a life that a growing number of tourists are keen to experience. It was here in 1739 that runaway Maroon slaves signed a peace treaty with the British to gain semi-sovereignty over the area. “A nation within a nation,” is how little-known Accompong has been described. The little west Jamaican town of Accompong has another secret, one that you’d think would belie the first. Still, it’s an impressive record, and no crime is just the beginning. It turns out that there was one incident, a robbery several years ago, but that was committed by an “outsider”. Flashy is being economical with the truth, I later discover, but only slightly.

Town in cockpit country jamaica