Cockpit Country

Cockpit Country is Jamaica's most spectacular karst landscape and a region of exceptional historical and ecological significance. Its rugged limestone terrain, shaped by cone shaped hills, deep sinkholes, caves, and dense tropical forest, provided refuge for the Maroons, communities of formerly enslaved Africans who successfully resisted British colonial forces. The peace treaties of 1738 and 1739 secured their freedom and a high degree of self government, and Accompong remains the cultural center of a Maroon community today. Cockpit Country is also one of the Caribbean's most important biodiversity hotspots, home to numerous bird, amphibian, reptile, and plant species found only in Jamaica. The region's unique combination of dramatic scenery, living history, and remarkable biodiversity makes it one of the island's most fascinating natural and cultural landscapes.