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PamR166
An inspiring tour by George Sylvester. A must-see. They are building a hotel in the area sthat I want to be one of the first to stay at.
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897hannahj
I visited here last august as part of my first visit to Jamaica. We were recommended to go here by another couple staying at the hotel. What an amazing visit!! We were made to feel very welcome by everyone we came across. We were shown around by kenroy who told us everything about everything! Such a welcoming and knowledgable man. He took us to all parts of the village and explained everything from buildings to crops along the way. I am a primary school teacher in the U.K. and he took me inside the school on the village for a good half an hour to look around and talk to the children. I absolutely loved it! As we came to the end of the tour, kenroy took us to his home where another resident cut down jellied coconuts from the tree for us to drink from. Free of charge. I can't explain how much detail we were told and how welcome we were made to feel. Walking around, all of the residents were so pleasant and friendly and we were invited back for their 6th January celebrations. I have tried to contact the school in the village to send them supplies from the U.K. for the children but cannot get a contact which is a shame. Would definitely recommend!!!
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Canucks_from_Ottawa
This self-contained, self-governing community with roots to the original Maroons, very reminiscent of the Canadian aboriginal communities of British Columbia. If you want a taste of real Jamaican history - this is the ideal tour.
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Management138
When I first visited Accompong Town in 1988, I quickly realized that it was a very special place. I was taken to the Colonel's office and questioned by Colonel Martin Luther Wright before being offered to sign the guest book and told, "I could come anytime I wanted...Stay as long as I wanted and that someone was assigned to watch over me". That person is my best friend to this day. This is a place where you are judged by your word and your character and not by where you are from or the color of your skin.I am now a resident of Accompong Town and every day spent there is uplifting to my soul. I am now retired so I can concentrate on making Accompong Town an even better place for the children of tomorrow. I am often struck by how the children are so respectful and are raised by the community at large. Yes, January 6th of each year is a Celebration of Captain Cudjoe's Birthday and an enormously important part of preserving the semi-autonomous self-governess that for the past 275 years has produces a relatively crime free environment in a country that experiences it daily. But, the most important part of the Celebration is the revenue it produces to allow these people to exist without the benefit of jobs in the community.It is also true that a visitor can be unlucky and run into an opportunist Maroon who looks at them as a source for today's ration of rum or food. This will happen anywhere that people who "have" appear in a place that "has not". Accompong Town is taking steps to improve the visitor's experience with trained guides as well as adding new dimensions to the town tour. This takes some time and will not happen overnight. You can see from the majority of the views expressed here that a visit to Accompong Town is a rewarding experience on many levels and not one to be missed on your next visit to Jamaica.
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Simone01
Accompong is a lovely little village on the edge of Cockpit Country. What is special about the village is that it belongs to the Maroons, and has enjoyed an autonomous state since a treaty was signed with the British in 1739. The area is something of a Jamaican frontier land, Cockpit Country is covered with small rounded hills and deep valleys. Very few roads penetrate here with Accompong being on the edge and one of the last accessable towns. Indeed the roads to Accompong are worse than those in other parts of Jamaica--on many winding roads, if two vehicles meet one will most likely have to back up to a place where they can pass eachother. We drove to Accompong on January 6th to Celebrate the birthday of Cudjoe, a historical leader who is credited for uniting the Maroons together to fight for and preserve thier freedom and autonomy in the 18th century. This is a very, very busy day in Accompong and it took a good while just to reach the town as the roads were crammed with visitors for this festival. However it was worth it just to take in this wonderfully cultural and fun-filled event. As with most Jamaican festivals there is lots of food, vendors, music and a general sense of human fellowship. For my husband, who originally comes from Grenada, this day trip was very special for him--It was here in Accompong that he learned that not all Africans robbed from thier homeland were destined to remain as slaves in the Caribbean for hundreds of years. The strength, cunning and determinism of the Maroons in the face of the powerful and cruel colonial powers should be inspirational to all people of African decent in the Western hemisphere--as well as to all of us who understand the continuing struggle for freedom and respect that oppressed people still face all over the world. Go to Accompong and learn.
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patriciaj764
First if u cannot handle a long walk this is not the place for u to go on the six of January. This is Maroon Christmas. Lots of people from near and far. Parking in the town is impossible if you don't arrive early. There is lots of drinking, eating, music, crafts and cultural activities. A must see.
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JimPriester
Out in the woods - - also, if you like to hike, go into CockPit Country. That is a hike for the experienced hiker
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nadia2323
We went to accompong to visit the maroons village hoping in an educative and interesting off-the-beaten path experience for my daughter (we had a great experience with a tribe village in Zimbabwe and was hoping in something similar). The panoramas were nice on the drive there, quite wild and untouched nature.Our guide said it correctly: with the maroons you either are God or Food.... we were food... meaning they tried to take us for all our money (unsuccessfully). Beyond the fact that they could barely remember their own names as they were high and drunk (they smoked weed and drunk rum for the entire time we were there), they were not able to really give a tour or explain anything interesting. We paid $40 for the tour and $20 to see a spiritualist who washed his face in rum and then told us to stand in a corner, scribbled on a peace of paper and said we all needed protection and that would cost $150. I said no thank you but he insisted until our guide stepped in between and we moved on. The tour of the village consisted of standing on a square and being told that the 5 key differences between the Maroons and the rest of jamaica were 1) they have a square drum not a round one 2) if you are a murderer you are taken back to jamaica, don't think you'd find hospitality there 3) they have a square drum 4) they have a square drum and 5) he didn't remember. But then he wanted to sell us some home made jewelry just in case we had some money to spare.... All together 30 minutes.... after a 2 hrs drive to get there. Not worth it. The roaring river was better.
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nkh80
When you visit Jamaica, you think of visiting the beach, Dunns River Falls, Black River, Appleton Rum Distillery and so on. But one can tend to forget that Jamaica is steeped in a rich, Afro-Caribbean heritage. Visiting Accompong Village was a very eye opening and enlightening experience. There was so much to learn when I visited and I had no clue that there was so much historical richness in this one section of Jamaica. We had a chance to spend time with the locals and eat/drink local fare. Most tourists don't get an opportunity such as this and I personally recommend visiting Accompong Village. Our tour guide was Sheldon and he was very informative. There were many stories to hear about the evolution of the people, village; from where they came and how it has effected their current lives. Every year, Accompong Village hosts a huge celebration in January. That would be a good time of the year and opportunity to visit.
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JAsoldier
A guided tour based mainly on plants and their use revealed nothing that I haven't come across elswhere. However, I suppose few other villages offer guides in the way that Accompong does, so tourists may well find this interesting. The scenery to and in the village is quite spectacular, and very different from that of The Blue MountainsThe attraction of Accompong for me has always been George, a laid back guy, inventor and maker of the unique Gumbay drum. He is well worth spending some time with.
