Blue and John Crow Mountains

Inscribed in 2015 as Jamaica's first World Heritage site, and inscribed twice over: for nature and for culture together. The nature is a mountain rainforest running up to well over two thousand metres, extraordinarily rich in species found nowhere else, with hundreds of endemic plants, the giant swallowtail butterfly that is the largest in the Americas, and a permanently wet cloud forest of stunted moss-hung trees on the ridges. The culture is the Windward Maroons, communities formed by people who escaped enslavement and used this almost impenetrable terrain to fight the British to a standstill, signing a treaty in 1739 that recognised their freedom and their land. Their descendants live here still.

What's there

• The cloud forest - moss-hung stunted trees on the high ridges.
• Endemic species - hundreds of plants and the giant swallowtail butterfly.
• Maroon settlements - Moore Town, Charles Town and the Nanny Town country.
• The trails - from Section and Hollywell into the forest.

When to go

December to April is the drier season, though rain falls in the mountains most days regardless and the ridges are usually in cloud by mid-morning. Early starts are essential for views. The Maroon settlements hold their own commemorations, most significantly in January and October.

What to expect

Access is genuinely difficult: the roads are steep, potholed and often washed out, and much of the park has no marked trail at all. The cloud forest is wet, cold and slippery. Visiting Maroon communities should be arranged through them rather than turning up, and there are areas they consider theirs to control access to, which visitors should respect.

Nearby

Kingston is an hour from the western access; Port Antonio serves the northern side.

Key facts