LOCATED in the hills of the John Crow Mountain, west of Moore Town in Portland, is one of the unknown gems in Jamaica’s crown of natural treasures — Nanny Falls.

A 30-minute trek led by Wallace Sterling, colonel of the Moore Town maroons, took the Jamaica Observer North and East team to the peaceful body of water known mostly to natives.

It was, however, a task getting there as we quickly realised how true the saying ‘nothing good comes easy’ was. Under humid conditions with a pelting overhead sun, the Observer team walked for miles in anticipation along a rugged track, crossing two streams, while observing uncommon flora and fauna before arriving at the falls. Steep steps led to crystal clear waters flowing off rocks approximately 35 feet in height, tumbling into a five-feet pool of water.

Named after national Heroine Nanny of the Maroons, the falls, natives believe, possess healing powers.

“The Nanny Falls has healing properties and the warriors, in times gone by, would come here to prepare for battle. While they were preparing, they would take a cut and then take a dip in the waters of the falls. If they returned with the cut they would not be allowed to go into battle. This is the healing power of the falls,” Wallace told the team.

He explained that the falls is visited weekly by foreigners, including couples and groups, and that plans are in place for further development.

“We are mindful of the falls’ capacity in our development plans as we move forward. We don’t want to have too many persons at the falls at one time. We are looking to not have more than 200 persons per day in groups of 25 or 50.

“We are also looking at renovating the rails and steps here using aluminum pipes and wooden steps,” added the colonel, who pointed out that “the pool is good for swimming but not diving”.

He said, too, that plans are afoot to build cottages, where people can overnight, as well as to construct rest stops.