Best Travel and Tourist Destinations in Nigeria
Nigeria is a beautiful nation full of exciting sites and places. You don’t have to travel abroad to explore the beauty of nature, there are places in Nigeria that will blow your mind off.
In this article, I will be showing you the best travel and tourist destination in Nigeria you will love to visit and explore.
- Oke-Idanre Hill
Location: Idanre Town, Akure, Ondo State.
The Oke-Idanre hill is one of the grandest tourist centers in the world that is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site
Getting to the hilltop from the foot of the hills will require you to cover a distance of 682 steps. At the top of the hill, you will get to see the beautiful sea-level plains, unreadable handwriting, sculptural carvings, including a beautiful landscape view of the village; (the village is at the foot of the hill and houses the king’s palace, shrines, thunder water (omi Aopara), and the Agbooogun footprint ( a mystical footprint that takes the shape of the feet of anyone who wears it), shrines, thunder water (Omi Aopara).
- Yankari Game Reserve
Location: Mainamaji Village, Bauchi, Bauchi state.
The Yankari game reserve is one of the major natural national parks in the country. It is an epitome of diversity where you see how animals live in their natural habitats. It’s both adventurous and exciting.
Apart from land animals, the Yankari game houses several aquatic animals and natural bodies of water, including a spring.
- Ado-Awaye Suspended Lake
Location: Iseyin, Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State
The Ado-Awaye Suspended Lake is called the hanging lake located in the crests or rocks. Before getting to the lakes, you must pass through numerous shrines and historical spots. It takes 350 steps to get to the top of the hill to see the lake.
An mysterious fact about this lake is that that it never dries, and never decrease or increase. It maintains the same volume regardless of the seasons.
There is an mysterious spot on the hill called the “Eskan Iku,” meaning “verge of death,” where you can write your name with pieces of stones on the rock.
- Obudu Cattle Ranch
Location: Obanliku Local, Government Area, Obudu Plateau, Cross-river State.
The Obudu Cattle Ranch also serve as resort, and it is major tourist center for both Nigerians and foreigners.
You can easily access the Ranch uphill by helipad or cable car. Also, the Obudu mountain resort has a canopy walkway that you can walk over to get a glimpse of its beautiful landscape.
For maximum satisfaction, you can visit the ranch between October and February because this is the period when the sky is brightest and the air, frosty.
- Awhum Water Fall and Cave
Location: Amaugwe village of Awhum town in Udi Local Government Area
The Awhum water fall is located close to Awhum monastery, and it is said to have curative (healing power), that is capable of dispelling satanic or evil powers. The waterfall comes a sa result of massive outcrop of granite rock with water raining down from the top forming a stream. The water fall is easily accessible. It talks 45 minutes walk from the parking spot to get to the fall.
- The Ancient Nok Settlement
Location: Jaba, Kaduna state
If you are a historian, researcher, or intellectual, the Ancient Nok Settlement is the best place to visit as it is both educative and relaxing.
The Ancient Nok Settlement is one of the oldest Africa’s settlements that gives you a glimpse of the transitional age that shows the period when West African societies transitioned from the Neolithic Stone Age straight into the Iron Age.
The Anicient Nok Settlement is renowned for its terracotta figurines, which serve as one of the major art forms in the nation.
Nok settlement has a museum that houses and displays the terracotta carvings, antique objects, and casings, giving you idea on the kind of tools used during the stone age period.
- Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC)
Location: 19 Lekki – Epe Expy, Lekki Penninsula II, Lekki, Lagos.
Lying in the heart of Lagos is one of the Africa’s most diverse urban parks that take syou away from the worries and hustling noises of lagos, into a scenic, and refreshing atmosphere.
It is natural 21 year old center that houses unique biodiversity of the coastal environs of western Nigeria, including recreational centers for relaxation.
- Tinapa Resort
Location: Calabar Free Trade Zone, Cross Rivers State
Tinapa Resort houses facilities used for both leisure, entertainment and commercial activities making tourist and business center.
The leisure arena of the Tinapa Resort houses an artificial tidal lake, a Water Park that doubles as a Leisure Land, a Parking Space for 4,000 cars, 243-room international three-star Hotel, an independent power plant, a Tinapa free zone, and a movie production studio.
For entertainment purpose, the resort contains a mini-amphitheater, restaurants, a nightclub, digital cinema, casino, children’s arcade, and pubs.
- Kainji National Park
Location: Niger & Kwara State.
Kainji National Park is made up of three unique sectors; which are the Borgu Game Reserve, Zugurma Game Reserve, and the Kainji Lake.
This park is famous for the big five (The lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo, and rhinoceros (both black and white species). Additionally, it houses beautiful water bodies and a conference facility that houses 140 people.
You can access the park annually from December until June every year.
- Gashaki-Gumpti National Park
Location: Taraba State
The Gashaki Gumpti national park is watershed that houses diverse collection of birds, and it gives a glimpse of an exciting picture of life during medieval times in Nigeria.
The most exciting park of the park is how you can find several habitat within it, such as savannah woodlands, lakes, luxuriant, dark lowland rainforests, and montane rainforests swamps, mighty rivers, and montane grasslands.
Only few places in the world is blessed with such eco-diversity.
Conclusion
If you haven’t visited any of these places, you are missing a lot. It won’t require much money to visit any of them. Whenever you need a break from the real world, these sites are good escape places where your mind can be naturally renwerd.