Nigeria is a beautiful place. With great people.
Let’s explore some wonderful paces you can visit on your next visit to Nigeria.
Lagos
Frenetic and packed, Lagos is not only the largest city in Nigeria, but also the single largest on the entire African continent.
Yes, close to 18 million people call this one home.
Throbbing streets of beer bars and clubs pepper the districts of Ikeja and Victoria Island, where ex-pats and sailors and locals alike chat over frothy brews.
There are also salt-washed promenades on the coast, and the beautiful reaches of Lagos Bar Beach – a sloping stretch of golden sand that meets the waves of the Atlantic Ocean in style.
Meanwhile, jet skis purr across Tarkwa Bay, and the sobering histories of the slave trade continue to move at the Point of No Return.
Abuja
Okay, so Abuja isnt Lagos. Purpose-built, enfolded by the soft topography of the inland hills, and formed from clearly delineated districts that house business-suited men and politicians, there’s no grit or grime here (or at least not relatively). That means the capital is a nice place to relax and unwind following the energy and action of the megalopolis on the coast.
And there are other interesting sights too, like the Abuja Millennium Park and the quad of spear-like minarets that heralds the beautiful Abuja National Mosque.
Meanwhile, Wuse Market is great for shoppers, and the National Assembly Complex offers a glimpse into the country’s modern political system.
Gashaka Gumti National Park
Vast and breathtaking at every turn, the Gashaka Gumti National Park covers more than 6,000 square kilometers of land in the extreme south-east of the country.
Made in 1991 after the fusion of two great Nigerian game reserves, it’s famed for its winding rivers (some of which also occasionally turn into awesome shows of roaring waterfalls) and riparian habitats, which host rare avian species like the red-faced lovebird.
On the ground, you can expect to be in the company of African golden cats and elephants.
Chimps swing in the trees of the forests too, while buffalos pepper the watering holes.
Erin-Ijesha
The tiny town of Erin-Ijesha is really only known for one thing and one thing only: it’s eponymous waterfall that crashes through the southern Nigerian jungles, spans two individual states, and counts as many as seven tiers in total! The beautiful water feature draws oodles of people to this tiny speck on the map a little way from the historic city of Ilesa.
The journey’s worth it though.
You’ll get to climb through the verdant woods and bathe in the cataracts as they crash over the cliffs.
You’ll learn about the forest spirits, and even discover the nearby hot springs at Ikogosi – a little to the east, and a great place for soothing those tired hiking muscles.
Uyo
Another great gateway to the trans-border Cross River National Park, and a brilliant stopover on the way to Calabar city, the town of Uyo is a clean and efficient urban center with a pretty lively nightlife scene of music bars and beer haunts.
It’s surrounded by green swathes of mangrove forest, out of which pokes the city’s famous golf resort (run by the prestigious name of Le Méridien no less). In the town there’s also the endless boutiques and fashion stores of the Ibom Plaza, where Nigerian celebs often strut their stuff.
And if the city gets too much, make a beeline for the coast.
Ibeno Beach is the top choice, with its footprint-spotted sands coming in as some of the longest in all of West Africa.
Okomu National Park
One of the few remaining enclaves of the virgin rainforest that once dominated the territories of southern Nigeria for its entirety, the Okomu National Park can be found sandwiched between the endless mangroves that crash into the Atlantic Ocean and the streets of Benin City.
Untouched and undeveloped, the spot’s remoteness has allowed it to become a refuge for some of the country’s rarer creatures, like the pangolin, chimpanzees, leopards and even forest elephants.
There’s also a smattering of rustic tribal villages still here, where visitors can encounter the age-old way of Nigerian country life.
Edumanom National Forest
The great mass of greenery that caps the very end of the Niger River, this delta forest plays host to one of Nigeria’s most amazing displays of biodiversity.
It’s headed by the presence of some of the largest remaining chimpanzee colonies in the world, who patrol the freshwater swamps and the verdant canopies, casting howls through the wilderness as they go.
It’s also a home to the rare Niger Delta colobus and other primates worth seeing.
