Millennium Park

Commissioned in 2004 by Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II of England, Millennium Park is the largest public park in Abuja and it has a nice walkway with fountains and lights.
Millennium Park was conceived and designed by an Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti, and it has become one of the main attractions of Abuja
Millennium Park offers a good spot to walk the dog or come for a picnic. Evenings are especially nice to enjoy the beautiful lights at the park.Parking is plentiful and the park’s entrance is off the Three Arm Zone road.
The park has a narrow river running through its centre and the remains of what was probably more extensive riverside woodland clinging to its edges.The river starts in the distant hills and many of the birds in Abuja use it as a corridor to get from one area to the other.Millennium park offers visitors opportunity to savour the freedom and freshness that nature offers.Especially during the weekend when there is the needto relax, visitors can frequent the garden.A typical visit to the part at the weekend, most especially on Sunday is thrilling.There are ongoing plans in the pipeline to expand the park with projects to include the millennium tower, cultural centre and a museum that will house a broad collection of African arts

Millennium Park has a small river that divide it into two parts by bisecting its main rectilinear axis.
One side of the Millennium Park consists of unspoilt nature, brushwood as well as greenhouses for butterflies and tropical birds.
The other side is dedicated to the scientific knowledge of the natural environment with its very traditional and rigid Italian Style Garden Layout.

Millennium Park also has series of fountains run alongside this white mark refreshing the public during the hottest days.
The roads are crossed by a series of multicoloured bushes going from yellow to red with a very particular wave-like course.

Activities

*.Birds Watching:
Millennium park is a pretty good place to bird.
As mentioned on10000birds.com, places like millennium park present good opportunity for bird lovers to see different species of birds in Abuja.
*.Children play ground
*.Water fountain
*.Green plants


http://www.cometonigeria.com/wheretogo/millennium-park-abuja/

Cross River National Park, Cross River State

Cross River National Park is an integral part of the Cross River State rainforest conservation area, located in Boki LGA and spans from Kanyan to the foot of the Obudu plateau with a total land area of 720sqkm of rugged mountain scenery and rolling hills. The park is divided into two sections.The smaller area to the north-east, Okwangwo Division, is separated by about 50 km of disturbed forest from the larger Oban Division. Oban Division iscontiguous with Korup National Park in Cameroon. The Cross river and its tributaries drain northern parts of Oban Division, while southern parts are drained by the Calabar, Kwa and Korup rivers.The terrain is rough and elevation rises from the rivervalleys to over 1,000 m in mountainous areas. Soils are ferralitic and sandy, and steadily become shallower with increasing elevation.

Cross River National Park is one of the richest areas of tropical rainforest in West Africa. Currently, the WWF, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation and the Federal Parks Service are carrying out an integrated conservation and development project in the northernpart of the park.

The project has created a proper boundary for the park, and programs are being implemented against illegal hunting, logging and land clearance.

The Park is home to many localised species of plantsand animals which, include gorilla, drill, chimpanzee, a gwantibo or golden potto forest elephant, saleginella specie. Baboons, Leopards, Red Foxes, Drill Monkeys, Buffaloes and Elephants are also found there. It also harbours a rich collection of flora and fauna.


http://www.cometonigeria.com/wheretogo/wildlife_parks/cross-river-national-park/

Yankari Game Reserve


Yankari Game Reserve is located about 225km east of the Nigerian city of Jos and it covers an area of 2,244 sq km. Yankari Game Reserve has been described by the Lonely Planet Guide as holding “about the only remnant of wildlife left in Nigeria.

With about 550 elephants, this park has the largest elephant population in West Africa. However, sighting the animals is not so easy, as the vegetation in the area is quite dense. The best time to view the animals is late February to late April.

The Wiki Warm Springs is another attraction to visitors. It is located near the park lodge and is about 200m long and 10m wide, containing crystal-clear water at a temperature of around 31 degrees Celsius.

Baboons and elephants often come down to the springs. Accommodation is available at a hotel at thewarm springs. The other option is to stay in Bauchi, 117 km northwest of Yankari. Camping facilities are also available.

The park also has over 130 wells, all of which have interconnecting shafts sank. This settlement and the wells were once used as a resting place by the trans atlantic slave traders of the early times.The park also has more than 59 caves located some 7km north east of Wikki camp. Other attractions are the hills, such as Kalban Hill – a flat top hill that enables tourists the opportunity to have a complete view of the park. Kanyo Hill provides a good view of the park and serves as a very beautiful picnic ground.Paliyaram Hill is a popular camp for poachers


http://www.cometonigeria.com/wheretogo/yankari-game-reserve

Idanre Hill – Oke Idanre

Idanre Hill is one of the most awesome and beautiful natural landscapes in Nigeria.Added to Idanre Hill beauty which fires human curiosity is the fact that the entire people of Idanre lived on these boulders for almost a millennium.

Located inIdanre Town, about 24 kilometres southwest ofAkure,Ondo State capital, the ancient Idanre Hills had been a home for the Idanre community for almost 100 years.

As a natural and cultural landscape, Idanre Hills stands out well among all other places that have been listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It is a cluster of intimidating and imposing hills housing some wonderful things which confound the senses.

The hills surround the town, envelope it and dominate life in the town. From any angle, one sees the hills and virtually every activity revolves round this collection of hills.

Apart from that cultural role, the town pulls the wealthy and the commoner, basically due to its perceived mystical aura and the giddy excitement lovers of nature get when they surmount the steep, daunting climb to the top, to witness a spectacular view of the new town and adjoining hills in a breath-taking manner.

Apart from its touristic value, the flora and fauna of the place had been under scientific study for several decades.

The topography of the place will be of great value to mankind. Its physical attributes include Owa’s Palace, Shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun foot print etc.

Awhum Waterfall

Awhum waterfall is situated at Amaugwe village of Awhum town in Udi Local Government Area.This beautiful Awhum waterfall is as a result of massive outcrop of granite rock with water cascading over the top forming a stream.A section of the waterfall is always warm through the season.

Awhum waterfall is 30 metres high and is located close to Awhum Monastery.

The water is said to be curative (have healing power) and capable of dispelling evil or satanic forces if and wherever sprinkled.It usually takes about 45 minutes walk from the parking spot to the fall.

Gashaka Gumti National Park

Covering about 6600 sq km, Gashaka Gumti is the Nigeria’s largest national park. This area is important not only as a major watershed but also as a haven for a rich and exotic assemblage of wildlife, given its strategic location at the interface between the moist Cameroonian Highland and the dry Sub-Saharan Guinea Savannah.

Gashaka-Gumti National Park is located in a mountainous region of North-east Nigeria adjacent to the international border with Cameroon, and immediately to the North of the Mambilla plateau. No roads cross this remote region and only a few lonely footpaths wind through the forested mountains towards Cameroon.

Visitors to the park are able to enjoy lush forests, wide sweeping grasslands, cool highland plateaus, rugged moody mountains, abundant wildlife, and fascinating ethnic cultures, all combined within a single protected area.

There are few other places in the world that contain such spectacular scenery and such diverse wildlife. The hidden corner of west Africa that is Gashaka-Gumti National Park is surely one of the continent’s best kept secrets.Gashaka-Gumti National Park, the largest park in Nigeria, covers an area of wilderness greater than 6,600 sq km. The park’s name is derived from two of the region’s oldest and most historic settlements: Gashaka village in Taraba State, and Gumti village inAdamawa State. Gashaka-Gumti National Park was created by Federal Decree in 1991 by the merging of Gashaka Game Reserve with Gumti Game Reserve.

Kamuku National Park

Kamuku National Park has a total land area of 1121sqkm of typical savanna woodland vegetation and a wide variety of birds and other animals like elephants, antelopes, oribi, waterbuck, wet cat, green monkey, side stripped hyena and jackal.Located in Birnin Gwari,Kaduna State, Kamuku National Park is also a home to the Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius), Denhams Bustard (Neotis denhami) and Abyssinian Ground Hornbill (Bucorvusabyssinicus).

The terrain is largely flat, rising gradually eastwards to the Birnin Gwari Ridge, which forms part of the eastern boundary. The park has Guinea Savanna vegetation with, in places, some transitional Sudan Savanna elements. Dominant tree species of the park include soberlinia doka,Terminalia avicennioidesandDetarium macrocarpum.

Also common areDanellia oliveri,Nauclea latifolia,Acacia spp.,Lophira lanceolata,Parkia biglobosa,Prosopis africanaandIsoberlinia tomentosa.Elaeis guineensisis common in riparian forests that line small, seasonal rivers. Together with the forest reserves in this area the park represents one of the best remaining blocks of Sudan–Guinea Savanna vegetation in the country’s protected-area system.

The park has an average annual rainfall of 1,250mm with average temperature of 300C. It has two seasons, the dry season which starts from Novemberto April and raining season from May to November.

The hottest months are March and April, while the coldest month is December and January during the harmattan period when temperature drops to the freezing point in the evening and morning.

Okomu National Park, Edo State


Located in Ovia South LGA, the park which lies about50km west of Benin City, Okomu National Park, formerly the Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary, is a forest block within the 1,082 km² Okomu Forest Reserve.
The park holds a small fragment of the rich forest that once covered the region, and is the last habitat for many endangered species.

The park holds a remnant of the Nigerian lowland forests that once formed a continuous 50–100 km wide belt from the Niger River west to the Dahomey Gap in Benin.

To the south and southeast the forest was separated from the coast by mangrove and swamp forests, while to the north it merged into the Guinean Forest-Savanna Mosaic eco-region.

Okomu National Park is about 200 km² of wildlife sanctuary, a rainforest ecosystem that is the habitat for many endangered species of flora and fauna.

The state government formally defined the sanctuary in 1986, with an area of just 66 km2 before the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)took over management of the sanctuary in 1987, and extended it to 114 km2 by adding a one-mile wide buffer zone. The sanctuary was later taken over by theNational Parks Servicein 1999.

Okomu is a home of forest elephants, buffaloes, red river hogs, chimpanzees, leopards, bush baby, putty nosed guenon, porcupine, pangolins, duikers, antelopes etc.

The white throated monkey which is one of the rarest monkeys in the world today is found at the park as well. Butterflies and birds are abundant making it oneof the best places for bird watching in Nigeria.

Chad Basin National Park

Located in the Sudano-Sahelian ecological zone of the North-Eastern part of Nigeria between Borno and Yobe States, Chad Basin National Park covers a total area of 2,258km2 and fragmented into three sectors.

The Chingurmi-Duguma sector is in Borno State, is ina Sudanian Savanna ecological zone while the Bade-Nguru Wetlands and Bulatura sectors are in Yobe State in the Sahel ecological zone.

The park which is generally referred to as the conventional basin of the famous Lake Chad, is indeed a veritable heaven of adventure where visitorsare spoilt with activities that will make the spirit soar.

The park hosted prince Philip in 1989 when he was the president of WWF and some parts of the park were also visited by Charles and Diana in 1990.

Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary

Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary is under the management of the Cross River State Forestry Commission and it homes rare chimpanzees, gorillasand drill monkeys.On Afi Mountain wild drill still survive, with other endangered primates including the most endangered gorilla subspecies, the Cross River gorilla. The rugged massif (1400m) is a critical watershed for dozens of communities.

Afi Mountain is listed as an IBA (Important Bird Area)for Nigeria and hosts one of the largest migratory swallow roosts in Africa.The forests on Afi are a barrier against the encroaching derived savannah from the west and north In 1993, Pandrillus started community protection patrols using local hunters to discourage shooting and trapping, an education programme in the 17 villages surrounding the mountain, and brought the communities together as a common interest group for the first time.

The mountain was then part of the Afi River Forest Reserve (383 sq km), a production forest reserve for which logging concessions had been issued.

Pandrillus community protection programme prevailed and made great strides in controlling hunting, in particular developing popular support for protection of “The Big Three” – gorilla, drill and chimpanzee.

IITA Forest Ibadan

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) isa research and training institute for students as well as professionals in the area of agricultural research.

Located just a short journey northward of Ibadan city, the institute is not only a research site, but also a huge leisure estate that is well known as a birdwatchers’ paradise.

In response to specific development needs, IITA works with research and development partners to deliver research outputs that are achieving an initial outcome.

They then use this research outcome to excite and attract more partners who will ultimately take charge of the upscaling and outscaling of the technologies by broadening participation and increasing the chances of success and ultimate development impact.

Much of the IITA’s 1000-hectare campus is used for scientific research on improving food production in Africa.

A third of the campus consists of unspoiled tropical forest, a natural preserve for birds and other fauna, a lake about 3 km long, developed to provide irrigation water and attracts hundreds of species of resident and migratory birds.

The lake has been spawned with various fish speciesand is a lodestone for anglers.Guides are available for visitors wishing to take a tour of the forest, try their luck at angling in the lake, or watching for rare migrating birds.

Kajuru Castle

Kajuru Castle is not an ancient monument, it was built in 1978 by a controversial German expatriate living in Kaduna. The style is very European and clearly German with a baronial hall, complete with suits of armour. It has dungeon-style bedrooms and towers with crenulated walls.

Tinapa Resort

Tinapa is a business and leisure resort just north of Calabar, south eastern Nigeria associated with the Calabar Free Trade Zone. It is being developed in four phases under a Private Public Partnership(PPP)promoted by the Government of Cross River State. The resort is located by the Calabar River, contiguous with the Calabar Free Trade Zone.

Facilities
The Tinapa Free Zone & Resort has facilities for retailand wholesale activities as well as leisure and entertainment. For consumers, the resort has about 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of lettable space for retail and wholesale made up of four emporiums of 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) each and smaller shops, warehouses, and so on. An entertainment strip contains a casino, digital cinema, children's arcade, restaurants, a mini amphitheater, a night club and pubs.

There is an artificial tidal lake that feeds from the Calabar River, a Water Park / Leisure Land and parking Space for about 4,000 cars.
Business facilities include an open exhibition area for trade exhibitions and other events, and a movie production studio commonly called "Studio Tinapa" or "Nollywood". It is set to become the most modern film production studio in Nigeria. There is a 243 room international three star Hotel. The resort also has a truck terminal, and gets power from an independent power plant.

Project history
Tinapa was initiated by GovernorDonald Dukeas a way to boost business and tourism in the state. Over$350 million was spent on initial development.
The first phase of Tinapa Business Resort & Free Zone, Calabar, was commissioned on the 2 April 2007.
Tinapa is a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) drive from Calabar by a roundabout route, but the Federal government is building a more direct 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) access road to link it with the city.

Obudu Cattle Ranch

Obudu Cattle Ranch(now known as the Obudu Mountain Resort) is a ranch on the Obudu Plateau. It was developed in 1951 by Mr. McCaughley, a Scot who first explored the mountain ranges in 1949.He camped on the mountaintop of theOshie Ridge on the Sankwala Mountains for a month before returning with Mr. Hugh Jones a fellow rancher who, in 1951, together with Dr Crawfeild developed the Obudu Cattle Ranch. Although the ranch has been through troubles since, it has very recently been rehabilitated to its former glory.

Location
The Obudu Cattle Ranch known presently as the Obudu Mountain Resort is found on the Obudu Plateau close to the Cameroon border in the North Eastern part of Cross River State of Nigeria, approximately 110 km east of the town ofOgojaand 65 km from the town ofObuduinObanlikuLocal Government are a of Cross River State.
It is about 30 minutes drive from Obudu town and is about 332 km drive from Calabar,the Cross River State capital.

Climate of the ranch
Theclimateon obudu cattle ranch is the semi-temperatemountain climate, which is the general weather condition experienced on the plateau due to its altitude.

Tourism
The ranch has in recent times seen an influx of touristbothNigerianand international tourist because of the development of tourist facilities in the ranch by Cross-River State Government which has turned the ranch into one of the well known holiday and tourist resort centers in Nigeria.

front page things

seriously, I never knew such places existed here in Nigeria.

wow!!!

Nigeria has beautiful tourist centres o.

I bet many Nigerians are not even aware of d existence of 85% of these listed tourist centres .

Nairaland, thanks 4 opening my eyes

lalasticlala: Idanre Hill – Oke Idanre

Idanre Hill is one of the most awesome and beautiful natural landscapes in Nigeria.Added to Idanre Hill beauty which fires human curiosity is the fact that the entire people of Idanre lived on these boulders for almost a millennium.

Located inIdanre Town, about 24 kilometres southwest ofAkure,Ondo State capital, the ancient Idanre Hills had been a home for the Idanre community for almost 100 years.

As a natural and cultural landscape, Idanre Hills stands out well among all other places that have been listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It is a cluster of intimidating and imposing hills housing some wonderful things which confound the senses.

The hills surround the town, envelope it and dominate life in the town. From any angle, one sees the hills and virtually every activity revolves round this collection of hills.

Apart from that cultural role, the town pulls the wealthy and the commoner, basically due to its perceived mystical aura and the giddy excitement lovers of nature get when they surmount the steep, daunting climb to the top, to witness a spectacular view of the new town and adjoining hills in a breath-taking manner.

Apart from its touristic value, the flora and fauna of the place had been under scientific study for several decades.

The topography of the place will be of great value to mankind. Its physical attributes include Owa’s Palace, Shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun foot print etc.

Great insight.

Heard of it when I came to Akure for a wedding recently and now I'm planning on visiting the state for a short break.

Can anyone share more ideas of attractions in the state worth visiting? I understand Ikogosi (warm spring) is nearby and is a must visit.

wow!

I have seen 2 or 3 places where I can take my foreign friends to.

moderators this should b on FP.

its informative and expository.

Nigeria is indeed blessed

Op...Tinapa no follow again,for those of us who saw its early years though.

Tinapa is fact loosing significance.something should be done to link those road perfectly.idanre is wow.been there twice.

nice thread

Ikogosi is a beautiful place en home to Gossy water.wish more was done to make it rival tinapa resort.

lalasticlala: Millennium Park

Commissioned in 2004 by Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II of England, Millennium Park is the largest public park in Abuja and it has a nice walkway with fountains and lights.
Millennium Park was conceived and designed by an Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti, and it has become one of the main attractions of Abuja
Millennium Park offers a good spot to walk the dog or come for a picnic. Evenings are especially nice to enjoy the beautiful lights at the park.Parking is plentiful and the park’s entrance is off the Three Arm Zone road.
The park has a narrow river running through its centre and the remains of what was probably more extensive riverside woodland clinging to its edges.The river starts in the distant hills and many of the birds in Abuja use it as a corridor to get from one area to the other.Millennium park offers visitors opportunity to savour the freedom and freshness that nature offers.Especially during the weekend when there is the needto relax, visitors can frequent the garden.A typical visit to the part at the weekend, most especially on Sunday is thrilling.There are ongoing plans in the pipeline to expand the park with projects to include the millennium tower, cultural centre and a museum that will house a broad collection of African arts

Millennium Park has a small river that divide it into two parts by bisecting its main rectilinear axis.
One side of the Millennium Park consists of unspoilt nature, brushwood as well as greenhouses for butterflies and tropical birds.
The other side is dedicated to the scientific knowledge of the natural environment with its very traditional and rigid Italian Style Garden Layout.

Millennium Park also has series of fountains run alongside this white mark refreshing the public during the hottest days.
The roads are crossed by a series of multicoloured bushes going from yellow to red with a very particular wave-like course.

Activities

*.Birds Watching:
Millennium park is a pretty good place to bird.
As mentioned on10000birds.com, places like millennium park present good opportunity for bird lovers to see different species of birds in Abuja.
*.Children play ground
*.Water fountain
*.Green plants


http://www.cometonigeria.com/wheretogo/millennium-park-abuja/

@op Ikogosi nah good tourist attraction...even in d whole africa as a continent d only place where warm and cold water meets u wld find swimming pool dere, UAC produces Gossy Water dere and also Zoo..Ikogosi is also a good tourist attraction

Hmmmnnnn.....

It made front page

Any ideas on where to spend a vacation outside Lagos?

noted.

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!!

daveP: Ikogosi is a beautiful place en home to Gossy water.wish more was done to make it rival tinapa resort.

.,Waoh not only dat of Gossy water only it has a zoo also a nice swimming pool.,Ikogosi is a nice place''when last av u bin dere? Cos its now renovated and refburished now

Beautiful, NIGERIA WILL BE GREAT AGAIN.

Nigeria get all diz nd our celebs dey leave go spend our money do wedding/holiday for another country.chai.....chai.....chai.all diz things wey una dey do,diaris.....