THIS summer, like previous ones, affluent Nigerians will be trooping out of the country to visit tourist destinations in Europe and America, in complete disregard for lots of destinations in the country they do not even know about.One of such tourist destinations is the Mambilla Plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau is one attraction in Nigeria that the magnificence leaves one in search adequate words to capture. Having experience the beauty of the place, there is always the desire for a second visit. Where does one start in capturing the place? Is it the sheer immensity of the rock formation or the twists and turns as one drives to the top the plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau is a plateau found in Taraba State of Nigeria. This plateau, is Nigeria's northern continuation of the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon.

The Mambilla Plateau has an average elevation of about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sealevel,leaving it as the highest plateau in Nigeria since no other plateau in Nigeria rivals it in elevation. Some of its villages are situated on hills that must be at least 1,828 metres (5,997 ft) high above sea level.

Some mountains on the plateau and around it are over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) high, like the Chappal Waddi(more appropriate name: Gang) mountain which has an average height of about 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) above sealevel. It is the highest mountain in Nigeria and the highest mountain in West Africa if the Republic of Cameroon's higher mountains like the Mount Cameroon are excluded as mountains in west Africa, even though they are sometimes included among mountains found in the west African region.

The plateau developed on basement complex rocks.Tertiary basalts also occur on the Mambilla plateau and are mostly formed by trachytic lavas and extensive basalts, occurring around Nguroje. The Mambilla Plateau measures about 96 km (60 mi) along its curved length; it is 40 km (25 mi) wide and is bounded by an escarpment that is about 900 m (2,953 ft) high in some places. The plateau covers an area of over 9,389 square kilometres (3,625 sq mi). Gang ('Chappal Waddi') Mountain is found at the northeastern flank of the Plateau.

The Mambilla Plateau, cradle of the Bantu-speaking peoples (Zeitlyn & Connell, 2003; Griffith, 2007; Martin, 2009),and inhabited for over four millennia, is found in the southeastern part of Taraba State of Nigeria under Sardauna local government area (the former 'Mambilla Local Authority' and 'Mambilla Local Government Area') . The plateau has its south and eastern escarpments standing along the Cameroonian border, while the remainder of its giant northern escarpment and its western slope are in Nigeria.

The climate of the plateau is comparatively cold. Daytime temperatures hardly exceeds 25 °C (77.0 °F) making it the coldest plateau in Nigeria. Strong winds prevail during the daytime, and the rainy season lasts from mid-March until the end of November.[2] As a result of its high elevation, the plateau experiences temperate weather conditions but on a smaller scale due to its location in a tropical environment.

The rainy season on the Mambilla Plateau is associated with frequent and heavy rainfall due to orographic activities on the plateau involving moist winds from the south Atlantic Ocean in southern Nigeria and the steep edges and escarpments of the plateau.The Mambilla Plateau receives over 1850 millimetres of rainfall annually.

The Mambilla Plateau is hilly with deep gorges and travellers are constantly passing from one panoramic view to the other. The plateau is entirely covered by soil with occasional occurrence of granite.

The plateau is dissected by many streams and rivers; notably among them are the Donga River and Taraba River, with both having their sources on/from the Mambilla Plateau.

Vegetation on the plateau comprises low grasses with trees being noticeably absent except for man made forest planted by German colonialist during the period of German administration of the cameroons and other Nigerian government tree planting programs.


The eucalyptus tree is the dominant tree is these man made forest as a result of the easily adaptability of the eucalyptus tree to the harsh climatic conditions on the plateau.

The abundance of low lush green grasses on the plateau has attracted a large number of cattle, this has resulted in overgrazing of the plateau and has created problems between the cattle herders, referred to as the fulanis, and the indigenous people, the Mambila.

The Mambilla Plateau constitutes one of Taraba State's largest local government areas. There are numerous towns on the plateau with populations ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 people except for Bommi (Gembu), which is a sprawling ancient Mambilla city with a much higher population. The latter contains the headquarters of new-christened "Sardauna" (formerly Mambilla) Local Government Area which is synonymous with the Mambilla Plateau. Other important towns on the plateau are Ndik (Kabri), Ndim ('Mbamnga'), Saan, Bang, Mvurr ('Warwar'), Gam ('Wakude'), Ndarip, Mbugo (Tapnyia), Kara, Mang, Kuma, Barip, Kerke (Titong), Ngumbun(Bandin and Tem), Tin ('Kilatin'), Mbar, Mbunip ('Kakara'), Durafi, Old Mbungnu 'Nguroje', New Ndaga 'Mayo Ndaga', Benene ('Maisamari'), and Mamala ('Hainare'), beside Bommi itself, the Capital of the Mambilla Plateau. [Note that several place names on the Plateau have often been corrupted by non-native speakers and the foregoing is a correction of some of these misnomers].

The highland is home to Nigeria and West Africa's only highland tea plantations.
Nigeria's largest game reserves, the Gashaka/Gumpti Game Reserve is found north of the Gang ('Chappal Waddi') Mountain area just on the northern border of the Mambilla Plateau. The Gang Peak is West Africa's highest peak (excluding Cameroon's peaks)and has a rich historical and tourist importance steeped in enthralling Mambilla mythologies and legends. 'Chappal Wadi' is a misnomer for the ancient Gang Peak, whose tradition and historical phenomena have spanned several centuries to date (see Bami-Yuno: Jumboni - History of the Mambilla Chiefdom, ms).
A hydroelectric power dam is planned to be constructed on the plateau.

Hello Sir/Ma, it has come to our notice that one of our published books with the title (Mambilla Plateau" Nature's Gift to the Nation) written by Osituyo Oladapo is being used by one of your contributors by name....PointBlank13(m). This book was published in 2006 during his youth service in Gembu, Taraba State, with these same title as being used by the fellow. This project fetched him a National award, a Government job and a state award from the Taraba State Government, Under Rev. Jolly Nyame's Administration. it has the ISBN NO:978-245-220-3. kindly change your title if you have to work on this same project or a permission is taken from the author to avoid any inconveniences. The author can be reached on osituyo@yahoo.com

thank you