Enjoy the Wildlife Experience at Cross River National Park

The Cross River national park is a 4,000 km² land area located at Ikom - Abanliko Road, Basua, Cross River. The park consists of primary moist tropical rainforests in the North and Central parts, with mangrove swamps on the coastal zones. Parts of the park belong to the Guinea-Congolian region, with a closed canopy and scattered emergent trees reaching 40 to 50 meters in height.

The outstanding beauty of the park with green, rainforest-cloaked mountains and enormous trees with tough terrains, hilly escarpments, steep valleys and peaks that generally rise higher than the surrounding deep forest, some of which reach nearly 1,000m. The park has two separate sections namely Oban (built in 1988) and Okwangwo (built in 1991). It contains one of the oldest rainforests in Africa with p to sixteen primate species found.

Commonly known as the biodiversity hotspot, over 60% of Nigeria?s endangered plant and animal species are found only within these forests.  Also, 16 primate species and over 350 bird species have been recorded. The forests are rich with butterflies making it more colourful. The park is regarded as the only evergreen forest in Nigeria.

Things to Do

The park has lots of activities guaranteed to give you a swell time as you get to spike your adrenaline levels in this wholesome adventure.

• Game viewing
• Bird watching
• Gorilla tracking
• Mountaineering or hiking
• Sportfishing
• Boat cruising 
• Touring the botanical garden and herbarium in Butatong
• Getting a view of the Kwa Falls in a steep, narrow gorge close to the headwaters of the Kwa River
• Catching a glimpse of the terraces where the Agbokim Waterfalls descend into the tropical forest 
• Visiting the small zoological garden where species of animals rarely found in Nigeria are kept

For more fun, You should check out;

While at Calabar, you can also check out this link for information about Agbokim waterfalls;

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