A Trip To The Old Oyo National Park

Address: Situated just about 51 km north of Ibadan city, in old Oyo town

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday (8:00 am-6:00 pm daily)

Phone Number: 0906 494 1163

Old Oyo National Park is one of the most popular tourist attraction centres in Nigeria, named after Old Oyo town ? the political capital of the Oyo Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries. It has an outstanding 2,512 sq km (970 sq mi) of land, most of which fall in?Oyo state some extends to some part of?Kwara State. Old Oyo National Park is most unique of all the National Parks in the country because it is the only one with the dual prospects of both archaeological as well as cultural/historical Park.

Taking a trip to Ibadan? You can also check out the Old Oyo National Park in Oyo because the Park offers a wide variety of resources such as vast tracts of unspoiled nature, unique wildlife both fauna and flora, and solid mineral deposits. It takes about 30 minutes to drive from Ibadan to Oyo town. The Park is rich in plant and animal resources including?buffalos,?bushbucks?and a variety of birds. Geographically, the Old Oyo National Park is a combination of two forest reserves, which are the Upper Ogun and the Oyo-ile.

Animals to spot

Animal species found abundantly in the Park include Lion, Western kob, Roan Antelope, Western Hartebeest, Grimm?s Duiker, Oribi, Crested Porcupine, Anubis Baboon, Patas Monkey, Tantalus Monkey, and Buffalo.

Fun Things to do at the Old Oyo National Park

Old Oyo Park is a site for tourist attractions and has a lot of beautiful and nature-filled places you can see while in Oyo town. Here is a list of fun things you can do when planning a trip to the old Oyo National Park:

• Explore the northern end of the park and you will be thrilled by the various attractions of historic and archaeological value such as the relics of the old city walls of Oyo Ile, the great Agbaku Cave which has evidence of Stone Age, the ?Kosomonu? hill, the old Akesan Market, Alaafin's Palaces and crucibles of pottery used centuries ago.
• Lover of Birds? Then you can check out the bird Watcher's haven which has over 30 bird species.
• Spot various wildlife species on the southern end of the park. This includes the Nile crocodile, Rock Python, Lion, Antelope, Buffalo, and Land Tortoise out of many other animals that can be found.
• Go sports fishing or lake cruising on Ikere Gorge Lake.
• Visit the wildlife museum at Akoto base camp and take some amazing pictures.
• Have some mountaineering activities in the central part of the park.

Best time to visit Old Oyo National Park

It is more preferable to visit the Old Oyo Park during the dry season between late October and early April because this is when the vegetation dries and animals are drawn to the watering holes, providing amazing wildlife spotting opportunities.

What to bring

If you have plans of visiting the park, here is a list of thing you can bring along:

• Climbing shoes
• Camera
• Sunscreen
• Hats

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