Top 5 places tourists love to visit in Nigeria

Touring in Nigeria is always a pleasant experience. There are so many places to see and so many sights to behold, with each each one woven tight with the history of a people – their triumphs and losses, technology and culture. From the Mandara Mountains to the forest grove through which flows the Osun River, through the neon lights of the capital city of Abuja, to the shimmers of the Lagos night life, the history and the culture of the people of Nigeria is telling and visitors and tourists throng in to revel in it. This post lists the top 5 places tourists love to visit in Nigeria and why.

The Osun Grove

The last surviving of the Yoruba sacred groves, located in Osun state on the edge of the Osogbo City, this is a heritage site of the Yoruba people and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is regarded as the home of the Yoruba goddess of fertility, Osun, who resides spiritually in the Osun River which flows through the grove. It is a dense forest dotted with shrines, sculptures and sanctuaries. It is one of the major destinations of the art and culture loving tourists to Nigeria.

The city of Lagos

Beside being the economic hub of Nigeria, this state is also the entertainment capital of Africa. It is home to some of Africa’s top hotels and entertainment centres. There are many sources of entertainment, beaches where tourists can go on boat and yacht rides, swim and surf, public parks, museums for the cultural minded, exclusive nightclubs, 5-star restaurants, malls, movie theatres, lounges, Go-kart and paintball ranges etc. Lagos caters to entertainment like no place else in Africa, and it is one of the first destinations for a tourist in Nigeria.

Badagry

Located on the edge of Lagos state at the border with Benin Republic, Badagry is remembered for slave trade. Located in this city is the seaside port of the slave route through which slaves were taken out of Nigeria, boarded on ships bound for Europe and America. The first storey building built in Nigeria – which is still standing, by the way, is also one of the sites visitors can find in the city.

Sukur Cultural landscape

Located in the Mandara Mountains – which is the highest point in Nigeria, this view would take your breath away. Right at the top, in a place called Madegli is a snapshot of a landscape that dates back centuries. The Sukur Cultural Landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the first Nigerian space to be included on the list in 1991. You can see a palace and the settings of a village with terraced fields, round roofed yurts and huts in a perfect natural setting.

Obudu Cattle ranch

Otherwise known as Obudu Mountain Resort, this retreat has become a centre for tourists in Nigeria. With a backdrop of rolling hills and flowing streams, the resort is set into mountains and offers chalets for visitors. Here, every need is anticipated and catered for. Tourists looking to experience nature  mixed with an air of luxury in Nigria always visit Obudu.