Nigeria is a vast land of tourist attractions, which visitors will find intriguing and captivating. Its fascinating beaches, game parks, waterfalls, museums, relics, festivals and local music offer discerning visitors a tourist paradise.

Its varied weather - north to south - coupled with beautiful scenery, undulating hills, lowland, rivers and plateaus offers tourists a deep appreciation of how mother nature has blessed the country.

Some of the tourist attractions are listed below: Yankari Games Reserve

Located in Bauchi, one hour's drive from Jos, the reserve covers an area of 2,240 sq km and is the first of its kind in English-speaking West Africa. Yankari offers a variety of wild animals, reptiles and birds. These include foxes, gazelles, crocodiles, lions, elephants, cheetahs, monkeys and parrots. A warm spring gushing out from under a cliff satisfies the recreational desires of visitors, while fascinating accommodation set in traditional Nigeria houses complete with catering facilities to provide delicious Nigerian dishes and European cuisine ensure that visitors enjoy themselves.

The park is ideal for bird watchers as it contains many species of bird. The dry season from November to March is the best period to visit the game reserve as the dense vegetation will have dried up and the animals can be seen grouped around the rivers.

Obudu Cattle Ranch

Situated on a land area of about 10,240 hectaresarid with a semi-temperate climate - the ranch located in Cross River State, provides an ideal holiday resort for tourists.

The best time to visit is October to March just before the rainy season. The ranch offers rolling grasslands, deep-wooded valleys and waterfalls.

The gorilla settlement located about 13 km away gives visitors the rare opportunity of seeing the gorilla in its natural habitat. Golf, badminton, squash, horse-riding and lawn-tennis are some of the recreational facilities provided at the ranch.

Owu Falls

Located close to the Ilorin-Lokoja road in Kwara State, this natural waterfall with a thundering fall of 140 meters is spectacular and fascinating. The fall has crystal clear, ice-cold water.

Mambilla Plateau

With a temperature climate, the plateau is a very good area for coffee, tea and cotton plantations and for raising livestock. It is located in Adamawa State.

Kainji Lake Parks

Situated on the lake created as a result of a hydro-electric power station project at Kainji, the park is a quiet tourist and holiday resort with a wide variety of birds, animals and plants. It has accommodation and catering facilities to meet the needs of visitors who can also visit the gigantic hydro-electric complex nearby and experience the fascinating beauty of the Savannah.

The first National Park to be established in Nigeria, Kainji Lake Park, boasts an abundance of wildlife such as antelope, hippos, haris, duikers etc.

Fishing Festivals

The fishing festival involves traditional methods of fishing and dates back to the 16th century. The festival has since been expanded to include a motor rally, agricultural show, as well as traditional wrestling and boxing. With participants and visitors from Nigeria and neighboring countries, the festival is very popular and is celebrated between February and March.

Popular

Java airports grounded by low demand, poor planning

Bansos recipients found to be on list of online gamblers

‘Beyond the Plate Vol. 2’: Borderless culinary creativity