Vacations give people opportunities to connect with friends and families, engage in thrilling adventures and play some really fun games. Nigeria like any other country in the world has tourist centres and some really cool places for people to just go and be for the holidays and weekends. Some of these places are;
Obudu Mountain Resort
Obudu Mountain Resort was previously known as Obudu Cattle Ranch. It is located in the Obudu Plateau in Cross River State, Nigeria. The ranch was developed in the year 1951 by M. McCaughley, a Scottish man who was the first to explore the mountain range 2 years earlier. He made a camp on top of a mountain of the Oshie Ridge on the Sakwala Mountains for one month after which he returned to the ranch with another rancher by the name of Mr. Hugh Jones in 1951. Both of them and another, Dr. Crawfield, developed the Obudu Cattle Ranch.
The resort features a water park along with a water slide, a swimming pool, golf course, bonfires at night, and riding on horseback. There is also entertainment and the food there is delicious.
Yankari National Park
Yankari National Park is a park where wildlife is kept in the south-central area of Bauchi State in the northeastern part of Nigeria. It covers a surface area of up to 2,244 km2 and it has warm water springs including diverse flora and fauna. It is a place where tourists can go to in order to watch wildlife in a controlled habitat. Originally, it was a game reserve as at 1956, but in 1991, it became the biggest national park in the country.
There are a lot of mammals and birds in the park including, elephants, hippopotamus, African lion, African buffalo, guinea fowl, grey hornbill, and cattle egret among others.
The tourist centre of the park, “Wikki Camp” has a warm spring for swimming, a restaurant, bar, conference centre and a museum.
Okomu National Park, Edo State
Okomu National Park is located at Ovia South LGA, lying at about 50 kilometres west of Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It was formerly known as Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary. It covers an area of 1,082 square kilometres inside the Okomu Forest Reserve.
Okomu National Park is a centre where you can find variety of wildlife including elephants, buffaloes, red river hogs, chimpanzees, leopards, bush baby, putty nosed guenon, porcupine, pangolins, duikers, and antelopes. The white throated monkey which so happens to be one of the most uncommon form of monkeys in the world can be found in the park. Also in the park, you will find a lot of butterflies and birds and as such it is one of the best places where one can watch birds in the country.
Tinapa Business Resort
Tinapa Business Resort is located towards the North of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria and is associated with the Calabar Free Trade Zone. The resort has accommodations for wholesale as well as retail services. It has available space made up of four emporiums, smaller shops, and warehouses. Tinapa Resort is located by the Calabar River.
Tinapa Free Zone and Resort has an entertainment area that is made up of a casino, digital cinema, children’s arcade, restaurants, a mini amphitheatre, a night club and pubs. The Calabar river flows into the artificially designed tidal lake that is located in the resort. Also, there is a Water Park, Leisure Land and a parking space that can contain 4,000 cars.
The Business facilities consists of an open exhibition area for trade exhibitions and other occasions, a movie production studio called Tinapa Studios, and a 3-star Hotel.
Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort
Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort is a tourist centre that is situated at Ikogosi town in Ekiti State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Alongside the warm spring is a cold spring that meets the warm spring at a confluence. However, this confluence between the two springs do not mix. This means that the warm spring remains warm in spite of the confluence and the cold spring retains its cold nature. It is indeed a wonder of nature and one of the reasons it became a centre for tourist attraction. Based on research, the warm spring is said to have a temperature of 70oC at its source and 37oC at the confluence.
The resort about the warm spring has a lot of accommodation and recreational facilities including a cocktail bar and warm swimming pool. It also has a restaurant that serves African and continental dishes as well as snacks.
