Before you consider your next holiday , kindly give the following destinations a thought.
The Mambilla plateau is a high grassland plateau with an average elevation of about 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) above sea level, making it the highest plateau in Nigeria. The plateau which has an undulating landscape free of insects, also has temperate climate within a tropical region.
Located in the highland region of Taraba State of Nigeria, Mambilla plateau houses Chappal Waddi mountain considered as the highest point in Nigeria and probably in West Africa with an average height of about 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) above sea level.As soon as one reaches the top of the mountain, the hot weather witnessed at the foot of the mountain disappears and you will be greeted by fresh and very chilled breeze blowing across the plateau.
Mambilla people of Nigeria and Cameroon live on the Mambila Plateau (in Taraba State in Nigeria) and on the Tikar Plain in Cameroon as well as in several small villages further north towards the town of Banyo. These people regard themselves as a group with a common identity.
At an altitude of some 700 m these villages live in a different ecological zone where oil palms grow and gallery forest is found. The You can make a visit to the Nekede Zoo. This is located at the old Nekede in Owerri and is a complex, fully-equipped garden. Visitors can admire here different types of animals, from Ostrich, Lions and Monkeys to Pythons, Guerrillas and Crocodiles.
Owerri people are friendly, hospitable and always out to help visitors to the city and the natural beauty with mangrove trees, rainforests and scenic locations .
All hotels in the Owerri require visitors to pay on arrival before going to their room. However, it is advisable to pay in cash and avoid credit card usage as credit cards are not widely accepted. Owerri metropolis and the new business district of the city are among the best places to find an accommodation in the city. language is a congeries of dialects and related languages.
NEKEDE ZOO
You can make a visit to the Nekede Zoo. This is located at the old Nekede in Owerri and is a complex, fully-equipped garden. Visitors can admire here different types of animals, from Ostrich, Lions and Monkeys to Pythons, Guerrillas and Crocodiles.Owerri people are friendly, hospitable and always out to help visitors to the city and the natural beauty with mangrove trees, rainforests and scenic locations .
All hotels in the Owerri require visitors to pay on arrival before going to their room. However, it is advisable to pay in cash and avoid credit card usage as credit cards are not widely accepted. Owerri metropolis and the new business district of the city are among the best places to find an accommodation in the city.
GASHAKA-GUMTI NATIONAL PARK
Gashaka-Gumti National Park is located in the mountainous region of north-eastern Nigeria adjacent to the international border with Cameroon, and immediately to the north of Mambilla Plateau. The largest and most scenic of all the seven National Parks, this conservation area lies between latitude 60 55’ and 80 05’ north, and longitude 11011’ and 12013’ east and covers a total area of 6,731 sq.km. Located in Adamawa and Taraba States, the Park is contiguous with Faro and Tchabal Mbado National Parks in the Republic of Cameroon.
The Park experiences varying pleasant weather conditions, depending on one’s location within the Park. These range from tropical dry humid, tropical moist humid in the lowlands to sub tropical highland weather on the high plateau around Chappal waddi, Sabere and Fillinga. Infact , the hidden corner of West Africa ,that is Gashaka-Gumti National Park, is surely one of Africa’s best kept secret.
ANTROPOGENIC FEATURES:
The Park also contains some historic sites one of which is the pre 1918 German fort and garrison top of Gashaka Hill once used as a “ watch tower ” by the German military expedition to that area. Graves of some fallen German soldiers could still be seen dotted around the Fort. Similarly, there is an English fort near Gashaka village built by the British Frontier Force who overthrew the Germans to gain the Mambilla pass(a narrow corridor that gave access into Cameroon through the Mambilla Plateau in those days)
The Park also contains some historic sites one of which is the pre 1918 German fort and garrison top of Gashaka Hill once used as a “ watch tower ” by the German military expedition to that area. Graves of some fallen German soldiers could still be seen dotted around the Fort. Similarly, there is an English fort near Gashaka village built by the British Frontier Force who overthrew the Germans to gain the Mambilla pass(a narrow corridor that gave access into Cameroon through the Mambilla Plateau in those days)
VEGETATION/ FAUNA SPECIES:
The Park has five distinct ecological zones ranging from Scrub and Guinea Savanna to fringing lowland rainforest, montane forest . The graduation of these ecosystems are based on both the latitudinal and altitudinal gradients of the biogeography of the Park.
The Park has five distinct ecological zones ranging from Scrub and Guinea Savanna to fringing lowland rainforest, montane forest . The graduation of these ecosystems are based on both the latitudinal and altitudinal gradients of the biogeography of the Park.
The mix of these latitudinal and altitudinal gradients has resulted in the evolution of a staggering variety of habitats and niches which have allowed for a diverse assemblage of biodiversity, some endemic to thrive. Infact, the Park is an intricate mosaic of montane grasslands, savanna grasslands, wood lands, swamps, lakes, rivers, evergreen and luxuriant, montane rainforest, each supporting its unique community of plants and animals.
The fauna species inventory of this Park includes giant forest hog, leopard, yellow-backed duiker, golden cat , and eight of Nigeria’s known 23 Primates including chimpanzees in the forest ecotone .The savannas are home to buffalo, lion, elephant and wild dog , water-buck, roan-antelope, giant-eland, kob and Hartesbeest. Up in the mountains one can encounter the mountain reedbuck, black and white colobus monkey, baboon, warthog, oribi and klipspringer. Whilst the crystal-clear rivers contain hippos, crocodiles, otters, nile perch and a wide variety of other aquatic communities.
An abundance of birdlife, such as pin tailed whydah, variable sunbird, dove, horn bill, grey plantain eater, african pied wagtail, african black sunbird e.t.c. Butterflies and other insect communities, orchids , flowers and woody trees make this a naturalists paradise.
An abundance of birdlife, such as pin tailed whydah, variable sunbird, dove, horn bill, grey plantain eater, african pied wagtail, african black sunbird e.t.c. Butterflies and other insect communities, orchids , flowers and woody trees make this a naturalists paradise.
Gashaka- Gumti National Park is also reputed to be a safe haven for highly endangered migratory species of animals such as elephant, wild dog and colobus monkey, red-river hog, yellow-backed duiker, reedbuck, chimpanzee, etc.
It is an important spawning ground for a variety of fish and other aquatic species that complete their life cycle in the Benue River system. These include the Nile Perch , Lates niloticus, Tilapia, Tilapia zilli, Electric fish, etc. Indeed researchers from the UK have discovered the presence of certain species of fish of the genera Bryconaethiops and Gabiocichla hitherto unknown to science.
It is an important spawning ground for a variety of fish and other aquatic species that complete their life cycle in the Benue River system. These include the Nile Perch , Lates niloticus, Tilapia, Tilapia zilli, Electric fish, etc. Indeed researchers from the UK have discovered the presence of certain species of fish of the genera Bryconaethiops and Gabiocichla hitherto unknown to science.
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