20 locations in Nigeria for safari, adventure and family getaways

By Pelu Awofeso

A chalet inside Okomu National Park (image by @motleytravels)

Late April, I published the first list piece in this series: 12 of Nigeria’s finest visitor attractions.

In this second installment, based on insights from some of Nigeria’s well travelled individuals, I’m letting you in on another batch of travel magnets across the country.

As you would expect, some of these attractions are well known and others not on the travel radar of most travelers in Nigeria, or even international visitors. I am particularly happy to see some of the country’s rich but hardly visited national parks on this list, as well as evocative hills; and there is that celebrated resort on the eastern tip of Lagos.

Now, let’s go on a journey…

1. Okomu National Park (Edo State): this park covers a land area of approximately 19,712 hectares (173 sq km) and is situated 40km from Benin-City. It is within a much larger area gazette as Okomu Forest Reserve in the 1930s. By 1985 it had become a wildlife sanctuary; and in 1999, it was officially a national park. Okomu has a rich Rain forest ecosystem and visitors can also expect to see forest elephants, white-throated monkey, chimpanzees, forest buffalo, warthogs, duikers, dwarf crocodile and Mona monkeys, among other game. The Okomu River is…