Hello everyone, good afternoon to you all. Today I'll be writing about Week 08 Edition 02 issue for the weekly contest which is always held by the #hivelearners community. The Topic is Tourism In Your Country
Is Nigeria worthy to be referred to a home of tourism?
Of course yes, This country is blessed with a lot of natural resources as well as beautifully made landmarks. You can never get enough of seeing all the beauty Nigeria has to over. All we just have to do is step things up a higher notch and ensure that Tourism is given all the necessary attention it is given.
They're a lot of places worth visiting, from natural wildlife, to resorts, and five start hotels, to rock plains and refreshing beaches. It's exotic when you experience it for yourself and one thing that is worthy of note is the receptive nature of our people. Nigerians are one of the most friendliest sets of people when it comes to receiving foreigners, you'll be surprised how much you'll want to stay after tasting the wonderful delicacies our country has to offer.
Well I'm just going to tell you about one place that is worth visiting, maybe you'll be sure to come visit when you ever get the chance.
Yankari National Park
I have a thing for parks, I remember visiting the one in Calabar some years back and it was lovely to experience nature and see the beauty of God's creation. It was a very interesting and fun journey. Hearing the monkey laugh hysterically and getting scared by a big snakes and hearing all sort of birds sing on trees whose botanical names I couldn't pronounce.
The Yankari National Park offers a lot more fun!
The park is a large wildlife park that is found in the south central part of Bauchi state, in the Northern part of Nigeria. It was first created as a game reserve but then it became designated as the largest National Park in Nigeria. Yeah you heard right, it's quite big and covers an area of 2,244 square meters, it is home to several warm water springs and also has a large variety of flora and fauna. It's one of the most visited tourist attractions and allows for holidaymakers to watch wildlife in it's natural animal.
In 2000, Yankari National Park hosted over 20,000 tourists from over 100 countries. This makes it the most popular tourist destination in Nigeria and, if properly managed, it could become a significant part of the development and promotion of tourism throughout Nigeria.[4] It is one of the few remaining areas left in West Africa where wild animals are protected in their natural habitat.
Fun things you can do in the Yankari Natural Park
Your visit to the park would be incomplete if you do not get a dip in the wikki warm springs at Yakari. The springs are associated with many different varieties of flora and fauna, which makes it a fascinating site for tourists and holidaymakers to observe wildlife in its true habitat. The water at Wikki Warm Springs has a constant temperature of 31°C (88°F) all year round, and is so pure that it is bottled and sold, with thousands of gallons flowing out every day. Men, that sounds like a lot of fun, haha, you wouldn't want to miss this opportunity.
If you like Hiking then there's also room to go Hiking. The Kalban Hill is the icing on the cake at Yankari. Kalban Hill means ‘flat place,’ and stands northeast of Wikki Camp as a common stopping area for the daily safaris in the park. From the top of the hill, tourists can get a clear view of the park, and if you have a good eye, you can take in herds of animals from up on high.
Then you can also visit the wildlife museum. It shows a lot of the rich history that has gone on for years on the park. You can get a chance to see spears, hunting items and camping gear that were used in the 19th century.
Visiting would be incomplete if you don't have a chance to see the wonderful wildlife that roam the park. The park has over 50 species of mammals including African bush elephant, olive baboon, patas monkey, Tantalus monkey, roan antelope, Western hartebeest, West African lion, African buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck and hippopotamus. Don’t be shocked when a monkey comes to your window to wake you up early in the morning!, Lol. There are also over 350 species of bird found in the park.
I'm sure you're already thinking about coming to Nigeria to enjoy the wonderful tourist attractions that fill the country. Don't think about it too much, just take time to visit.
Thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed it or it connected to you in a way, I invite you to drop a comment I'll be glad to reply❤️