Formerly known as Obudu Cattle Ranch. It is a renowned tourist destination located on the Obudu Plateau(1,575.76metres) in Obanliku LGA of Cross River State in Nigeria. Apart from being a resort, it is also a ranching site which was developed by a Scottish rancher by the name Mr Mc caughley.
This glamorous resort is not only for Nigerians but for tourists all over the world
Although, I observed my mandatory National Youth Service at Cross River State, I, however, did not get to visit the resort until after my service year but i finally did and guess what; THE EXPERIENCE WAS AWESOME!!! I actually do not think words can express the beauty embedded in that destination.
Here Is My Experience;
As stated earlier, I served in Adim, a small town in Biase LGA of Cross River State, but I normally visit Calabar almost every weekend because rural life is not my “genre”. So I and my colleagues in Calabar planned to tour the popular Obudu Cattle Ranch before leaving the state.
We were seven in number and we made arrangements to go the day after our POP (Passing out Parade), but unfortunately, four backed out a day before the POP. It was quite upsetting, but I had the determination to see the plan through. Just to be sure, I had to ask the other guys if they were still interested. Fortunately, their response was positive, so ahead we went with the plan.
Getting There
My friends in Calabar hired a car to convey us from Calabar to Obudu and I joined the car at Adim; (Adim is along Calabar- Obudu road), then this beautiful journey started.
Calabar to Obudu is about 5hours 30mins. We had a stopover at Ikom to eat. It has to be only me who loses appetite whenever I am travelling. But I managed to buy Banana and Groundnut just so I could have something to snack on the way. Hey! Ikom has good bananas, I must say.
As at the time we made the trip(2018 to be pte, the road from Calabar to Obudu village was not smooth, and the road from Ikom to Obudu was indeed narrow and rough. However, the road from Obudu village to the ranch compensated for our earlier troubles.
You cannot imagine my joy when we finally got to the famous Obudu Cattle Ranch. This joy, however, quickly went from 100 to 0 when the driver decided to accelerate rather than stopped the car. Driver Stop! Stop!! We screamed. “Don't you know this is where the fun starts? Oga don’t be unfortunate o”, I said to him. Then I got down and I took some nice pictures.
The cable car wasn't working so we had to drive up to the ranch.
The cable car is the world longest cable car system in the world. So I was pained for not experiencing the much acclaimed euphoria attached to the ride.
The journey up to the ranch isn't for the weak hearted and unskilled drivers. Amidst heavy fogs and winds on the snakelike road with the sharpest bend ever
we arrived at the reception💃💃💃 and oh, we picked up a guide at the entrance, there were plenty of them. A fine young man who approached us at the entrance was the one who guided our driver up the hill.
We got to the reception and sorted our accommodation.
I have heard prior to the visit that Obudu is cold but I was still surprised at how cold the place was (I went in July). I remembered my Geography teacher told us in secondary school that the higher one goes the cooler it becomes, but that was really cold. We had to shop for emergency cardigan, socks and even gloves from the nearby villagers. (Oh yes there are locals living on the ranch)the cold was that extreme.
Our guide told us he will be coming by 8:00am in the morning so we would start our tour early. We had our bath with hot water then we went to the restaurant to have a nice breakfast of rice and cow leg stew. One of the best meal I have ever had.
Day 2
Our guide kept to his words as he knocked at our door at exactly 8:00am. All were ready except me because I was busy choosing the clothes that will be perfect for both the weather and pictures.
The Becheve Nature Reserve was our first point of call
The canopy walkway was the highlight of the nature reserve and I felt proud of myself for climbing it not until I experienced the one in LCC
Next was ANGELS VIEW located between the helipad & Presidential Villa
If what you want is a beautiful, peaceful, eventful honeymoon,
This hut is specifically made for honeymooning couples
Retreat, escape from the hustle and bustle...then Obudu Mountain Resort should come to mind.
GROTTO WATERFALLS was our next destination.
I met Jonathan, the beautiful white horse and I had an eventful ride even though I was screaming “let me down” all along.
It was already evening and we were tired of exploring, you are wondering why we were exhausted? wait till you experience it. IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. I took a zillion pictures. Obudu Mountain Resort is just so beautiful
Enjoy the mini gallery👇👇👇
Holy Mountains/Smoky Mountains
If you're a lover of golf, there's a mini golf course in the resort. I even heard there's a yearly golf tournament.
We also went to explore the Obudu town itself. Interestingly there are locals/villages on the resort too. It'll be good to visit & mingle with them also.
There's a Honey and milk factory in the resort also, I got Honey and my Dad testified to the originality.
Day 3
Our departure day finally came, (….oh God! shedding tears of joy) I didn't want to leave this place.
I am not even exaggerating. I was so reluctant to leave, I was even having trouble packing but I had to. We had our breakfast and then we set out for Calabar.
Picture before departure
So I posted one of the pictures I took in Obudu Mountain Resort on WhatsApp recently and two people requested that I plan a tour to the Resort since I plan tours now(CC @tourersng) but I believe the more the merrier, so if at least 10 people show interest before the end of July, hopefully this pandemic will be over before July, then we will tour Obudu Mountain Resort in September.
Kindly signify in the comment section if you are interested. I will contact you or better still Click Here to book the Trip.
What do you think about my experience in Obudu Mountain Resort?
Your comments will be highly appreciated
Thanks for reading
Follow Damilola discoveries, travel stories and guides on Instagram (@damiehindero).
‘Damilola is available for writing or travel expo opportunities.
TOURERS NG organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria/ Africa as a whole. You can also book a private/ group tour with TOURERS NG(@tourersng.
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