Moremi Statue of Liberty; All you need to know about the tallest statue in Nigeria.

 Moremi Ajasoro

The Moremi Statue of Liberty is  located in Ile Ife, Osun State, not very far from *Ile Oodua* (the king's palace)and it was built in honour of Queen Moremi Ajasoro.

The Moremi statue standing at 42 feet is the tallest statue in Nigeria and the fourth tallest statue in Africa preceded by African Renaissance monument in Senegal, the great sphinx of Gizza, Egypt & the Collosi of Memnon.

History First 

Yoruba: Mọremí Àjàṣorò was a legendary Yoruba queen and folk heroine in the Yorubaland region of present-day southwestern Nigeria who history has it to have assisted in the liberation of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife from the neighbouring Igbo/Ugbo(Forest) Kingdom

Moremi was married to Oranmiyan, the son of Oduduwa, the first king of Ile Ife.

Queen Moremi who was said to lived in the 12th century  hailed from Offa and was married to Oranmiyan, the heir to the king of Ife and founding father of the Yoruba people, Oduduwa.

Ile-Ife was a kingdom that was said to have been at war with a neigbouring tribe who were known to them as the Forest people. A lot of Ife citizens were being enslaved by these people and they could not defend themselves because the invaders were seen as "ebora"( spirits) by the people of Ife, appearing as masquerades completely covered in raffia leaves.

Moremi was a very brave and beautiful woman who, in order to deal with the problem facing her people, approached &  pledged a great sacrifice to the Spirit of the river Esimirin if she can know the secret of her nation's enemies.

She is said to have been taken as a slave by the Ugbo, and due to her beauty and Esimirin's help, she married their ruler as his favourite queen. After familiarizing herself with the secrets of her new husband's army, she escaped to Ile-Ife and revealed this to the Yorubas, who were then able to subsequently defeat them in battle.

Following the war she returned to her first husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and later Oyo), who immediately had her re-instated as his queen. Moremi returned to the Esimirin River to fulfill her pledge. The river demanded she sacrificed her only son, Oluorogbo. The demand was so great  and Moremi pleaded with the god for a less terrible offering but the god insisted. At the end of it all, she fulfilled her promise and paid the price. The offering of Oluorogbo to the river god grieved not only Moremi but the whole kingdom of Ife. The Yoruba people consoled Moremi by offering to be her eternal children, a promise they are still keeping until today.

How To Get There?

It's located not far from the Ooni of Ife's Palace which is also known as "Ile Oodua".

 You can take a bike from anywhere in Ife and tell them you're going to Moremi's statue place and if they don't know the place, tell them to take you to the palace because all the bike men knows the palace very well.

Gate Fee

 1,000 naira

The place was locked at our arrival so we had to meet a woman directly opposite the place and we told her our mission then she said the custodian of the place is not around but she has the key and the gate fee is 1,000 naira, although we didn't believe her but we had no choice as we are eager to explore the place so we paid.

Kindly share your thoughts on this statue

 Have you been to Moremi's statue?

 If yes, how was your experience ? 

If no, would you love to visit?

Note: We plan tours and curate trips to every parts of Nigeria.

For collaborations

Gmail:theworldtourers@gmail.com 

Follow me on Instagram @damiehindero for more pictures, travel stories and guides. I'm also available for writing or travel expo opportunities. 

TOURERS NG organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria. You can also book a private/ group tour with TOURERS NG(@tourersng

Olumirin Waterfalls, Erinjesha; All you need to Know.

 Olumirin waterfalls, Erinjesha.

Olumirin Waterfalls is located in Erin-Ijesha, Oriade local government, Osun state in the western part of Nigeria.

The waterfalls is quite accessible as it's just less than a kilometre from the express, little wonder it's the most visited waterfalls in Nigeria.

As you depart from Ilesha and head towards Erinjesha, you will be ushered into the space of beautiful scenery such as lush and thick vegetations, tall tress, smoky and huge mountains...

Olumirin Waterfalls popularly known as Erinjesha waterfalls has seven steps while each of the levels gives unique & different look which makes every moment spent in the waterfalls  totally worthy.

I could not go past the third level due to time factor and fatigue as I was tired from hiking to that level. 

The seventh stage which is the peak is said to lead to a village called Abake in Ekiti state

History first

There are many stories surrounding this waterfall but two stood out👇

Olumirin( Ijesha dialect) which simply means "Another god" was discovered in 1140 AD by Akinla, a granddaughter of Oduduwa.

Another one said the waterfall was discovered by an hunter who was hunting and came across the fall.

The natives regard the waterfall as a sacred site and a means of purifying their souls. They also believe that the waterfall flows from a big pot located at the top of rock.

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Location Of Olumirin Waterfalls, Erinjesha

This waterfall is located in Erinjesha village in Oriade local government area in Osun state.

 How To Get There from Lagos?

Take a bus going to Ilesha from Oshodi or Iyana-Ipaja depending on your proximity to any of the parks. From Ilesha, take a bike  going to Olumirin Waterfalls directly or join a cab or going to Erinjesha.

How to get there from other states?

Find your way to Ilesha them continue the process as stated above 

How I went there?

I went from Ibadan, I boarded a cab to Ilesha for 1,500 naira although there's a bus for 1,000 naira but it doesn't look comfortable and I said to myself 500 naira is not too much to pay for comfort so I opted for the cab option. From Ilesha, we had the options of taking a car or a bike to Erinjesha. A car will stop us at Erin jesha bus stop which will require us searching for bike that will take us to the fall which we might not get in hours while bike will take us to straight to the destination which is quite far from the bus- stop so we opted for the bike instead which turns out to be the best option because the car in Ilesha are not taking hours before filling up and we went to the express so we'd get a faster semi filled car but we stood there for something that seems like hours. We ended up getting a bike for 1500 naira.

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday

8am to 6pm

Gate Fee

Adult 1,000

Chuldren- 500

Tour Guide 

We met Mr Biodun who said  each of the stages cost 1,000 naira and we ended up bargaining to 1500 for both of us for him to take us to the the third level. He has a camera too should you want to take a picture.

Photography

You can take pictures with your phones and all but if you're to use camera, you will pay the sum of 2k

Tips

1.Make sure you pack a power bank. Let it not be a low battery that will prevent you from recording beautiful memories. Vera's power bank came in handy for us.

2.There are thick vegetation surrounding this waterfalls and there are varieties of insects so you might want to wear a fully covered clothes and also try to apply insect repellent on open areas of your body

3. Flipflops is not advisable for this trip as it's a hiking on sloppy, slippery terrain so a sneakers is highly preferrable.

4.Shower cap to cover your hair while taking a dip

5.Sunscreen is actually very vital too to protect your skin from the sun rats

6.Nose mask: this is the new normal, without it, you might not be allowed in although they sell there.

7.Hand sanitizer: to constantly keep your hands clean since you might not have access to soap & water all though the trip moreover, it comes in handy.

What to do in Olumirin Waterfalls?

1.Content creation: there are a lot of content to create in this destinations as there are natural props spilled around 

2.Photoshoot: pre-wedding, birthday,music videos ..) can be held here

3.Birdwatching: since vegetations and body water is here, varieties of birds are lurked all around.

4.Excursions: you could take your pupils/students to this place as there are history & educational information to go around.

5.Hiking: this is a perfect destination for hikers.

6.Swimming: the puddles from the falls is a perfect place to swim.

Duration of the trip

Lagos to Ibadan- 2hours

Ibadan to Ilesha-2hours 15min

Ilesha - Erin ijesha - 30 minutes

Where to sleep

We slept in family friend's house on Ife and I would advise you to either go back to Ilesha or Ife as they boast of good hotels than Erin Ijesha.

Pictures from Olumirin Waterfalls,Erinjesha

 

Kindly share your thoughts on this waterfall

 Have you been to Olumirin Waterfalls?

 If yes, how was your experience ? 

If no, would you love to visit?

Note We plan tours and curate trips to every parts of Nigeria.

For collaborations

Gmail:theworldtourers@gmail.com 

Follow me on Instagram @damiehindero for more pictures, travel stories and guides. I'm also available for writing or travel expo opportunities. 

TOURERS NG organizes private/ group tours to tourist destinations in Nigeria. You can also book a private/ group tour with TOURERS NG(@tourersng

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