Idanre Hills: It is a Wonder!

I have been itching to climb Idanre Hills for a while, especially when I started My Journey. Over the last weekend, I decided to take my first ever solo trip and climbed Idanre Hills and it was truly a wonder! Idanre Hills is located in Idanre town in Ondo State in Nigeria and this makes it my 13th state in my Journey to visit 25 Nigerian states before I turn 25.

I flew Air peace’s 25 minutes flight from Lagos to Akure and got into the city at 3pm. Alternatively, you can take a road trip  which is about 4 hours from Lagos. Once I arrived in Akure, my tour guide whom I had made plans with  picked me up and we headed for Idanre town passing through Akure. I got checked in to my hotel and rested for the rest of the day. By 6:30am the next day,  I was set to Climb the great Idanre Hills and was super excited.

My tour guide told me I had to climb the Idanre Hills 660 steps before I could make it to the top. There were 5 resting points along the way should in case one feels tired. It is interesting to know that in the Olden days, there were no steps used by the Forefathers of Idanre town, they had to climb the hills without the steps. My first stop was at the second resting point, where I admired the town from and took some pictures.Idanre Hills is a wonder you should visit ! Click To Tweet

I was showed the Dagunro Spot which served as a  security check point back in the days to check enemies or invaders who wanted to intrude on the them. We made a last stop at the 4th resting point as I found this climb easier than Ado Awaye and I was itching to get to the top. In no time, I was right on top of Idanre Hills and I was mind-blown. The views was awesome, super refreshing and I was just in awe of God’s work as I am always. I would let pictures speak for itself.

After basking at the top for a while and enjoying myself, I was ready to see the other attractions of the old city which includes Houses, a Law Court, a School, a Palace,  a River with healing powers and a host of other things. The primary school was built in 1896 which meant the people of Idanre valued education from that early time. From the School, my tour guide(Ayotunde) who did an excellent job showed me the Old court of Law as well as the building owned by the 25th king of Idanre. If a king dies, they lie the king in state in this building for the first funeral rite. In front of the building, was the marketplace where trade and barter was used for the purchase of items.

On our way to the Old court, there was a narrow part which was referred to as Ese Ogbeji (Safety Entrance). Through this entrance, two people cannot move at a time in the olden days because of the moat they had dung for capturing enemies.

In times past, for a man to be ready for marriage he had to lift this stone below to his chest to be able to get married. This is was quite interesting to know!We passed the Lorin House which I was told that the Chief Priest still comes up there when the need arises.

My final visit up the hill was to the Ancient Palace which had so many art cravings that serve as pillars of the building as well. It is also interesting to note that Idanre Hills is one of UNESCO’s world Heritage Sites.I started my journey back and stopped severally to take pictures and Videos. Nigeria is truly beautiful. I used a total of 2 hours to climb up to the hill, take pictures, visit the other attractions and return back.

Climbing Idanre Hills was a Perfect way to start my morning and was  truly a memorable experience for me. I visited Oyemekun Rocks and Deji of Akure’s Palace during my time in the state which I shared  here and also took a quick trip to Ekiti which I shared here.

Thank you for taking out time to read this post and for following my journey thus far. Have you been to Idanre Hills before? What was your experience like? If you have not visited Idanre Hills, would you want to visit after reading this post? Kindly share your thoughts with me in the comment sections!

Love from your Favourite Ajala!