Some off beaten paths to stretch your adventure limit this year

If you are tired of the usual beach fun, city tour and resort experience, try adventure this year. You must not travel far for adventure, there are some daring places for an out-of-the-world experience across the country to dare.

Some destinations are not tagged ‘off the beaten path’ for lack of choice of words, but because of what they truly represent; daring nature, rough terrain, rare spectacle and testing visitor’s endurance limit.

Some of these paths, which are worth exploring are not only in far countries, but also within and some in your backyard.

Below are some of them in no particular order:

Sukur Cultural Landscape

The Sukur Cultural Landscape; the first World Heritage Site in Nigeria, is an adventure that awaits the adventurous any day in the country. Of course, considering its very rough terrain, rarity of the site, the people, almost far from civilization, Sukur in Adamawa State, is unarguably the foremost off-the-beaten-path to venture this year.

The breathtaking cultural landscape with the Palace of the Hidi (Chief) on a hill dominating the villages below, the terraced fields and their sacred symbols, and the extensive remains of a former flourishing iron industry, all intact, is remarkable.

Most importantly, it is the adventure that awaits whoever dares to explore its length and breadth. If you are on a pleasurable walk, it might take you days to climb up to the centre of Sukur as it takes the villagers hours of enduring pain to climb to their village from the bottom to connect to the outside world. As you climb up to the palace complex from the north and east, you will marvel at the paved walkways (5-7 metres wide) made from the same granite that was used within the palace.

Sukur is an exceptional landscape that graphically illustrates a form of land-use that marks a critical stage in human settlement and its relationship with its environment. The cultural landscape has survived many centuries, and continues to do so at a period when this form of traditional human settlement is under threat in many parts of the world.

The domesticated landscape of the Sukur plateau is characterised by the extensive terracing, the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Again, local granite is the main source of construction materials. The living huts are simple circular structures made from clay with roofs of thatch and woven mats. You really need to be adventurous to explore the daring Sukur terrain. Keep a date with this valuable Nigerian offering.

The scenic Mambilla Plateau

As scenic as the Mambilla Plateau is, you need a four-wheel drive and the courage of a mountain climber to really explore nature that is so magnificent and awesome in this part of Nigeria.

The picturesque plateau that can be found in the southeast corner of Taraba State opens up with more beauties at the point it shares a border with Cameroon. The plateau is high grassland that averages about 1800 metres, an exclusive topography and feat it shares with some of the highest mountains in Nigeria, with some of the peaks over 1840 meters.

Despite the daring terrain, you can be both an explorer and a tourist on the plateau. As a tourist, you will enjoy the glorious scenery the Mambilla Plateau has to offer, and will see it as a cool and enjoyable change from the warmth and humidity of most parts of the country. It is truly ideal for testing the four-wheel drives.

However, visitors are advised to come with the basics, camping gear and food. As well, there are few hotels on the plateau for accommodation.

The park offers tourists a gorgeous location that is worth a visit. The plateau has an abundance of cattle ranches, several tea plantations and undulating grassy hills. The fauna and flora of the Mambilla is different from the rest of Nigeria, and visitors will find some rare species of birds and animals here. The plateau is beckoning on you this year for a challenge on it’s very wide plain.

The 5,200-feet Obudu Plateau is worth a challenge

The sneaky 13 kilometres from the bottom to the uphill is enough of a challenge for any human. That is why it was the playground for the strong at the annual Obudu Mountain Race for years, sadly rested now. Truly, you may not need to sleep at the luxurious accommodation options provided at Obudu Mountain Resort. But seeing beautiful and daring nature can probably be enough for you.

If you have never been at the resort before, you need to visit to explore nature from the adventure perspective. Even driving up the hill is left to the skilled and brave, but the beautiful landscape along the plateau spreading over an area of 40 square miles and rising 5,200 feet above sea level is an adventure.

No wonder many mountain runners are yet to conquer the mountain at each year’s race.

If you are brave enough, you can try hiking, dare the canopy walk, or visit the Gorilla camp to see the primates in their natural habitat. It also took courage to board the cable car built at an altitude of 1600 meters, at the time it was functioning optimally.

Climb Chappal Waddi, Nigeria’s highest mountain

If the above off-the-beaten-paths are nothing to you, then try Chappal Waddi, the highest mountain in Nigeria. At 2,419 metres (7,936ft), Chappal Waddi is the highest point in the country and probably Nigeria’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

It is standing really shoulder high in the Gashaka Forest Reserve in Taraba State, near the border with Cameroon. The mountain is sometimes cited as the highest point in West Africa, if the region is defined as excluding Cameroon.

While on the mountain, you cannot help but inhale the jungle breeze and let remote paradise penetrate your soul. A phenomenally exhilarating climb awaits you from the vast hilly and rugged terrain crossed by leopards and grazed by buffalo to the fabulously lush emerald green jungle inhabited by fascinating primates.

You must give it a trial because Chappal Waddi is truly a feast for your sense of adventure.