Monday 18 June 2012

Obudu Mountain Resort



Obudu mountain resort is both a ranch and a resort located in Obaniku Local government area of Cross river state, South-eastern Nigeria on the border with Cameroon. The resort was established as a ranch in 1949 and was formerly managed by Protea hotels, but is now been managed by African sun Limited which renamed the ranch from obudu cattle ranch to Obudu mountain resort.
The resort is situated on a plateau elevation of 1,575.76 meters or 5,200feet above sea level on the Oshie Ridge of the Sankwala Mountains, which is approximately 110 kilometers east of Ogoja. It is about 332km from calabar (4-5 hours drive from calabar) and about 35 minutes drive or 45 miles and 65 kilometers from the town which is the nearest town to the ranch/resort and 45 miles from Cameroon. The resort is on a hilltop of about 7m (11km) of winding road, from the base of the hill. It has about 22 bends in its meandering road up its hill on the most exciting ride about half way the stretch. This is believed to be the highest peak in the world.  
The resort has a temperate climate of about 26C to 32C between November and January, while the lowest temperature is moderate to cool with rainy season occurring from June to September. The plateau is spread over an area of 40 square miles, with a cool and pleasant climate that has no threat of mosquitoes, but offers a total contrast and a welcome respite from Africa’s tropical heat, with idyllic tranquility, numerous mountains and country side views, making it the ideal for a tour adventure. Obudu mountain resort is a natural attraction site that has cluster of attractions.
Facilities: Obudu mountain resort offers a variety of facilities and services for the use and enjoyment of the tourist visiting the resort. This includes:
Accommodations which is in form of chalets and bungalows, and it has self-contained suites varying in size from 2-bedroom lodge to mountain villas. The resort has 116 rooms which range from Standard Double chalet, Superior Double chalet, African Bungalows/ Huts, Club suite/chalet, Executive suite, Royal suite, Presidential Suite, Governor’s Lodge and Mountain Villa’s. Other facilities include a fully equipped gymnasium, two floodlit tennis courts, Table tennis tables, squash court and a 9-hole golf course.
VILLAGE SUITE
EXECUTIVE SUITE
Attractions: Obudu mountain resort is mostly natural attractions but there are some man- made attractions added to enhance its attractive nature and pull value. The ranch/resort has many different varieties of flora and fauna which includes; cattle/ horses, water fall, Golf course, the ancient Anape village, the cable car (one of the longest cable car system in Africa and in the world, it is 4 kilometer long.), A water park with swimming facilities and water slides for children, teens and adults and over 2,000 species of birds. The magnificent scenery and spectacular bird life is a must watch for visitors and tourist. The bird life viewing tours can be taken on foot or on a bicycle.
Becheve nature reserve (Canopy walk): it is a walkway, situated in tress that allows visitors have close-up views of the different species of bird in their natural habitat high above the ground.
Gorilla viewpoint camp is among the main attractions of the resort and is about 13 kilometers from the main hotel, it consist of Gorillas living together in their natural habitat.
Cameroon viewpoint is a place where people have a clear view of Cameroon the neighouring African country sharing the same boarder with cross river state and it can be viewed from the resort.
Accessibility: the mountainresort has a very good road network leading to the site; it has a helipad and a small airport for access by air. The helipad is called the Bebi airstrip and it is a shuttle flight mode of transportation from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt through Calabar to Bebi. The bebi airstrip has spared most tourists the trouble of going through the long drive of over 5 hours from calabar the state capital to the resort.
 Obudu mountain resort/ranch is an internationally known attraction which attracts tourist from different parts of the world. It has also served as a good source of income generation and job to the local community. The largest home for Gorillas and chimpanzee in Africa.

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