My Hiking Experience on Olumo Rock

I decided to tick off Olumo Rock from my tour list and i went hiking with some friends, Micheal and  Royal biba on Olumo rock, which is one of the top tourist destinations in Nigeria because it has so much history. According to history, olumo rock (meaning  'God molded  this') was a safe haven for the Egba people during war times in the 19th century, the rock was used as a fortress which hid the people

( the locals of Abeokuta town) from the enemy. After the war, people saw the rock as a deity that Egba people during war times in the 19th century, the rock was used as a fortress which hid the people( the locals of Abeokuta town) from the enemy . After the war, people saw the rock as a deity that protected the Egba people.

At the entrance, we paid a gate fee of

 NGN 1000 per person to get access into the premises and was assigned a tour guide. We were faced by this massive edifice of nature called Olumo.  The first thing that captured my attention was the water fountain that has a pot called 'pot of life'  beaded with coweries sitting on its top, with a sign which tells you to make a solemn wish by throwing a coin into the fountain. 

The Waterfall

Standing at the waterfall

We commenced our hike from the man-made stairs carved into the rocks and we took 120 steps to get to the first landing called the Lisabi garden  which is also the first resting point, and our tour guide told us the history of trees like the dongoyaro tree, panseke tree and the odon tree which grows out from the rock . Fresh Palm wine is also sold here in the garden with benches to sit on while having a glance at the view below.

From the Lisabi garden , we took more steps that led us to the Olumo main shrine, where sacrifice was been made to the gods every year by the Alake of Egbaland.  We proceeded to the hide out spot called the 'main cave chamber' where the Egba people hid during the wartime, also we saw the holes used in preparing their food during the war time.

Me and Royal Biba on the stairs 

Micheal in the main cave chamber

We left the main cave chamber, and our tour guide gave us the options of taking the ancient or modern route to the peak of the rock, and we all decided on the ancient route, and guide led us through narrow , dark , ancient rocky corridors that led us to the top of the  summit of the rock.  At this stage, my heart beats faster and I was afraid I might stumble on the hilly path and fall. I was so scared that  I was screaming at intervals and I was able to make it to the top with the help of the tour guide. We got to the top of the rock standing at 137 meters above sea level , we could see the beautiful view of the ancient town with rusty rooftops. 

Taking the ancient route to the top of the rock

The narrow corridor

This part was scary

At the peak of the rock

On the way back down the rock, we took the stairs ( there is a lift, but it doesn't work) and we toured the art gallery  situated in the complex.  The art gallery housed various works of art from paintings to sculptures, and crafts works like masks, beads and antiques.

Unfortunately, taking pictures inside the gallery was not permitted but trust you girl to get one or two pictures for you guys. Micheal got customised key holders for me and royal biba .

Playing the Ayo game with royalbiba

Peep the beautiful artwork behind me

My customised keyholder

The hike took 1 hour 30 minutes including stops because of the significant spots our tour guide gave history on and  time taken to take pictures.

Have you gone hiking before? Would you like to go hiking on Olumo ? Please leave your comments below 👇

XoXo.