Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary

Afi mountain rises out of farmland in Cross River as a block of forest and grassland, protected as a wildlife sanctuary, and the work here has centred on the drill, a large forest monkey restricted to a small area of Nigeria, Cameroon and Bioko and among the most threatened primates in Africa. Pandrillus has run a rehabilitation and breeding programme at Afi since the 1990s, with groups of drills in large forest enclosures and a habituated chimpanzee group, and the ranch provides basic accommodation. A canopy walkway strung between trees runs high through the forest. The mountain also holds a large seasonal roost of migrating barn swallows and a wild drill population.

The landscape

• The drill ranch - the rehabilitation groups in forest enclosures.
• The canopy walkway - the suspended walkway through the treetops.
• Rescued chimpanzees - the habituated group at the sanctuary.
• Afi forest - the mountain woodland and its birds.

When to go

November to March in the dry season; the swallow roost is a winter phenomenon, at its largest between around November and January. The rains make the access road very difficult and the walkway slippery.

What to expect

Wild drills are almost never seen; the animals visitors see are in enclosures. Accommodation at the ranch is very basic with no electricity for much of the day. The access road is rough and impassable in heavy rain. The canopy walkway has had periods of closure for maintenance.

Nearby

Cross River park lies south; Obudu resort is northeast.

Key facts