Obudu Mountain Resort

On the Obudu plateau near the Cameroon border, Nigeria keeps a climate surprise: a former cattle ranch at around 1,600 metres where the air runs cool enough for fireplaces, cloud sails through the valleys below, and one of the world's longer cable-car runs - some four kilometres of it - floats visitors up from the tropical base to the grassland top. The resort spreads across the plateau with its famous switchback road (eleven hairpins that drivers collect like trophies), a canopy walkway through montane forest, waterfalls, a natural swimming hole and horse rides across hills that look borrowed from another continent.

History

The Scot M. McCaughley first explored these mountains in 1949, camping for a month on the Oshie Ridge, and in 1951 he came back with the rancher Hugh Jones and Dr Crawfeild to develop the Obudu Cattle Ranch. Since 2005 a cable car climbing 870 metres from the base to the plateau has spared visitors the winding road (Wikipedia, Obudu Mountain Resort).

What's there

• The cable car - the four-kilometre float from heat to highland.
• The canopy walkway - swaying bridges through cloud forest.
• The eleven hairpins - the switchback road's celebrated coils.
• The grassland plateau - riding and walking the cool green tops.

When to go

November to February gives dry days and the clearest valley views; the plateau makes cloud on its own schedule year round - mornings are the reliable window. Holiday periods book the resort out.

Good to know

The resort's upkeep has cycled with the years - facilities can be dated and services uneven; the landscape, air and cable car remain the undimmed draws. Check the cable car's current operation when booking, and the access roads' condition in the rains. The journey from anywhere is long - commit two nights to make it pay.

Nearby

The Cross River forest reserves, the Becheve nature trails and the Cameroon border hills.

Key facts