It felt good to be in Abeokuta which is synonymous with Olumo Rock. It is the capital city of Ogun State which is my home town. This is where I was born and had my formative years. I got in at night, settled in and whisked out the following morning!
There is no way reference can be made of this ancient city without reference to this landmark. This is where the people of Abeokuta i.e the Egbas originated from.
I had been here on several occasions, but it never ever feels the same. There is something new to see and learn on each occasion. I was there with a couple of friends paid 700naira each, we got us a tour guide whom we tipped after the tour and up we went. Our first stop was this ancient tree (tree of doggedness). It was used as a canopy cover in the ancient time where people came to have parties because it has large branches and provided shade.
Up next was the Orisa Olumo chamber where rituals are done once a year in celebration of the victory of the Egba people over their enemies.
They lived normal lives underneath the rock even though I wondered how they would have been comfortable in such cramped environment. They did their food grinding and traces could be seen.
There are also statutes of the warriors who led the Egbas to victory.
Olumo rock is my far a little one compared to rocks I have hiked hence it was an easy one, although there was a little scrambling it cannot be compared to Idanre Hills.
The view at every point was cool. Brown and rusty roofs which spread everywhere brought in a feeling of nostalgia in me, I was home!
I also tried pointing out my family house to my friends as shown to me by my Dad on one of our visits.
Hiking Olumo Rock was fun and we were on top in a matter of minutes and Id totally recommend it if you’d like to go on a little hike. Our guide also pointed out a couple of landmarks.
As usual, I did my jump and although my friends were scared, all I cared about was a nice shot and I think I managed to get one.
Olumo Rock has got a lift which can take visitors up the rock however, trust me the thrill is in climbing and scrambling and if you are ever in Abeokuta, Olumo Rock is a must, the history in between those rocks can only be heard and felt on physical Visit.
Over the next couple of weeks I would be discovering Lagos and finding myself in Lagos, since so many people have always asked me to to take them on my trips…lol, I’d be sharing my schedule across my social media platform, all you have to do is show up and we can #explorelagos together.
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