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Gashaka-Gumti National Park

By Chuks Nwanne
18 January 2020   |   4:03 am
Located in a mountainous region of Northeast Nigeria, adjacent to the international border with Cameroon, and immediately to the North of the Mambilla Plateau, no roads cross...

Located in a mountainous region of Northeast Nigeria, adjacent to the international border with Cameroon, and immediately to the North of the Mambilla Plateau, no roads cross this remote region and only a few lonely footpaths wind through the forested mountains towards Cameroon.

Visitors to the park are able to enjoy lush forests, wide sweeping grasslands, cool highland plateaus, rugged moody mountains, abundant wildlife, and fascinating ethnic cultures, all combined within a single protected area.

There are few other places in the world that contain such spectacular scenery and such diverse wildlife. The hidden corner of West Africa that is Gashaka-Gumti National Park is surely one of the continent’s best-kept secrets.

Gashaka-Gumti National Park, the largest park in Nigeria, covers 6,731 sq km of wilderness. The park’s name is derived from two of the region’s oldest and most historic settlements: Gashaka village in Taraba State, and Gumti village in Adamawa State.

The park was created by the Federal Decree of 1991 by the merging of Gashaka Game Reserve with Gumti Game Reserve. The Northern, Gumti sector of the park is relatively flat and covered with woodlands and grasslands, whilst the Southern, Gashaka sector is more mountainous and contains vast expanses of rainforest as well as areas of woodlands and montane grassland.

This rugged terrain is characterised by steep, thickly forested slopes, deep plunging valleys, precipitous escarpments and swiftly flowing rivers. Altitude ranges from 450 metres above sea level in the wild savannah plains of the Northern sector, to the peaks and pinnacles of Gangirwal in the Southern park sector, which at a staggering 2,400 metres above sea level, represents Nigeria’s highest mountain.

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