Overview
Obudu Mountain Resort, often called the Obudu Cattle Ranch, sits high on the Obanliku hills in the north of Cross River State, in the South South zone, near the Cameroon border. Its altitude gives it a cool climate unusual in southern Nigeria.
History
The ranch was established in the 1950s by British settlers who saw that cattle could be kept on the high grassland free of the tsetse fly that limits herding at lower altitudes. It later passed into government hands and was developed as a mountain resort, with chalets, a road up the escarpment and, at one stage, a cable car. Its fortunes have risen and fallen with investment and with security and access conditions in the border area, so this page does not state its present operating status.
What to expect
The setting is montane grassland and patches of forest on the hills, with streams, waterfalls at the escarpment edge and temperatures markedly cooler than the plain. The approach road climbs steeply in a long series of bends. Because operation and road condition have varied considerably, current travel and visitor information should be checked before planning a journey.
Connected history or culture
The hills form part of the same eastern highland belt as the Mambilla Plateau and adjoin the forests described in Cross River rainforest timber, in a state whose peoples include the Efik.