From The Horse’s Mouth | Chinyere Unravels Obudu Mountain Resort

Chinyere is an avid traveler moonlighting as a lawyer. She has been on most of our trips so we’re excited about this interview.

Obudu Mountain Resort is a ranch and resort in Obudu, Cross River State that was developed by Mr McCaughley. He camped in the area back in 1949, realized it’s potential and came back with other ranchers and worked on what we have today.

She recently went to Obudu Mountain Resort and graciously allowed us quiz her about her trip. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did and hopefully you’re inspired to visit.

Give us a brief description of where you went and what the trip was about. 

For Easter, I went to the Obudu Mountain Resort (it used to be called Obudu Cattle Ranch).

The Mountains

Entrance to the resort

Where did you stay and what was it like?

The resort has different types of accommodation – The African Huts, Mountain View Cabins, and Lodges (there are executive lodges and regular ones). There is also a Presidential Lodge (where Nigerian presidents and heads of state come to stay). Initially I stayed in the African Hut, but later moved to the Mountain view cabins. Both places were nice.

Mountain view cabin

Inside the mountain view cabin

More on mountain view cabin

African huts

Inside the African huts

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

The most surprising thing at Obudu is the way you are literally in the clouds, you practically see them rolling by you. Another is the way the weather changes; one minute, its all nice and clear and the next the clouds blanket everywhere.

What was your best moment of the entire trip?

I really can’t say I had any ‘best moment ‘.. Every experience there was awesome and breathtaking. The beautiful rolling mountains ….like the ones seen in the movie ‘Sound of Music’.  We sang the “Hills are Alive” more than once.

What was the scariest moment (if any)?

My scariest moment would be the canopy walk. It’s not so high but I am afraid of heights so that was a bit scary for me. There was a tree house much higher up which I didn’t venture onto at all

Going on the canopy walk

Tree House

Did you find any sights or activities a bit off the beaten track ie beyond the tourist traps?  

The trip was planned so there was really no wandering about, although I did take a walk ( in the morning) round the Resort and I got to see the Cows for which the Resort was originally named.

The cows

What are two interesting things about Obudu Mountain Resort that the average person doesn’t know?

There is a Mountain there called the “Holy Mountain” which we were told is where people come to pray and their wishes come true. The former President GEJ came to Obudu to rest after the elections (when the entire country was looking for him).

Holy Mountain

Did you meet any locals? If yes, what were they like?

Yes we met locals as there is actually a village within the Resort. On the whole they were very friendly. They also acted as guides when we went mountain climbing.

The Village

Mushrooms harvested by the locals

What was the funniest/strangest/most insightful thing a local said?

Didn’t talk to the locals that much.

What was the hardest or most frustrating part of the trip?

The journey, it was very long. I went from Port Harcourt by road. The best thing is to go from Enugu, which is like 5 hours by road.

Did anything go wrong that seems funny now?

Yes.  The day we got there the water heater in my room was faulty. I had to bath with ice water (not cold… ice) that evening and the next morning. During the day, the heater got fixed and at about 2am I woke up to find that the room was flooded (the person that fixed the heater forgot to tighten some bolts); water was coming out from everywhere…. it was quite amusing even then.

What was your favorite meal?

I’m not really a foodie so, I cant say I had a favorite meal. However there was a wide variety of foods served at all meal times which catered for all palates; so you found that even those practicing the ‘keto diet’ (we had a lot of them) were able to still remain compliant. All meals were served buffet style.

What was the strangest thing you ate?

No strange foods.

What were the cost implications of this trip?

It was N195,000 ($618.56) for two people and for individuals it was about N137,000 ($434.58). The price was all inclusive. We left on Good Friday and returned Easter Monday.

Now that you’ve been there yourself, when you think of your trip what’s the first image that comes to your head?

Rolling mountains covered with clouds.

Would you revisit or ever move there?

I will definitely go back there….. Move there? In a heartbeat. Its so peaceful and serene to live on the mountain.

Of course there was a waterfall

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*foreign conversion is based on the current rate of the Naira and is subject to change.

*prices written are based on the time the visit was made and is subject to change by the owners.

*Reviews are based on opinions and personal experiences, and may differ from person to person

*all images were provided by the ‘horse interviewed.