Oyo
Pacesetter State
Pacesetter State
Situated about 51km north of Ibadan city is the Old Oyo National Park which was named after the ancient Oyo Empire. Initially a game reserves but now a National Park. The park is home to a wide array of animals like baboons, antelope, bush hogs, Nile crocodile, rock python, land tortoise and a location for bird watching. It contains some of the ruins of Old Oyo and the seat of the Old Oyo Empire. Within the park is Akoto Tourist Camp with facilities such as chalets, swimming pool, restaurant and many more.
Located in Ibadan University is The Zoological Garden which was formerly established as menagerie to support teaching and research in the Department of Zoology in 1948. By 1974, the animal collection grew in number and became a Zoo. The garden harbours various animals such as mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Ado Awaye is located in Iseyin; it has a very attractive greenish lake housed on the crest of rocks. The rocky outcrops when climbed give a panoramic view of the environment and it takes conveniently forty five minutes to climb.
It is located in Oke-Are (the highest hill in Ibadan translates as The Army Chief's Hill), from which one enjoys a commanding view of the city. The monument was erected in 1936 as memorial to Captain Robert Lister Bower, the first British Resident in Ibadan and the Travelling Commissioner for the interior of Yoruba land south-western Nigeria, between 1893 and 1897.
The hall was designed and constructed by Robert Taffy Jones during the reign of Baale Shittu Aare in 1925 as a seat for the Yorubas in Ibadan province to meet for administrative purposes. It also represents a symbol of authority and unity of Ibadan indigenes. Today, the hall is now used for conferences and has a mini museum.