My experience at Obudu Mountain Resort – Travel Guide: Everything you need to know from the trip to your stay and the pricing.

Cross River is one of the most beautiful states in Nigeria, and during my tour to the state, I wasn’t going to leave there till I visited the very famous Obudu Cattle Ranch now known as Obudu Mountain Resort. The town of Obudu is about 6 hours away from Calabar, while the ranch itself is a 60km journey from Obudu town (which is roughly 45mins – 1hr) and this makes the entire journey from Calabar about 7 hours.

 

JOURNEY TO OBUDU TOWN

I decided to break my journey to the resort into two so I could see more of Cross River State.  So on the first day, I traveled first to Ugep which is a 4hour journey from Calabar. One thing I noticed about most of the communities I passed through was how really cool their roads are. The roads connecting one Local Government Area from another was pretty much dope. It helped that on the first day, I travelled with some cool friends to Ugep with their minivan, so you can tell that the trip wasn’t boring at all. From playing music on the stereo to talking business and travel and life and our love for cars, we enjoyed every bit of the journey. Long journeys suck sometimes especially when you are doing it alone, but with a group of people, the experience can be really astonishing. One way to combat this, is to make friends with strangers sitting beside you in the bus, or plane. And that’s exactly what I did on day two.

My friends couldn’t travel with me to Obudu on the second day (they would be joining me the next day) so I had to travel alone but I had to get to Ikom first (another nice well-developed town and about 1hr 20mins from Ugep) where I boarded a taxi that would take me to Obudu for N1200. It is however cheaper to travel directly to Obudu from Calabar. The cost is N2000.

On my way to Obudu, I made friends with Grace, a beautiful lady that shared the front seat with me. The journey from Ikom to Obudu wasn’t entirely a smooth one, unlike when I passed through the other towns. The road is terrible. But having my new friend, Grace, made the journey a really cool one. She gave me a lecture on the towns we passed through like Boki. Boki is a really interesting town. It has lots of mountains – the kind of mountains that get covered up in the clouds. Grace told me that the locals go up those mountains to farm. They plant tomatoes and pepper there. I hike up mountains and rocks as often as I can and I know how exhausting that can be, so it was really amazed to know those farmers could go up mountains to high they could kiss the clouds just to farm tomatoes. Boki is also big on cocoa which seems to be their main source of revenue apart from the one they get from the government.

 

I got into Obudu town around 5.30pm after a journey of over two hours. I found a nice little hotel after looking around for a while to rest ahead of my journey to the ranch the next day. Hotels in Obudu just like Ugep are affordable. You can get a nice room for N7,000, Just ask the locals for recommendations which was what I did. An Okada man took me to a cool one with a cool manager. It is also important to note that okada rides in Obudu cost N100 per drop, no matter how short the distance is.

 

JOURNEY TO OBUDU MOUNTAIN RESORT

It’s important to note that Obudu Mountain Resort is located in Obanliku Local Government Area in Northern Cross River. It was formerly in Obudu, but after a new local government area was created in 1991 during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, the ranch decided to retain ‘Obudu’ in its name.

As said earlier, it’s a 60 km journey to the ranch from Obudu town. The cost is N1000, but you’ll hardly find a taxi straight to the ranch. Most will stop you at Utanga for N500, and from there, you can take a bike to the ranch for another N500. The gate fee once you enter is N200. Other charges are incurred with the use of the facilities.

The trip to the top of the hill from the gate is a semi-long. There are about 20 u-turns while driving up the hill and the journey up the hill is about 25 minutes. As you drive up, your eyes will be greeted by beautiful landscapes and even a mini waterfall.

READ: 5 MUST DO THINGS IN OBUDU MOUNTAIN RESORT

FACILITIES

Obudu Mountain resort is complete with almost everything you’ll need in a resort. It has a functional bank, a police station, restaurant, conference centers, a gym, and sports facilities including a golf course. The rooms ranges from Chalets (about 20), standard rooms, executive rooms, huts and presidential suits. Though, when I visited, most of the facilities like the cable car and the water park were no longer functional, however, I had a discussion with the new management which had just taken over the ranch and the manager assured me that renovations were ongoing and the Resort is quickly being restored to its former glory. For fun activities at the resort including the 6-hour adventure trek to the beautiful water fall, click here.

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However, just being at Obudu Mountain Resort without any of other facilities is just therapeutic. In the mornings, the clouds come down to have communion with the mountains. You literally get soaked in the clouds that you may find it difficult seeing the person beside you. The environment is very serene and perfect if you want a time alone with yourself, family or even a retreat. I hear the food is bland, so it is highly advisable you go with your own food.

Obudu Mountain Resort is definitely a place I’ll love to visit over and over again.

Room Prices

Remember, this could be reviewed at any time by the management, but this is just to guide you while making your budget.

Standard Double Chalet – N25,0000 per night

Superior Double Chalet – N27,500 per night

African Huts – N28,500 per night

Club Chalets – N30,000 per night

Executive Suites – N35,000 per night

Family unit – N46,750 per night

Royal suite – N47,500 per night

Presidential suit – N55,000 per night

Governor’s lodge – N65,000 per night

Special Mountain Villa – N72,400 per night

Mountain Villa – N75,000 per night

Sincerely, thank you for reading.

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