Cross River National Park, Basua, Nigeria
Established in 1991 from three former forest reserves, the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park covers an area of 640km2 of mostly lowland and sub-montane closed canopy forest. Located at the headwaters of the River Cross, topography is rugged and elevations range from 150m in the southern lowlands to around 1,700m on the edge of the Obudu plateau in the north.
Okwangwo is contiguous with Takamanda National Park in Cameroon and together they represent the main stronghold for the critically endangered Cross River gorilla diehli as well as a number of other important species such as the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti, the drill Mandrillus leucophaeus, Preuss’s guenon Allochrocebus preussi, forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis and the grey-necked rockfowl Picathartes oreas.
Epic Nigeria Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound