A.Yankari National Park

Yankari National Park with an area of 2,44.10km is Nigeria's premier tourist resort and is also one of The most important conservation areas in the whole of West Africa. Located in Bauchi State, about an hour's drive from Bauchi town, the area is effectively protected.

It contains three warm springs, and opportunities to observe a wide variety of wildlife species in their natural habitat. The most frequently seen animal species are elephant. waterbuck, hartebeest, hippopotamus, crocodile and baboon.

Lions are also occasionally seen. The park is visited by tourists through out the year and most of them stop in the main camp at Wikki where there are 110 chalets as well as a conference centre, restaurant and bar. It is a place to spend one's vacation and also to hold conferences.

Kainji Lake was the first national park created in Nigeria. The 5,340 km park was established in 1979 by the merger of the Borgu and Zugurma Game Reserves.

Located about 8 hours drive north of Lagos in the Guinea Savannah region, it contains a wide variety of Nigeria's floral and faunal resources. Wild life that can be seen in the park includes Buffalo, Kob Roan, Hartebeest, Waterbuck, Warthog and Baboon.

There is also a good range of Bird species both within the park and along the nearby Kainji Lake shore. Comfortable accommodation is available at the Olli River Camp situated at the centre of the park, which is open throughout the year although accessibility to most parts is severely restricted at the height of the rainy season from May to October.

This is the largest national park in Nigeria covering an area of 6,402.48 km of mountains and valleys in Adamawa and Taraba States.

An intricate patchwork of woodland, rainforest and mountain grassland cloaks this rugged wilderness, drained by a network of fast flowing rivers. These - deliver their life–giving

water to Nigeria's second largest river, the Benue. Spectacular scenery is the hallmark of this park, with its magnificent mountain ranges, panoramic views and subjects of interest around every comer.

The park harbours the best population of primates in West Africa, since the local people do not traditionally hunt these animals. An abundance of bird life. butterflies fish and flowers make this naturalist's paradise.

The 2,800 km Cross River national park in Cross River State contains two components, the northern Boshi-Okwang portion, north of Ikorn and about 4 hours drive from Calabar and the Southern Oban Hills portion, in the vicinity of Oban and takes an hour drive north of Calabar.

The park represents the last sizeable area of intact rainforest in Nigeria and is internationally recognised as one of the world's most important sites for the conservation of biological diversity.

Because the forest has been undisturbed, it has an amazing number of species. Scientists have identified more than 1000 plants and apart from these, the forest contains several endangered species of wild animals, the most notable being lowland gorilla, drill, chimpanzee, red-coleus and forest elephant.

Several species of birds that are threatened with extinction are also to be found in the park amongst which the redheaded rock-fowl is worthy of note. The park nevertheless offers boundless opportunities to the adventurous hiker to explore undisturbed forest always with the possibility of seeing a gorilla

The Chad Basin national park is split between Bomu and Yobe States and consists of three components, Chiogurmre-Buguma Game Reserves with an area of 1,228 km, Bade-Nauru wet land with area of 938 km and Kibao Forest Reserves with an area of 92 km.

Chingurme-Buguma, about two hours drive from Maiduguri, is accessible only during the dry season and is especially important, as it is the only area in the country where giraffe can be found.

The Bade-Nauru wet lands in the north of Yobe State are of the extensive Hadejia-Nguru flood plain and are particularly important for the large numbers of water birds to be found here, many of which migrate each year to the area from Europe.

The Dagona waterfowl sanctuary, which was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1989, is probably the best known part of this component of the park, as it is easily reached by branching south off the Gashua-Nguru road. Here one can see large concentrations of water birds with relative ease on the small ox-bow lake, which constitutes the sanctuary.

The Old Oyo national park covers an area of 2.512 km and is located three hours drive north of lbadan in Oyo State. The park established in 1991, was carved out of former upper Ogun/Oyo Games Reserves.

The south portion of the park has dense and open woodland whilst in the extreme north there is drier open savannah woodland where the Oyo-lle (old Oyo kingdom) ruins can be found.

The dry season from December to April is the best time to observe wild life in the park at though population of animals is still small. Kobs are the commonest animals to be found in addition, the Ogun River, which has its source in the park, attracts a good diversity of bird life