Hiking at Idere Hills, Oyo State

The essence of physical activity, clean air and quality food, are aspects of life many of us take for granted. Luckily for my friends and I, a hiking trip to Idere hills served as a reminder to maintain balance in our daily lives. This mountain excursion is another of Oyo State’s many hidden gems and can be located south of Ado Awaiye and North of Abeokuta. Idere town is steadily growing in popularity because of its gorgeous landscape. The undulating plains, which served as living and hiding quarters for the early Idere people, contain fascinating rock formations for hikers and archaeology enthusiasts.

The journey from Ibadan was mostly smooth, there’s a lot of road work being done at the time of this article, so the drive took about 3 hours. We lost some time on the route due to an incorrect google maps entry, but I have corrected that HERE.

Idere hills - Clean mountain air and fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables.

As we arrived in the town of Idere, we asked around for directions to the foot of Idere hills and it turns out all visitors have to go to the palace, meet the Kabiyesi and get permission to climb the hill. Conveniently, this is located right behind the palace and Kabiyesi received us warmly and introduced us to an elderly woman who was going to be our guide. The younger men weren’t available to climb with us and I was a bit skeptical to be hiking with a lady in her 80’s, but that skepticism faded with every strong strides and machete swing she made.

The hike itself is a gentle one, the steepest part of the climb lasted only 10-15 minutes, and shortly after, we reached reached a plateau thick with shrubbery and trees, an indication of the fertile earth. I noticed quite a bit of the land was being used for agriculture, and we passed by a number of people tending to their crops. There were corn stalks taller than me, all sorts of lush vegetables, tomatoes, and limes almost as big as lemons.

Idere hills has a number of unique attractions, and our guide spoke about each one with a sense of pride. The ancestors of the Idere people used to live atop the hill and although there isn’t much documentation about the history of this town, a few sources point to an early hunter named Osikola who seemed to be the major progenitor of the people here. Apparently he was a prince who had a succession dispute in greater Oyo and had moved to the area following that.

Iyara; yoruba word for room, and an area used as a security checkpoint for anyone attempting to gain access to the hill

The first site of interest you come across is called “Iyara”, and it is a 6-foot wide corridor with huge stone walls on either side. The early people of Idere stationed guards in this area, as it is the only way to access the hill. The solid granite walls are impressive, and the passageway that they create makes you feel like you’re entering a mystical and powerful kingdom.

Further down the trail, we stopped by a small lake that is famous for its fish shape. It is one of the likely water sources that was used to irrigate crops and other domestic purposes, not sure if it was ever safe for drinking however. There were no signs of fish living in it, but definitely an interesting sight and it overlooks the surrounding valley.

Next we came to a cave formation which served as the dwelling quarters of the early Idere people. We noticed signs of early human life here, and we were brought to the section that served as the palace of the Oba.

Idere caves, humble abode of the people and where it started for the people of Idere

Not far from the caves, and perhaps the highlight of the Idere hill adventure is a stack of 3 flat boulders which is called 3 layered rock. The precision in how these are stacked are nothing short of magical. Their size alone tells me that they would have been almost impossible to be arranged by regular humans, unless people of the past were much much larger, or there exist ancient technology to make this feat possible (like the ancient pyramids in Egypt). Regardless of the origins, it’s a wonder to behold and definitely a symbolic source of pride for people from Idere.

3 layered rock; giant flat boulders stacked with precision creating a burger like formation

Throughout the hike, our guide was steadily tending to her crops, harvesting ripe fruit and vegetables along the way. There were limes almost as big as lemons and stalks of corn taller than me. Something about this location makes the plants thrive. Maybe it’s the rich soil, the fresh water or the air, or perhaps a combination of all 3. Regardless, I think Idere could be an interesting agricultural tourism destination, a place where people come to see the beautiful views while also learning about sustainable agriculture practices.

For the people who live here, consumption of healthy and organic food, the clean mountain air, daily hiking and stress free existence are all contributing factors towards their health. I would not have guessed that she was a day over 60, but our 80 year old guide indicated that she does this climb almost 3 times daily, no doubt contributing to her vitality.

Mama gave us some vegetables and fresh corn to take home, she really was the kindest and we were most greatful. We hadn’t had lunch yet and we didn’t want to start the 3 hour drive on empty stomachs so we were ushered to Olori’s restaurant and bar for an amazing lunch of rice, beans and beef in stew. We drove back to Ibadan, reminiscing on the beautiful afternoon that we had just experienced.

Rice, beans and stewed meats from Olori’s restaurant and bar