Nigeria River Goddess Festival Tour

Itinerary

1. Day One

   Arrive into Lagos

   • Arrive in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Our driver will meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel.

   • Overnight in Lagos.

2. Day Two

   Lagos Island

   • After breakfast, we will head out to the National Museum. Next, we go west to visit several historical sites in the town of Badagry, a former slaving port.

   • Return to Lagos and stay overnight.

3. Day Three

   Floating Village of Makoko

   • Morning visit to the floating village of Makoko where a 3rd of the community is built on stilts along the lagoon.

   • Drive to Lekki Conservation Centre to spend time in nature. Spot wildlife like monkeys, peacocks and crocodiles whilst taking the trail over the canopy walks.

   • Overnight in Lagos.

4. Day Four

   Olumo Rock

   • Drive north to the Yoruba city of Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State. The city’s key attraction is Olumo Rock, believed to be the site where the Egba clan hid during the Yoruba Civil Wars. The rock also features remains from ancient settlements. Occasionally worshipers come to the shrine to collect donations.

   • Overnight in Abeokuta.

5. Day Five

   Sacred Grove of Osun

   • After breakfast we’ll visit the traditional head of the kingdom and spiritual leader of the Yoruba. We then head to the Oranmiyan Staff and other historical sites of Osun State.

   • Continue to Osogbo, home to the Sacred Grove of Osun—one of Nigeria’s few UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We’ll have time to explore the Sacred Grove of Osun with its fantastic sculptures of the Yoruba deities hidden throughout the trees. If we’re lucky, we’ll also see monkeys running around the site.

   • Go to an Orisha temple, where Ife priestesses will teach us about their sacred beliefs.

6. Day Six

   Ilorin

   • In the morning we drive to Ilorin; a mainly Muslim city with a mixed culture from the Yoruba and Fulani dynasties.

   • Here we’ll spend time at the Esie Museum which houses the largest collection of soapstone sculptures, believed to have been carved in 1775 AD.

   • Next, we’ll visit the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, before exploring the traditional quarters where the city’s renowned weavers ply their trade.
   • We’ll stop by the Dada Pottery Centre in the afternoon before heading back to Osogbo to relax for the evening.
   • Overnight in Osogbo.

7. Day Seven

   River Goddess Festival

   • Today is the festival of the Osun River Goddess! We’ll witness masquerade performances plus the procession of Arugba Osun, which features a virgin girl carrying a sacrifice for the goddess from the palace to the Sacred Grove of Osun.
   • After spending time at the festival we’ll drive back to Lagos to spend our last evening together.
   • Overnight in Lagos.

8. Day Eight

   Departure / Optional Extension

   • Transfer to the airport for your flight home.

   • For those taking the optional extension to Abuja, we will depart very early morning from Lagos. We’ll have a full day visiting sites such as Millennium Park, Ushafa pottery village, arts and crafts market and the national mosque.

   • Overnight in Abuja

9. Day Nine

   Extension Tour Ends

   • Transfer to the airport for your flight home.