Road-Trip || South East

Hey Guys!!!

November was awesome because I got to cross something from my bucket list (Ado Awaye Mountain). I visited Matsirga Waterfalls and Nok Village in Kaduna this weekend with my friends @marhoatumu & @taiofierce I would write about my experiences there soon.

This is third post in the Road Trip Series see previous posts –  Road Trip || South West and Road Trip || North.

I have particularly enjoyed working on these series because in the process of researching I usually find places I have never heard of before.

This time around we would be starting from the Enugu (the coal city).

NGWO PINE FOREST | ENUGU STATE

Ngwo Forest is said to be a pine forest with beautiful trees and amazing shades. The trek to the Ngwo Cave requires navigating your way through the large cluster of trees at the beautiful Ngwo Pine Forest, sharp twists and turns along the stone-paved track, as the route slants downward.

The Ngwo Cave has been naturally sculpted in limestone rocks and is bedecked by an enchanting waterfall dropping down from a small opening at the roof of the cave. The fall forms a shallow pool at the cave floor and flows out as a small stream.

Just behind the big mass of rock in which the cave is emplaced, we find more caves carefully tucked into the rock, some within reach and others needing a good climb to access. The water fall also has warm and hot water that comes out together from one source.

AWHUM CAVES AND WATERFALL | ENUGU STATE

Awhum (pronounced Ohum) waterfall is located at Amaugwe village of Awhum town in Udi Local Government Area in Enugu. Awhum is a valley town surrounded by rolling grassy hills, valleys and caves. The caves in particular make Awhum’s beauty unique.

The waterfall (which is about 30m high) is as a result of massive outcrop of granite rock with water cascading over the top forming a stream. A section of the fall is warm through the season.

Awhum waterfall and cave is said to be under the control of Our Lady of Mount Calvary Cistercian Abbey (Catholic Monastery). It is said that one needed to get written permission from the Monastery before one can visit the cave.

Also, cameras are not allowed here (I am not sure why this rule is there same thing happened at Agodi Gardens). The waterfall is said to have healing powers (if you have faith though).

Image source: @enefa_a

NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM | ABIA STATE

The National War Museum was established on January 15, 1985 by the then Army Chief of Staff, Mag-Gen. Babatunde Idiagbon and commissioned on September 14,1989.

The facility was established to “preserve Nigeria’s war relics, illustrate the people’s efforts through the ages and to serve as a centre for research and information on warfare, military development and technology”.

OJUKWU’S BUNKERS

The bunker (the subterranean office for the Biafran Government) was constructed during the civil war after the fall of Enugu. It was built to serve as an underground shelter to protect the Biafrans from air raid during the civil war. The bunker is named after Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, a former Biafran leader.

The bunker measures 26.9 feet deep, about 8 meters. It was done under 90 days, between April to June 1968. It is said that during the war, no bomb could penetrate the bunker.

Image source: @Amarachiekekwe_

OKPOSI SALT LAKE | EBONYI STATE

Hello Ebonyi – The Salt of the Nation (due to the huge salt deposit at the Okposi and Uburu salt lakes. Two hunters, Ekwuna Chita and Uta Anoo, discovered the lake when they discovered that they could not quench their thirst with what they thought was ordinary water.

Before the advent of mechanised method of salt production in Ebonyi State, traditional methods of salt production were in practice in Ikwo and Okposi Okwu in Ebonyi State for about 400 years. 

The industrial hut is known as “Ewe” and is individually owned. Once a young woman has completed her honeymoon, she is initiated into the salt-making practices by her fellow women. The more elderly friends and relations decide on a day when they would fetch as many pots of the brine as they consider necessary for her. On the appointed day, the brine would be used in making puddle with which the mud part of the “Ewe” would be built. Also executed on the same day is the heaping of the same puddle to form a huge mound called Okperede at the front of the hut. This hillock, when dry, serves as a preservation bank for salt crystals.

On her first outing, the initiated is free to fetch brine directly from Mmahi Ezi, the main salt lake or from Enyanwu, the supporting pond. Her journey would, however, terminate at a point called Oninoubam, (several metres from the lake) if her first outing coincides with her menstrual period. Here, she would stop and beckon to other women who willingly supply her with as many pots of the saline as she requires. This is one of the many rules in and around the lake.

 OGBUNIKE CAVE | ANAMBRA STATE

Ogbunike cave is said to have been discovered by an hunter named Ukwa. It is located in a valley with tropical rain forest behind the “Ogba Hills” in Ogbunike.

During the civil wars, the Igbo’s hid inside the caves in order not to get caught by soldiers. It takes about 317 steps to get to the entrance of the caves. The cave has over 10 tunnels leading to different places.

There is an annual festival called “Ime Ogbe” celebrated in commemoration of the discovery of the cave. The River Nkissa flows by the side of the caves into which the water that drains from the caves empties itself.

Image Source: @tripzapp

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Thanks for reading!

Simi