Okomu National Park – Pride of our National Heritage
Located along the North-West region of the ancient city of Benin, Okomu National Park stands as a fascinating rainforest in Ovia South-West, Edo state.
Also referred to as the Pride of our National Heritage, Okomu National Park is a blissful forest where you experience the beauty of a rainforest full of huge forest trees, several species of plants and animals.
The park occupies about 108,200 hectares of land and is representative of the lowland rainforest ecosystem of southern Nigeria. The forest reserve contains plant and animal species unique to this part of West Africa.
The white-throated monkey, which is one of the rarest monkeys in the world today, several endangered species such as the African forest elephant, dwarf crocodile, bush cow, a variety of donkeys, leopards, a variety of monkeys, birds and other animals are found in this forest.
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Commonly found birds are the eagle, a variety of hornbills, kites and hawks, egrets and many species of water bird. Butterflies and birds are also found in large quantities, making it one of the best places for bird watching in Nigeria.
The Okomu National Park is a host to fifteen communities, whose main occupation is farming. The native language of the immediate community is Bini and the economy is agriculturally based, with most of the households into cassava cultivation. Other crops cultivated in mixtures with cassava are maize, melon and groundnut.
The vegetation of the Okomu National Park is a typical Guinea–Congo lowland rainforest and is characterized by a mosaic of swamp-forest, high forest, secondary forest, and open scrub.
The park has two tree houses, one is 140 feet high in a silk-cotton tree, from which visitors can view the park from above and observe bird life. This is the most intriguing feature anyone is likely to see in the park. These houses are vintage spots for visitors to relax and savor the beauty of nature that the park presents.
Okomu National Park serves as one of the best tourist destinations for lovers of nature.
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