Cross River National Park (Day Trip)

Cross River National Park, reached via Ikom about three to four hours from Calabar, is one of the last refuges of the Cross River gorilla — the world's rarest great ape. The park covers some 4,000 square kilometres of lowland and montane rainforest split into two divisions, Oban and Okwangwo, protecting 16 primate species, over 350 bird species, forest elephants, and chimpanzees alongside the gorillas.

Gorilla tracking is possible in the Okwangwo division, though sightings are not guaranteed — these animals are extremely wary of humans and their territories are large. The park also has accessible highlights in the Oban division: Kwa Falls and Agbokim Falls are both reachable on day trips from the visitor centre at Kanyang, about an hour from Calabar, and offer excellent birdwatching and forest walks. Arrange guides through the National Park Service office in Calabar before setting out.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
The Cross River gorilla is the world's rarest great ape — a subspecies of the western gorilla surviving in perhaps 250-300 individuals scattered across the forests here and in neighbouring Cameroon. They are so rarely seen that most photographs of them come from camera traps. The fact that any remain at all is largely the result of this park and the conservation work carried out in its buffer zones.