Madalla is the small Niger State town that sits at the base of Zuma Rock, on the original Abuja–Kaduna highway. It is essentially a roadside settlement — petrol stations, lorry stops, a few churches and mosques — but it offers the nearest place to break the drive for food, fuel, or a cold drink with the rock filling the view above. The street market is busy in the mornings.
The town is sadly known nationally for the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa's Catholic Church here in 2011, which killed dozens of worshippers. The rebuilt church remains a focal point of the community. For most travellers Madalla is a five-minute stop rather than a destination; the rock is the reason to be here, and Abuja is only forty kilometres south.