The national park originated in two earlier native administrative forest reserves, Upper Ogun established in 1936 and Oyo-lle established in 1941. These were converted to game reserves in 1952, then combined and upgraded to the present status of a national park.

More than 2500sq km are covered by the park in the southwestern region of Nigeria in the states of Oyo and Kwara. This region is ecologically gifted with different attractions, a wide variety of flora, and fauna to protect the best of Nigeria’s endemics.

The highest point in the park stands at 508m above sea level while the gentle slopes are covered in forests and savannah. The Ogun River runs down in the valleys draining in the forest. Other rivers in the park include Owe, owu, and Tessi which drain in the south and northern region respectively. The northeastern parts of the park have occasional granite outcrops stretching up to Oyo-lle and isolated hills for the central parts.

Species of animals in the park include the endangered painted hunting dog, western kob, roan antelope, western hartebeest, Grimm’s duiker, oribi, crested porcupine, Anubis baboon, patas monkey, tantalus monkey, buffalo, red river hog, gaboon viper, spotted hyena, Nile crocodile, rock python, land tortoise, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, and others.

Size of Old Oyo National Park

More than 2500sq km are covered by the park in the southwestern region of Nigeria in the states of Oyo and Kwara. This region is ecologically gifted with different attractions, a wide variety of flora, and fauna to protect the best of Nigeria’s endemics.

Location of Old Oyo National Park

Old Oyo National Park is one of the national parks of Nigeria, located across northern Oyo State and southern Kwara State, Nigeria.

How to get to Old Oyo National Park

It is 300 Km from Lagos, 60 Km from Ibadan, 160 Km from Ilorin, 600 Km from Abuja, 600 Km from Kaduna, and 910 Km from Kano. Most of the Park area is covered by plains lowland, undulating from 300m to 500 m above sea level. Few hills, notable Yemoso and Gbogun, Kosomonu, however, rise several meters above their general surrounding. The southern part is drained by the Owu, Owe, and Ogun Rivers, while the northern sector is drained by the Tessi River.

Things to do in Old Oyo National Park

Animal species found abundantly in the Park include Lion, Western kob, Roan Antelope, Western Hartebeest, Grimm’s Duiker, Oribi, Crested Porcupine, Anubis Baboon, Patas Monkey, Tantalus Monkey, and Buffalo.

Old Oyo Park is a site for tourist attractions and has a lot of beautiful and nature-filled places you can see while in Oyo town. Here is a list of fun things you can do when planning a trip to the old Oyo National Park:

• Explore the northern end of the park and you will be thrilled by the various attractions of historic and archaeological value such as the relics of the old city walls of Oyo Ile, the great Agbaku Cave which has evidence of the Stone Age, the “Kosomonu” hill, the old Akesan Market, Alaafin’s Palaces and crucibles of pottery used centuries ago.
• Lover of Birds? Then you can check out the bird Watcher’s haven which has over 30 bird species.
• Spot various wildlife species on the southern end of the park. This includes the Nile crocodile, Rock Python, Lion, Antelope, Buffalo, and Land Tortoise out of many other animals that can be found.
• Go sport fishing or lake cruising on Ikere Gorge Lake
• Visit the wildlife museum at Akoto base camp and take some amazing pictures.
• Have some mountaineering activities in the central part of the park.

When to visit Old Oyo National Park

It is more preferable to visit the Old Oyo Park during the dry season between late October and early April because this is when the vegetation dries and animals are drawn to the watering holes, providing amazing wildlife spotting opportunities.