Ibadan Greeters

Discover Ibadan through a free personal walk with a local

The ancient history and culture is what you can expect finding right here, on the western coast of Africa. The country of diverse geography, with climates ranging from arid to humid equatorial, with its most diverse feature settled among people and hundreds of languages that are spoken here.

We warmly welcome you to join us in the city of Ibadan and get the most out of your travel experience by letting us fulfil your expectations thanks to our hospitable locals settled here. Allow yourself get back home filled with fantastic memories and new friends from our beautiful country.

Book one of our volunteers now and let him greet you through the city, completely free of charge.

Surrounded by seven hills, “the city of brown roofs” – Ibadan, is the second biggest in Nigeria. Its the capital of Oyo state, one of 36 states of Nigeria and the largest one in south western Nigeria region, well known as Yorubaland – the cradle of Yoruba ethnic group civilisation. The origin of Yoruba dates back to the ancient times when mythical gods ruled over the land. Its the largest thriving culture in Africa that counts more than 40 million people, nowadays considered as one of the most urbanized people on African continent.

With a population of over three million, Ibadan is the third most populous city in Nigeria and reputed to be the largest indigenous city in Africa, south of the Sahara. Ibadan is located in south-western Nigeria, 160km from the Atlantic coast, 128km inland northeast of Lagos (the biggest Nigerian city), and 530km southwest of Abuja, the federal capital. The city is naturally drained by four rivers with many tributaries. It lies completely within the tropical forest zone but close to the boundary between the forest and the derived savanna.

Ibadan has a very rich cultural heritage and interesting history. It is the site of the first television station in Africa, the home of Nigeria’s first university – the University of Ibadan, and Nigeria’s first skyscraper, Cocoa House. There are lot of interesting things to do and places to visit in Ibadan, such as:

1. Bower’s Tower, from where you can have a wonderful view of Ibadan’s traditional brown Standing atop Oke-Are Hill, the tower rises 18m and commemorates Captain Lister Bower, the first British man to come live and explore in the country.
2. Cocoa House, a 25-storey building made in the 60s, is the first skyscraper ever to be built in Africa and it was constructed from the proceeds of cocoa sold for export from where one can have a view of the vast city.
3. Agodi Gardens, a lovely park right at the centre of the city, spreads over 13 acres of land. The serene and calm garden has a mini zoo, lush gardens with different types of vegetation, and water parks, spaces for picnics.
4. Irefin Palace, constructed in the traditional way of using mud over 200 years ago, has about one hundred and eighty five rooms.
5. Dominican Chapel, a landmark for the city of Ibadan, located in a hill with slight incline and it is surrounded with green lawns, a place where African tradition can be reflected with a fresh and contemporary style of architecture.
6. The University of Ibadan, the first premier university of Nigeria founded in 1948. In 71 years of its existence, the University of Ibadan was then established as College of the University of London, became autonomous in 1962. and has remained the torch-bearer in higher education in country.
7. The National Museum of Unity, a museum dedicated to promoting unity among Nigerians after the civil war, foster the preservation and sharing of knowledge about the uniqueness of each ethnic group in Nigeria.
8. Cultural Centre, one of the best places to learn about the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people because its full of historical values that are very important in the history of the Yorubas.
9. Oke’Badan Cultural Festival, a colorful event celebrated to commemorate the founding of Ibadanland. The festival, which means the “Hills of Ibadan”, celebrates how founders, originally settled on the hills of Ibadan and later came down to found the Ibadan town itself at the foot of the hills.
10. Club deRock, situated at the Palms Mall on Ring road, is one of the most patronised spots in the city. It was opened in December 2016 making it one of the newest additions to the clubs in Ibadan and is now one of the best
11. Club 360 Bar & Lounge, located in the south western part of town nearby the Palms Mall, brings loads of exciting activities such as dance displays by amazing dancers, good music as well as comedians.