Kafanchan

Kafanchan (Tyap: Fantswam) is in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is the junction town where the railtracks connecting the Kaduna-Zaria-Kaura Namoda, Akwanga-Enugu-Port Harcourt, Kuru-Jos-Bauchi-Maiduguri meet at the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) station built in 1927. It is the economic capital of Southern Kaduna, with flat plains and a beautiful waterfall known as River Wonderful.

Understand
The native people of Kafanchan, the Fantswam, speak a dialect of Tyap language also known as Fantswam. Being an expanding town, it also has peoples from surrounding areas of the state and numerous Nigerians from other parts of the country. The Hausa/Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba, Nigeria's largest groups have large diaspora communities with traditional rulers like the Emir of Jama'a, Oba of Yoruba and Eze Ndi Igbo, respectively, within the town. The traditional ruler of the entire town is known as the Agwam Fantswam, whose office is located in Zikpak. He, however, has no official residence or palace in the town.

Climate
Kafanchan is at the foot of the Jos-Bauchi Plateau. Hence, its cold weather. Tropical, with frequent rainstorms. The driest period of the year is from December to late March or early April, when the rains begin to arrive.

By car

 * From Kaduna: It takes about 3hrs 1 min to travel from Kaduna to Kafanchan via car. One could hire an Uber car from the train station or airport to go to Television garage, for example. Transport fare is between ₦2,500 and ₦3,500. Most drivers prefer to stop at the general hospital junction close to the Kaduna State College of Nursing and Midwifery.

By train
One could get to Kafanchan from Kuru, close to Jos; or from Kaduna or Akwanga. Although, the railway service has been completely grounded as of January 2023, across the area.

Get around
The most popular means of getting around the town is via motorcycles and tricycles.

Festivals
December/January (around Christmas/New Year) and March/April (around Easter) are usually the times of festivals within and around Kafanchan.



Sleep
Almost all hotels have bars that serve alcoholic drinks.

Connect
Cellular networks like MTN, Glo, 9mobile and Airtel are used here. The network strengths vary from one part of the town to the other.

Go next
Getting to the following towns from Kafanchan is easier:
 * Kagoro - the home of the Afan National Festival, to the east
 * Kwoi - the headquarters of Jaba LGA, to the west
 * Nok - the birthplace of the famous Nok culture, to the west
 * Zonkwa - the headquarters of Zangon Kataf LGA, to the north