Kamuku National Park

Kamuku National Park is in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. It has an area of 1120 km² with typical Savannah Vegetation.

History
Kamuku National Park was at first by gazette of 1936, a Local Authority Forest Reserve under the old Northern Nigeria Government. Due to the success of a community-based project promoting sustainable resource usage, the park was updated from a state game reserve to a national park in May 1999.

Landscape
Kamuku National park has flat terrain which allows tourists to have easy viewing of wildlife and landscape. Along the eastern boundary to the Birnin Gwari Ridge, the landscape slopes upward.

One of the highlights of the park is the Tsaunin Rema, a hill formed out of larger boulders arranged on top of each other. Tsaunin Rema is the home of Rock Badgers in Kamuku National Park. In addition to the landscape are the Dogon Ruwa and Goron Duste inselberg Waterfalls.

Flora and fauna
Kamuku National Park is only separated by a river (River Mariga) from the Kwiambana Game Reserve in Zamfara State, it shares the same ecosystem and boundary as the Kwiambana Game Reserve in Zamfara State, the Kamuku National park distinctly represents the remaining blocks of the Sudan-Guinea Savannah vegetation in the country.

The park is also endowed with close canopy vegetation of Savannah woodland type having dominant species of Raphia, Afzelia, Daniellia, Isoberlina, Detarium, and a few lily plant species. The park's marshy areas are mostly covered with tall, tough grass especially during the rainy season. Pennisetum purpureum, Andropogon gayanus grass species are mostly the grasses found there.

Climate
Kaduna has a tropical climate. The summer season has much more rainfall compared to winter. The average annual temperature in Kaduna is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F). About 998 mm (39.3 in) of precipitation falls annually.

People
The community around the park is home to the Kamuku and Gwari people who are traditional farmers, hunters, pastoralists and craftsmen, noted for weaving, mat making and pottery.

Get in
There are three means of transportation to get to the Kamuku National Park; air, train and road. The fastest way to get to the Kamuku National Park is by travelling by air to Kaduna State via Kaduna International Airport. From the Kaduna International Airport, visitors can hire a taxi to the Kamuku National Park. There are also transport companies that offer travel services by road, while buses usually are quite comfortable, journey times are very long. Tourists can also take the train from Lagos to Kaduna.

By air
Kaduna International Airport is the landing airport for tourists planning to travel to Kaduna state. The airport is around 22 km (14 mi) northwest of the city.

By road
Several bus companies like Agofure God Is Good Motors, ABC Transport, Ifesinachi and The Young Shall Grow offer daily services from almost all major cities around the country as well as international destinations in West Africa.

By train
Nigerian Railway Corporation offers train trips from Lagos to Kaduna North, the travel time is 24 hr 36 min and the train is available once a week. For more information and ticket booking visit the Nigerian Railway Corporation official website.

By bus
Several bus companies like God Is Good Motors, ABC Transport, Ifesinachi and The Young Shall Grow offer daily services from almost all major cities around the country as well as international destinations in West Africa.

Fees and permits
As of 2021, the fees follow:
 * Single = ₦1500
 * Couple (two) = ₦2500
 * Family of four = ₦5000

Get around
At Kamuku National Park, there are two main ways to get around: by foot and shuttle bus. Private vehicles are prohibited on the park road due to road congestion within the park. Guided tours are also available.

See
Having over 177 species of birds, it is a perfect place for bird lovers. There is also to see elephants, rare monkey species such as the Green and the Patas monkeys, baboon, warthog and antelopes. Tourists will also find the Tsaunin Rema hill the home of Rock Badgers in Kamuku National Park fascinating, the hill is formed out of large boulders arranged on top of each other. In addition, both the Goron Duste inselberg and the Dogon Ruwa Waterfalls are located in the park.

Do
Apart from visiting the park, tourists can explore the communities around the park. On the northeast of Kamuku National Park is the Kwiambana Game Reserve, another interesting destination to visit in the vicinity.

The following are some of the things to do while your stay last:


 * Bird watching.
 * Take pictures of the wildlife
 * Observing and documentation some of the rare plant and animal species.

Lodging
There is no lodging within the park, but numerous hotels can be found in the town. Tourists can seek accommodation in the following hotels;

Stay safe
Nigeria has become a safer place due to increased security, but as a tourist, you should always be alert and take note of your surroundings.

Go next

 * Kwiambana Game Reserve