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Bradt Guide Nigeria
Ref: BRA055
A full-length guide featuring every aspect of travel in this large, but little-understood West African country. Details of getting around, by bush taxi, rail, car or on foot, together with accommodation options, wildlife watching, and activities, balanced by a wealth of background information, from history and geography to culture and the environment. What to see, where to go, and much more, including advice for business travellers and project workers.
About this Destination
Despite negative images of Africa's most populous country, the traveller to Nigeria will meet nothing but kindness and hospitality
Author's Note, by Lizzie Williams
Nigeria has one of the world’s worst reputations as a dangerous travel destination, and anyone who approaches Lagos, the world’s second largest city, does so with a nervous feeling of apprehension. The country is mind-bogglingly chaotic and the human and vehicle congestion incomprehensible. Not everything is a pleasant sight for the travellers; the poverty is raw, there is an acute rubbish problem, the environment has been stripped bare, and the wildlife has just about been poached out of Nigeria’s forests. The infrastructure is so poor that everything is broken, dilapidated, decaying or has stopped working. But perhaps it is this chaos that makes Nigeria an appealing travel destination. It really does have to be seen to be believed.
Away from the mean streets of Lagos, travellers are in for a surprise as the rest of Nigeria is not what is expected of modern myth. In the south are watery deltas where people’s lives haven’t changed for hundreds of years and in the north are ancient walled cities still ruled by sultans and emirs, where trade has been going on in the markets for over a thousand years. The people are the real reason to visit Nigeria, and in every corner of the country people will stop and say welcome. White visitors are so rare, even on the streets of Lagos, the Nigerian people are delightfully flabbergasted to see you. The people are intelligent, creative and generous and with over 250 ethnic groups in the country, culturally rich. It is also a humorous country to travel in; the sights, sounds and obscure moments that only the world’s most populous country can throw at you, make for delightful travelling. Nigeria is for the adventurous traveller, no doubt about it, but for travellers with an open mind and friendly demeanour, it is an incredibly absorbing country with an enormous personality.
Lizzie Williams is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Travel Africa. She has travelled extensively in Africa, both independently and in her role as overland expedition leader. She now lives in Cape Town.
£15.99
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