Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and, by most measures, its most culturally influential — this is the country that gave the world Afrobeats, Nollywood, and some of West Africa's most important ancient kingdoms. Our Best of Nigeria tour focuses on the Yoruba heartland in the south-west, where the history is richest and the travelling easiest, but there's plenty more to know about beyond that route too. Here are our top 10 sites, in roughly the order you'd see them on the ground.
1. Makoko, Lagos
Makoko is a vast floating village built on stilts over the Lagos Lagoon, home to an estimated 100,000 people living, working and trading entirely on the water. It's an intense stop — poverty here is visible and real, and in 2026 the government tried to demolish part of the settlement — but despite that people continue to live here, and it remains one of the best ways to understand Lagos beyond its glossy Victoria Island veneer. It's the opening stop on our Best of Nigeria tour for exactly this reason.
2. Kalakuta Museum & the Fela Shrine, Lagos
Follow the legacy of Fela Kuti, Nigeria's most famous musician and one of Africa's most influential political activists, at the Kalakuta Museum, his former home and headquarters, which houses his instruments and tells the story of his life. If the timing lines up, catch a live show at the Fela Shrine nearby, which still hosts weekly Afrobeat performances today.
3. Nike Art Gallery, Lagos
Several floors of contemporary Nigerian art, textiles and sculpture in one of the largest galleries in West Africa, all housed inside a striking building on the Lekki-Epe corridor. It's a great crash course in Nigerian visual culture in a single stop.
4. Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos
Home to the longest treetop canopy walk in Africa, suspended above a patch of protected wetland forest where monkeys, snakes and even the occasional crocodile can be spotted below. It's a good way to close out time in Lagos before heading back to the airport.
5. Olumo Rock, Abeokuta
A short drive north into Ogun State brings you to Abeokuta and its towering granite outcrop, Olumo Rock, where the Egba people once took refuge during the 19th-century Yoruba civil wars. It's an easy 15-20 minute climb to the top, rewarded with panoramic views across the city.
6. Alake Palace, Abeokuta
The royal seat of the Alake of Egbaland, still an active traditional palace today, and a good starting point for browsing Abeokuta's markets, known for their fabrics and traditional items.
7. Ife-Ife and the Royal Oduduwa Palace
Regarded by the Yoruba as the birthplace of humanity and the origin of their civilisation, Ife-Ife is home to the Royal Oduduwa Palace and its Sacred Grove, along with the six-metre-high Oranmiyan Staff, linked to the legendary king said to have founded both the Benin Kingdom and the Oyo Empire.
8. Sacred Grove of Osun, Osogbo
The undisputed highlight of the trip. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the last remaining tracts of primary forest in southern Nigeria, the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove has stood for over 400 years and is still an active place of worship, home to more than 40 shrines dedicated to Osun, the Yoruba river goddess. Every August it hosts the Osun-Osogbo Festival, one of Nigeria's most important traditional festivals, drawing worshippers and visitors from across the world. This is the site our Best of Nigeria tour is built around, and it's every bit as special in person as it sounds on paper.
9. Aso Rock and the National Mosque, Abuja
Outside our current tour route, but worth knowing about if you've got extra time or want a custom itinerary. Abuja is Nigeria's purpose-built capital since 1991, home to Aso Rock (the seat of government) and the striking sight of the National Mosque and the National Christian Centre sitting almost directly opposite one another.
10. Kano's Old City and Dye Pits
Also beyond our current route, Kano is an ancient walled city in Nigeria's mostly Hausa-speaking north, with centuries of Trans-Saharan trading history, a still-functioning old city, and the famous Kano dye pits, among the oldest in Africa.
See These Sites for Yourself
Eight of the ten sites above — Makoko, the Kalakuta Museum and Fela Shrine, the Nike Art Gallery, Olumo Rock, the Alake Palace, Ife-Ife and the Sacred Grove of Osun, plus the Lekki Conservation Centre — are all part of our Best of Nigeria tour, running each February. You can see full dates and pricing on our Nigeria tours page.
To secure your place, send us an email at [email protected].
