Twinkle twinkled a million sparks of light falling off the shimmering cascades of Gurara falls”

I sit on a sculptured boulder at the bank of Gurara river, and behold, one of the most amazing sights in my country stare at me; and like a rush of fervid flames, her waters light a huge fire in my veins.

“How did you get here?”, I ask myself. For many years, and from miles afar I have heard of Gurara’s charm, the enduring jazz of the verdant waters of its waterfalls, plunging down a steep 180 m-long and 30m-high rocky scarp and meandering its way through the gently rolling plains of Niger State in Central Nigeria.

This wonder I have come to see, and of these showers I have come to have a feel.

Alone, I stand among a hundred rock boulders strewn amidst a million gallons of chilly waters, and the sun singeing my skin with its fascinating deluge of heat bath. “Who will believe this nature’s wonder is just right here in Nigeria?” I started thinking to myself as I raise my eyes to savour the amazing firmament above the waterfalls. Just then, the Hausa gatekeeper peeps from a ledge above and calls out to me:

“Oga, shey no wahala o?”.

The scanty canopies spread above him are shielding the sun’s rays, just as a cloud of wispy dust raised by some sixty heavy hoofs, filter through the air- hoofs of fifteen cattle, guided by a rustic Fulani boy.

“No wahala. sanu megida”. I replied him with a broad smile. ‘How can he think there could ever be a problem in this haven of natural beauty: a place where one’s troubles get swept away by these picturesque waters ?’ Anyways, he is probably just doing his job. ~

The approaching herd of cattle slows down as they approach the steep slopes enclosing the falls. This seems like their favourite feasting spot as the underfed animals foraged voraciously on the sparse short grasses carpeting the river banks. A narrow track leads down the valley from the surrounding plains above, enshrouded by a myriad of isolated trees. The air at the grove is always gusty and the energised trees inundate one with blankets of stainless and pristine air one dares not reject.

The enchanting waterfalls is located about 3km off the Minna-Suleja road (the junction is about 1hr from either towns). Numerous construction activities have been taking place at the falls within the year- thanks to the State government. The river and the falls itself is noted to have great potentials for sport fishing and wildlife viewing. It has also been said that there’s an area, down the river channel where one can find crocodiles living in their natural habitat.

Directions to Gurara Waterfalls:
Abuja » Suleja » Gurara Waterfalls

*Note- the photos photos here were taken in dry season.

The sign board reads- “NOTICE: Swimming in the falls is DANGEROUS. Whoever attempts it does so at his/her risk!”

Filed under: Travel, Travelogue