You Won’t Believe This Place Exists in Lagos! See Stunning PHOTOS

Editor’s note: Naij.com contributor Pelu Awofeso leads us to an oasis of green in a desert of concrete and tar, guiding us through the Lekki Conservation Centre, one of busy overpopulated Lagos’ best kept secret.

A guide leads tourists through the trail.

The first thing I see—and the first thing you’re most likely to see when you visit—as I step inside the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) in the Lekki area of Lagos is a peacock, sitting peacefully on the signboard that shows the overall layout of the nature reserve sited on 78 hectares.

“Peacocks and tortoise are the only creatures you see roaming on the lawns in this open area,” one of the guides on duty says. “The rest are in the forest at the back—monkeys, crocodiles, name it.”

READ ALSO: This Is Lagos, Baby: Top 10 Most Breathtaking Photos Of Lagos From Instagram

Impatient to see the animals with my own eyes, I hurry off onto the trail boardwalk, which stretches for 2 km. The expanse of the flora—left, right and above me—is so green, serene and calming I am not sure how to react, whether in excitement or in wonder. And other than the staff, already seated at their desk, there is no tourist about; I have the green haven all to myself, to enjoy as I please. I pick my steps leisurely and do the best I could to pick every little sound made by the leaves, which form a blanket above.

A sign inside the Lekki Conservation Centre.

The first signboard at the head of the walkway reads: “This is a nature reserve and not a zoo. Appreciate each moment! Observe the social interaction of the Mona monkeys. Catch a glimpse of the beautifully coloured birds and appreciate the variety of plants. Other animals that you might encounter include: squirrels, monitor lizards, crocodiles, crabs, pangolins and antelopes. This is indeed an ideal environment for education, research and pleasure.”

The notice also states that there are two entry points into the reserve, which is divided into six imaginary sections for tourists’ convenience.

READ ALSO: 13 Signs You Are Falling In Love With Lagos

“Observe the signs and know where you are at any given time,” it says.

With that I take my first steps into the wild, a place unlike any I have seen in Lagos, renowned for its metropolitan status and excessive population (official figures put it at 14 million). A few metres on, the sound of fast-moving vehicles—and the occasional honking that comes with it—recede into the distance behind me, replaced by the occasional ripples from the swamp water underneath the boardwalk. Soon the noise is completely lost and I am fully in nature’s comforting embrace.

The tree house is one of the awe inspiring spots of the Lekki Conservation Centre.

The first turn left on the boardwalk leads to a ‘swamp lookout’, a rectangular space roofed with raffia where tourists can watch birds, see aquatic animals and also take a short rest. Further up the trail, I reach the ‘bird hide’, a wooden enclosure with a horizontal line of small windows, through which tourists can look into the distance and watch out for birds like the blue-breasted kingfisher, the red-tip crested turako, and the collared sunbird, among others species.

READ ALSO: See The Top 10 Food Lagosians Miss When They Travel Abroad (PHOTOS)

But much as I try to spot one, there is no bird in sight. All I see, aside from the plant species that ring the natural pool, is the sole monitor lizard perched on a stump and doing its best to evade my lens. As I photograph the scene in front of me, an in-house guide on routine checks walks in. He is out inspecting the trail to see if there are damages to any of the various sections which might need fixing or an emergency which require prompt attention of the centre’s management.

As of now there is no cause for alarm.

“This is an excellent spot to view migratory birds that fly down here from different parts of the world,” he says flatly. “But now is not the season.”

Visitors to the conservation centre can see animals in the wild as well as preserved remains.

Season permitting, the other faunas to be found here are: egrets, herons, crabs, squirrels, snakes and (giant) rats. In a moment he is off to continue on his duty. I stay back for a while myself, admiring the water-lilies and the mangrove in all its richness.

An hour later, after walking through a couple of rest stops along the trial, I reach the Nature Station, where tourists can relax and picnic if they so please. Being a one-man party, I don’t think I need to use the facility. I take the next right turn and stroll to the tree-house, hanging at the top of a Pakia biglobossa 25m tall. It is, well, standing desolate, and for whatever reason I am not inspired to climb all the way up. I simply stay there awhile and then move towards the exit.

READ ALSO: Hilarious: See The Top 15 Things Lagosians Love To Gossip About (PHOTOS)

That’s when I spot the Mona monkey, leaping from one tree branch to the next, obviously in search of breakfast. As it turns out, it is my first—and only—wildlife spotting of the day, which doesn’t quite sit well with me and a concern I share with the guide I meet as I exit the reserve.

An extension of the concersation centre has facilities suited to family picnics.

“On a good day you should see so many more animals—snakes, antelopes and all,” she says, apparently sensing my disappointment and trying her best to assure me that my time at the reserve has been worth it, whether or not I appreciate the fact. “But then the whole idea of this place is not to just come and see wildlife. It is also to enjoy the environment as it.”

The Lekki Conservation Centre—described on the Centre’s website as “one of the few natural environment relics within the city”—must be, to use the cliché, one of Lagos’ best kept secrets. Most Lagosians have no idea that it exists, let alone make plans to visit, though it’s been in existence for some 25 years. That’s because they see Lagos as a completely built up environment with no natural environment to spare.

Pelu Awofeso for Naij.com

Awofeso is an award-winning travel journalist and blogger. Follow him on twitter @PeluAwofeso

The post You Won’t Believe This Place Exists in Lagos! See Stunning PHOTOS appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.