My dear reader, do you know what is better than making plans for a trip?

The planned trip happening!

During the course of my service year (NYSC) I was privileged to have comrades that always took the plan from the whatsapp group to reality.

This is one of such trips.

The suspended lake is located at Ado Awaye, 20kilometers from Iseyin Local government of OYO state Nigeria. It is said to be the only suspended lake in Africa. It is said only two of its kind exist in the world, the Hanging Lake in Colorado USA and the suspended lake in Ado awaye.

Ado awaye is a small town said to have been founded in 1500s.

This trip was easy to organize for us, because we were already in ibadan and all it took for us was to take a bus to iseyin from Ibadan. At iseyin we took another cab which took us to Ado awaye . Going back to iseyin brought back memories we rather not remember for you see, we camped at Iseyin.. Let me quickly explain for my non-Nigerian readers.

As a Nigerian tertiary institution graduate, you are expected to serve the country for a year. Before you embark on your service year, you will be given orientation at a camp amongst other things for three weeks. You do not get to choose where you will camp. There are thirty six states in Nigeria, you will and can be posted anywhere . For some individuals these were the best three weeks of their lives, some found love, some found freedom and some ! Oh for some , these are days best forgotten. Some cried themselves to sleep and awoken by the sound of the military bugle.

Let’s stay on track, back to Ado awaye .

We arrived Ado awaye and we were directed to the tourism center reception. This is where we paid to gain access to the area and allowed to climb. We were given a tour guide to help make our experience better. We paid one thousand naira each for this experience.

The climb up the hill is in itself an adventure. For an individual who seldom involve herself in aerobic activities, my lungs were on fire but it was bearable compared to that of erin ijesha!

If this is your first time here , welcome ! You can check out my post on Erin ijesha waterfall right Here.

Just like Erin ijesha, a few man made stairs were created to help tourist with the climb which ends after a while and then the real climb begins.

The first wonder on this trail is the

ISHAGE BOULDER.

This boulder is said to be dressed in a white skirt and can’t be moved. Don’t ask me if I tried pushing it, my impulsive thoughts didn’t win. Many people come from far and near to pray here and it is said their prayers are answered. This boulder is also known to be the rain bringer . It is believed that the ritual to bring rain is successful if the skirt is loosened by the rain.

The view from this height was breathtaking.

We continued the hike, following our guide and next we were at the top of another hill which had imprints said to be the feet of the elders.

The Feet of the Elders

The feet of the elders are said to be footprint of the ancient ancestors . They appear in clusters around the hill.

Our guide was a calm and ready to talk person. He was in no hurry and allowed us take in the scenery.

We continued our hike, it got tougher and our guide helped us easy our burden by helping us with our bags ..

The Suspended Lake

Breathtaking and mysterious it is, said to be bottomless. It is said that no one has entered into this lake and survived due to its depth. Best believe I am not one to test this theory. It is also said that drinking from this lake can cure any type of illness and infertility. There are quite a number of folklore stories around this particular lake. One of which was that a woman who wasn’t able to bear children for her husband drowned in it and that was when the lake gained its healing ability.

The lake is surrounded by lustrous trees, turtles and vegetations. It is a quiet place where one can sit and bask in its tranquility.

After taking in this wonder of nature we proceeded to the elephant tree.

The Elephant Tree

The elephant tree is a tree which fell with its roots exposed having the resemblance to the trunk of an elephant there by its name .

This is the hike to the suspended lake from my POV. If you want details and more information on how to go about visiting the lake. There are a number of websites with this information or you contact Idomageh through our contact information.

In total it cost us about ten thousand Naira each for this journey all expenses included.

My Two Cents:

Never embark on trips alone , always go with someone for safety reasons. someone you trust.

Notify your family or someone who isn’t going on the trip with you about your trip and whereabout . Always have an emergency contact.

When you go for trips, try to blend in with the locals. Do not look flashy or draw attention to yourself.

Do not litter at tourist sites, respect nature and have an identification card with you at all times .

Always use a tour guide provided by the agency. Do not accept help from unregistered tour guides.

Have fun, explore, enjoy life for you know what they say, you only live Once!

Bye for now.

See you soon..