English
Español
中文
हिन्दी
FrançaisTravel and Tourism
Travel and Tourism in Nigeria
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Nigeria.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 3: Reconsider Travel
- Time Difference
- UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- naira (NGN)
- Climate
- Due to its size and diversity, Nigeria has different climate zones. In the coastal area, where Lagos is located, temperatures range from the mid-70s to the low 90s during most of the year. Rainfall is heaviest in this area, averaging 70 inches per year. The rainy season is fairly distinct throughout Nigeria. Along the coast, the heaviest rains fall during May to October. Humidity is high most of the year but declines during the winter months. In the central plateau, where Abuja is located, temperatures can climb to over 100(F) between March and June. Abuja's climate is generally hot and humid during the rainy season of June to September and rainfall in the area averages 50 inches per year. The humidity decreases considerably during the coolest months of December and January, when night temperatures are often in the 60s. The climate in northern Nigeria is drier, averaging as low as 20 inches of rain per year in the far north. A distinctive feature of Nigerian weather is the harmattan, a dry northeasterly wind that carries sand from the Sahara south as far as Nigeria's coast during the months of December through February. The effects of the harmattan are felt strongest in the northern part of the country and decrease gradually the further south one goes. Visually, the harmattan creates a haze that on certain days can almost block the views of the surrounding hills in the Abuja region. Many people experience eye, nose and throat problems during this time of year.
- Language(s) Spoken
- English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages
- Ethnic Groups
- Hausa 30%, Yoruba 15.5%, Igbo (Ibo) 15.2%, Fulani 6%, Tiv 2.4%, Kanuri/Beriberi 2.4%, Ibibio 1.8%, Ijaw/Izon 1.8%, other 24.9%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 10 00 N, 8 00 E
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
- Airports
- 70
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
The Yoruba Heartland -- Ile-Ife and Ibadan
Among the most significant sites in all of Nigeria, and indeed in the entire African continent, is the city of Ile-Ife in Osun State. To the Yoruba people, who number over 40 million and constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, Ile-Ife is the sacred city from which all creation began. In Yoruba cosmology, it was at Ile-Ife that the supreme deity Olodumare sent the god Oduduwa down from the heavens to create the earth and the first humans, and it is from Ile-Ife that the ruling dynasties of the Yoruba city-states derive their legitimacy. The Ooni of Ife, the paramount ruler of Ile-Ife, holds a spiritual authority that transcends his political role and commands reverence from Yoruba communities around the world, including the millions of people in the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean whose Yoruba-derived religious traditions, Candomble in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba, Trinidad's Orisha tradition, trace their theological roots to this city.
What gives Ile-Ife its extraordinary significance to the wider world of art history is the body of sculpture produced there between approximately the 12th and 14th centuries CE. The Ife bronzes, technically an alloy of copper with other metals, and terracotta sculptures excavated at Ile-Ife are among the greatest works of figurative art produced anywhere in the world at any time.
Every country, every topic, all activities & recipes
✓ Instant access on this device · ✓ No subscription
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Nigeria has a number of well-trained doctors, yet medical facilities in Nigeria are in poor condition, with inadequately trained nursing staff. Diagnostic and treatment equipment is often poorly maintained, and many medicines are unavailable. Caution should be taken when purchasing medicines locally as counterfeit pharmaceuticals are a common problem and may be difficult to distinguish from genuine medications. This is particularly true of generic medicines purchased at local pharmacies or in street markets.
Every country, every topic, all activities & recipes
✓ Instant access on this device · ✓ No subscription