CULTURE & TOURISM ANAMBRA STATE

Agulu Lake

Agulu Crocodile Lake is located along Awka road in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state. A potential tourist site, it is home to an estimated three hundred crocodiles and water turtles. Fishing is not allowed on the lake and the crocodiles, being sacred animals to the people, cannot be killed. Legend says that these crocodiles were instrumental in delivering the town from enemy soldiers during the Nigerian civil war. It is believed that these sacred crocodiles and turtles transformed themselves into beautiful ladies and lured the soldiers unawares into the lake where they disappeared without trace. At noon the crocodiles and the turtles appear at the banks of the lake to take in sunlight.

OGBUNIKE CAVES

Located in a valley blanketed by tropical rain forest, the collection of caves has been in use over centuries by local people for whom it has particular spiritual significance.This spiritual significance is still apparent, as the "Ime Ogbe" celebration is undertaken every year to commemorate the discovery of the caves.

Descending into the valley where the caves are located is a lengthy walkway made up of about 317 steps said to have been constructed by the Anambra State Government in the mid 90s. Visitors must remove their shoes before entering the caves, as per tradition. And women who are having their monthly circle cannot go in.

Ogbunike Caves, listed by UNESCO as a world Heritage Site is one of the most visited tourist sites in Anambra State. It is classified as a Sandstone cave (Lateritic sandstones of Campanian-Miocene age). It has very scenic vegetation with attractive waterfall. It is situated in the Ogba hills Ogbunike, across the Ugwu-Aga Escarpment Umunya by the Enugu/Onitsha Expressway and lies in the coordinates of N06 11 11 and E06 54 21.

The main cave consists of a massive structure with a big open chamber of about 5m high, 10m wide and 30m long at the entrance. There are ten tunnels at the main chamber leading to different directions. Within the tunnels are big chambers and other tunnels of varying lengths, some of which are inter connected. The caves are occupied by a large colony of bats of various sizes. There are streams and body of water at various places. A stream flows out from one of the tunnels into a rapid flowing river (River Nkissa). At the meeting point of the river and the stream one can feel the warm water from the caves and the cold river water. Beside this portion of the river is a table land of about 5 X 5 square meters used as a relaxation spot by visitors to the caves. The immediate environment of the caves up to about 200 meters radius is a thick tropical rain-forest type of vegetation. The site has sufficient boundaries (20 hectares) to protect its values from direct effects of human encroachment.

IGBO UKWU

Igbo Ukwu

Igbo Ukwu Museum: is an ancient town known for astonishing metal-crafts and has remained an attraction to tourists because of its bronze artifacts. The bronzes which were first noticed in 1938 and later excavated by Thurstan Shaw (an English archaeologist) date back to about the 9th century, are of high value and historic relevanceIgbo-Ukwu is notable for three archaeological sites, where excavations have found bronze artifacts from a highly sophisticated bronze metal-working culture dating perhaps to the ninth or tenth century, centuries before other known bronzes of the region.

The first, called Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie, a local villager, who found the bronze works while digging beside his home. Formal excavations by the archaeologist Thurstan Shaw in 1959 at the request of the Nigerian government, resulted in the discovery of two other sites, Igbo Richard and Igbo Jonah, containing the remains of an ancient culture. Later, these were excavated as well. Artifacts have included jewelry, ceramics, a corpse adorned in what appears to be regalia, and many assorted bronze, copper, and iron objects. Some of these contain materials that are evidence of a long-distance trading system extending to Egypt.

Radiocarbon dating placed the sites around the tenth century or earlier, which would make the Igbo-Ukwu culture the earliest-known example of bronze casting in the region. The craftsmen were working centuries before those who made the more well-known bronzes.

The archaeological sites in southeastern Nigeria are associated with the Nri-Igbo. The three sites include Igbo Isaiah (a shrine),Igbo Richard (a burial chamber), and Igbo Jonah (a cache)..

Wikipedia