Idanre town known previously as Ufẹ̀ Òkè is a historic town in

Ondo State Ondo () is a States of Nigeria, state in Points of the compass, southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State (Nigeria), Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast fo ...

, and the headquarters of the Idanre

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

which carries its name. The town is located at the foot of the scenic

Idanre Hill The Idanre Hill, or Oke Idanre is located in Idanre, Idanre town in Ondo State of southwestern Nigeria. The Idanre Hill is well known for its scenic landscape. Its wide variety of cultural sites like 'Owa's Palace', shrines, The Old Court, ...

which is of unique cultural and environmental significance, and attracts many tourists.Oke Idanre (Idanre Hill) - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
/ref> The town is about southeast of the state's capital

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

of the area is 340. Idanre is Nigeria's largest cocoa producing area. Idanre are mainly a Yoruba speaking people (with a tongue similar to the ''Ondo'' dialect). A majority of its people are into

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and trading.

History

Ufe Oke was founded by Olofen Aremitan from the Oduduwa royal household who was said to have left Ife with his band of followers with an item of inestimable value, a brass crown (Ade Ude). Idanre is made up of three disjointed township or localities, namely; Atosin, Alade and Odode (Ode Idanre). Although Ode Idanre is the major township with more populace and land area than the other two smaller localities, the others have always been recognized by the inhabitants independently. The Idanre hill, or ''Oke Idanre'' is located in Idanre town in

of southwestern Nigeria. It was in these hills that the people of Ufe oke (Ife of the mountains) lived for more than eight hundred years before they finally descended into the plains in the year 1923. The old site still remains in the hills, accessible through a 660 step ascent that leads up into the hills. Idanre from a plane

Site description

The hill of Idanre is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It includes such cultural sites as "Owa's Palace, Shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun footprint, thunder water (Omi Apaara) and burial mounds and grounds". It resides above sea level and houses a unique ecosystem upon which the cultural landscape has integrated. On getting to the entrance of the hill you will see a great tree at the entrance of the ancient city of Idanre called the IRAYE TREE, then you can now get prepared to take the steps to the great city beyond the hills of Idanre.

World Heritage status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Tentative List on October 8, 2007, in the Cultural category.

Wildlife

'' Amietophrynus perreti'', or the Perret's toad, is only known from a single locality at the Idanre Hill. The five sites where forest elephants are found in southern Nigeria are the Omo Forests in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

, the Okomu National Park in

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

, the Cross River National Park in

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

, the IDANRE FORESTS and Osse River Park in Ondo State and the Andoni Island in Rivers State. igerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)

References

{{LGAs and communities of Ondo State Local Government Areas in Ondo State Towns in Yorubaland Articles containing video clips