The idanre or Oke Idanre is located in Idanre town in Ondo State of southwestern Nigeria. The hill of Idanre is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Nigeria
It resides 3000 ft(914.4meters) above sea level and houses a unique ecosystem upon which the cultural landscape has integrated. The hill was added to the UNESCO heritage site in 2007.
Idanre hills is been said to have nine ancient wonders and beliefs.
The “Nine Wonders” on the hills started with Ibi Akaso (The Great Steps), the 660 steps that lead up into the hills.
The long winding steps have five resting points, set at least 100 metres apart. Ascending the hills requires a lot of strength and energy.
Once upon a time, an offspring of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, decided to leave Ile-Ife (the Yoruba’s ancestral home) with a band of followers. The splinter group stole a magic crown called “Ade Omo Oduduwa”––the crown of the Oduduwa son––for which they incurred the wrath of their kinsmen.
The people of Ife pursued them deep into uncharted jungles, forcing the fleeing band to migrate farther from civilization. They kept a nomadic existence for many years until at last, they came upon a range of hills, which held them in awe and bewilderment. In consternation, they exclaimed: Idanree!” which in English means, ‘This is a wonder’.
They settled at the peak of the hill for over 800 years before they migrated downhill in 1923.
The legends of the Idanre Hills are woven around Agboogun, a hunter with supernatural ability. He accounted for three of the wonders on the hill.
According to the Idanre lore, Agboogun had asked three of his sidekicks to accompany him on a journey. On the way, he stopped to inscribe some hieroglyphs on a hillside. The inscription became known as the “Unreadable Signs.” A little further, he etched on another hill in broad crisscrossed strokes. This is dubbed the “Wonderful Mat.”
At the base of the steep Aghagha Hill, Agboogun struck his foot on the rock, leaving an imprint on its surface and it became Ese Agboogun (Agboogun’s Footprint).
Those accused of witchcraft are made to try it for a size. It is believed that the imprint fits any foot size except those of the malevolent.
Up there on the hill is a spring called Omi Aopara (Thunder Water). According to oral tradition, warriors gathered for a drink at the stream before embarking on any war campaign.
At whoever’s turn the thunder rumbled, such an individual would die at the war front and consequently were left out of the campaign.
The ancient settlement on the hills holds the relics of their past, including a complete set of antique homes and the remains of the Igbo Ore Primary School.
At the Ancient Palace, a low-roofed mud building with an inner square supported by carved pillars, a number of artefacts exist, among them a collection of animal skulls––from the annual sacrifice of cow––that symbolizes the number of years the incumbent king has spent on the throne.
Close by stands a dilapidated building with a black slate bearing a warning: Remove your shirt before you enter this house. The house belonged to a chieftain who reportedly doesn’t wear any clothes save for a one-piece fabric.
Behind this abominable abode is a low-walled house with a mesh and roof, which served as the prison for felons in that forgotten era. A little distance away is the court and behind the court, a clearing where the king ceremoniously wears his crown annually.
According to the local story, an interloper from Ile-Ife who succeeded in stealing the magic crown had Agboogun in hot pursuit. Unluckily for the bandit, the hunter had struck the ground with a magic wand and he became transfixed. Agboogun beheaded him and retrieved the crown.
On that very spot where his blood was spilled, the Idanre king wears the magic crown every year.
Forming a backdrop to the settlement is a giant boulder that perches precariously on a hill above a hut. “The Wonderful Rock” is what the natives called it.
One particular sight that is difficult to overlook is a smoking hill in the far distance. The Orosun Hill is covered in a smoky haze from morning till night. The local myth claimed Orosun was a female warrior who protected the Idanre people. She was said to have simply disappeared at the foot of the hills, where a shrine now stands. From under the Orosun Hill flows Arun River, reputed to have healing power.
The rich, robust ecosystem at the hilltop makes Idanre hills, with its steep heights, frightening gorges, and suicidal slopes, a mid-way world between the sky and the ground. At the pinnacle of the hills, nature is unrestrainedly benevolent: balmy weather, clear, sunless azure sky, and a quasi-Jurassic jungle.
The hills’ flora is a matrix of tropical rainforest and savannah biomes. Its densely variegated vegetation includes tall Obeche, leafy Afara and Acacia intertwined with shrubs and a gallimaufry of cacti, cashews, and coconuts palms.
Bananas grow luxuriantly among bamboos under big baobabs. Sporadic cassava cultivation indicated an agrarian occupation. The hills have a fauna of snakes.
At least an elephant was killed on the hill in the last decade, so we heard. Other species of animal on the hills include antelopes, apes, and the avian species. The hilltop is home to a number of streams, crystal-clear pools that tempt you to take a swim. The world on the hills is a slice of Eden.
From the summit of the hills, you are privy to eagle-eye views of the town and its surrounding, beautiful scenery of unbroken panorama. Up or down the hills, Idanre is quaintly picturesque––a riot of red, rusty rooftops, mixed architecture, and angular viewpoints––like a primitive Legoland.
