Iyake Suspended Lake: Nature’s excellence at it’s peak

Hi guys, I bring you touristy in all it’s finesse and abundance. Today, we’ll be dwelling on a very interesting site that ticks the trio of Culture, hiking and mountaineering boxes.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the jaw dropping and breathtaking Iyake suspended lake in Ado Awaye, Oyo state, Nigeria.

Ado awaye is a small town in the ancient city of Oyo and it’s home to this beautiful touristic site. The lake happens to be the only natural suspended lake in the whole world, albeit there’s an artificial one somewhere in Colorado in the US. But that’s not even our business, at least not at the moment.

However, for the neutrals, a suspended lake is a body of water found on top of a mountain. In this case, the Iyake suspended lake which is usually greenish holds huge significance for the people of Ado awaye as it’s believed to heal all sorts of infirmities while also curing infertility in women. Amazebuzz!!!

Well, I know some of these details is news to you, and you might not have been privy to them, but that’s why you have me _ and I won’t be economical with the juicy gists. In the meantime, below are some of the intriguing things about the Iyake mountains and suspended lake;

1. The views from the hilltop is quite amazing and pulsating. You’ll easily get sold by the blissful sight that hits your eyes.

2. The serenity and ambience on the moutain is super refreshing.

3. The lake itself, although greenish in nature, is drinkable. I’m sorry to fail you here, but I don’t know what it tastes like because I didn’t try to drink out of it, albeit some of my colleagues did and it appeared they enjoyed it.

4. There’s a tree that has a semblance of an elephant trunk, and it’s really beautiful and quite astonishing too. Nature is indeed a supremo!

4. The mysterious white cloth that unwraps itself from the Ishage rock when dirty shows the depth in culture of the Ado Awaye people, and it’s also said to be the bringer of rain for them.

Ishage rock

5. There’s a small body of water in a hole called Agbómofúnyàké (child given to the mother to pamper) is relatively mythical. It is said that anyone who dares to dip legs into the water mysteriously finds themselves at the bottom of the Iyake lake, never to be seen again.

The mysterious Agbomofunyake

6. People actually pounded in these grouded holes at some point. The thought of this alone was mindblowing.

What’s the location/How far is it?

From the foregoing, the site is in Ado awaye in Oyo state, Nigeria. Depending on where you are navigating from, Ibadan is the closest city to this location. So once you’re closing in on Ibadan, be sure that you’ve got about 3 hours drive to get to the tourist site.

What is the cost?

The official entry fee is around $1 per head, that’s around N500, but you could be lucky to sweet talk them into charging less, just like we did. We managed to get them to take N300 for each person, although we had to give the tour guides kickback too.

What to wear?

We all know the dictates of hiking, add mountaineering to it, and you’ll understand why you need a smart piece of clothing, and most importantly footwear when visiting the suspended lake. A casual top, a pair of jean and a smart sneakers would do just fine.

Any CTA on the site?

Most definitely! After visiting the site, I found the place very beautiful and sublime, however being a tourism developer, I also found some bugs that should be worked on by the appropriate authorities.

There are about 300 stairs preceding the long hike to follow before getting to the mountain top. However, most of these staircases are already falling off, making it very cumbersome to climb. I think these stairs should get fixed, as it would ease climbing for tourists and visitors alike.

Generally, the maintenance structure of the site isn’t too pleasing, and the locals should also see to it that the guides and people around the entrance are persons of decent charcaters and charisma. You might want to be extra careful with your stuffs, if you know what I mean.