Ogbunike Cave — Attraction in Anambra State

In the latter months of 1968 and 1969, when hundreds of people hid in the dark to escape the perils of the Nigerian Civil War, the Ogbunike caves presented many options. For the locals and soldiers who hid and lived there for days and weeks in some cases, it was familiar territory; a complex maze of caves that outsiders could never understand. It was not the first time that the Ogbunike caves offered a place for hiding; it is said that slave traders in pre-colonial times hid in the caves from which they planned and executed slave raids. The safety and refuge that the caves have provided across history are partly why they hold special importance to the indigenes of Anambra and the East of Nigeria, to an extent. The Ogbunike caves are actually a system of many caves linked together by small, tunnels and passages. They take their name from Ogbunike , a town in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State where they are situated. 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. Beyond their storied history as a place of refuge, the Ogbunike caves have an important spiritual heritage that dates back many years before the white man first set foot on African soil, to a time when they worshiped in its darkest recesses. It is said that the Ogbunike caves were discovered by a man named Ukwa , from the Umucheke family of Ifite-Ogbunike , about 4000 years ago. Legends claim that the caves were created by a deity, Ogba , who they believe lives within. The Ogbunike caves draw much of their spiritual significance from this belief. Some of the indigenes still come there to worship and they point to many phenomena in and around the cave as proof of...

Okay so this place is a must see. You'll experience all kinds of emotions. Fear, excitement and anxiousness all in one.

Get your negotiating skills on too when you get there. You'll meet some gun weilding men when you get there. They are the security guards. We went as a team of 6. They said we're to pay 1000 naira for entrance and another 1000 naira for the tour guide. So that's 2000 naira per person. We'd have paid a total of 12,000 naira but I negotiated and we paid 10,000 naira. I'd advise you go with someone who speaks igbo very well.

I wanted to have my prewedding shoot there and the tour guides/security guards said we should have come with a bottle of wine but since we didn't have that, we have to pay 3000 naira "to appease the gods' so we asked for the account number of the gods🤷. We ended up paying 2000 naira to a human instead of the gods.

Insist on seeing the bat palor when you visit. Don't let the tour guide use nagging to make you quit the adventure. Our tour guide was Okechukwu or Okey. He kept hurrying us and nagging but we didn't let that deter us. We took the prewedding shots at the cave entrance, went to the ogba river and then went into the cave to experience the adrenaline rush.

Okay let me stop writing. If you have further questions, I can answer them if you message me on Instagram -...

Underneath a valley covered by tropical rain forest lies Ogbunike Caves, a collection of #caves that has #spiritual significance to the locals. Descending 317 steps will take you to the main entrance of the caves. Visitors must take of their shoes before entering and be prepared for the experience of stepping on moist #earth.

The main cave consists of a massive area and structure with a big open chamber. At certain parts of this chamber depending on how tall you are you can stand erect. There are different tunnels at the main chamber leading to different directions.

The tunnels end up in big chambers and they vary in lengths and some are interconnected. You will find large colonies of #bats and streams in the caves. One stream flows out from one of the tunnels into #River Nkissa

There is also a spot beside the river used as a relaxation spot by visitors to the caves. The #rock at the entrance is said to grow so I have taken a picture to mark the level so if do ever comeback I can cross check if the...