Where to Stay in Ilorin, Kwara State

What is Ilorin known for?

On the edge of Yorubaland in western Nigeria, it grew as the southernmost of the northern emirates, and it keeps the great Central Mosque of its emir, the old crafts of its potters and weavers, the flat-topped Sobi Hill above the town, and the museum of the country's past. The wide town spreads over the hills. Market crowds fill the streets.

What are the main landmarks in Ilorin?

The Central Mosque is the pride of Ilorin. The great mosque of the emir, its minarets rising over the old town, is the emblem of the city, downtown. A flat hill stands over the town.

The broad table of Sobi Hill rises above Ilorin nearby, while the emir's palace, the national museum, and the potters' quarter mark the country around Ilorin.

What is the history of Ilorin?

Ilorin began as a Yoruba town. On the northern edge of the Yoruba country it grew as a frontier town, until in the early eighteen-hundreds a Fulani cleric named Alimi rose to power there. The town became an emirate.

Alimi's line took the throne as emirs and joined the great Sokoto Caliphate, and Ilorin became the southernmost emirate of the north, ruling Yoruba subjects under Fulani lords. The city grew where two worlds joined. Yoruba and Fulani, Muslim and traditional, mixed in its streets, and Ilorin became known for its scholars, its mosques, and its crafts.

The potters shaped the clay. In the workshops of the town the women turned pots and the weavers wove cloth, and the emir's mosque rose over the roofs, so Ilorin kept its emirate, its faith, and its trades. The old crafts still fill the markets.

Ilorin keeps its emirate city on the edge of Yorubaland.

Where is Ilorin?

Ilorin lies in the west of Nigeria, on the Asa river where the forest of the south breaks into the savanna of the north. The city sits on rolling land of low hills and grassland, on the old border between the Yoruba forest and the Hausa plains, with the flat-topped Sobi Hill rising over the town and the savanna spreading north. The Asa runs through the town.

Low hills roll to the north.

What is the climate of Ilorin?

Ilorin has a hot, tropical savanna climate. Warm weather holds all year, with a green rainy season from spring to autumn and a dry, dusty harmattan season in the winter. The rains green the land.

Dry harmattan dust fills the winter.

How do you get to Ilorin?

Ilorin lies in the west of Nigeria, on the road and rail between Lagos and the north. The highway and railway run to it up from Lagos, and roads spread out to the Yoruba and Hausa towns. Lorries crowd the motor park.

Lagos lies south down the road.