Biafra was an independent country from 1967 to 1970, but fierce repression by the Nigerian armed forces quickly dashed any separatist hopes. Despite the trauma of the war, still felt in the region, the former Biafra is an extraordinary place to explore, with its rich natural and cultural heritage, traditional ethnic groups, ancestral temples and mask cults.
The journey will begin in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s oil capital, where we will meet the Ijaw fishing community of Okrika Island and learn about Iria rituals and body painting practices, characteristic of south-east Nigeria.
From the coast, we will travel to Umuahia, the former capital of Biafra where the new country was proclaimed on 30 May 1967. Here, we will visit the War Museum with interesting artefacts of the fighting Biafrans. We will head into the heart of Igboland in the town of Ohafia, where we will be able to admire Igbo masks and enter the ancestral shrine that holds some of the oldest surviving statues in Africa (outside museums). We will then head to the Cross River State, a beautiful natural area with forests and creeks on the border with Cameroon. In this river and coastal area we will meet two ethnic groups, the Oron and the Efik, who were once skilled traders, first with the Portuguese and later with the British, and visit the Pandillus mandrill reserve. We will finally arrive in Calabar, one of the oldest colonial settlements in coastal Nigeria, with its old wooden houses, colonial church and museum, set up in the old British governor’s house.
Day 1: Thursday 04 December 2025
Outward flight/Port Harcourt (PHC)
Day 2: Friday 05 December 2025
Port Harcourt/Harry’s Town/Port Harcourt
The Ijaw village of Harry’s Town, where we will meet the king, the council of elders (‘men in black’) and the Ekpe masks.
Day 3: Saturday 06 December 2025
Port Harcourt/Aba/Umuahia
The colonial museum in Aba and the war museum in the “capital” of Biafra.
Day 4: Sunday 07 December 2025
Umuahia/Ohafia
The evolution of Igbo masks and the Ohafia ancestral shrine.
Day 5: Monday 08 December 2025
Ohafia/Arochukwu/Uyo
The 17th-century Okoroji house and the “fattening rooms” of the Ibibio tribe.
Day 6: Tuesday 09 December 2025
Uyo/Oron/Calabar
Meeting with the Oron tribe, famous for its funerary statues, and meeting with the king.
Day 7: Wednesday 10 December 2025
Calabar
The splendid palace of the Governor of Calabar and the mandrill conservation project.
Day 8: Thursday 11 December 2025
Calabar/Creek Town/Calabar
Boat trip to an Efik tribe.
Day 9: Friday, 12 December 2025
Calabar/Okrika Island/Port Harcourt
The Ijaw fishing village on Okrika Island, where the Iria ceremonies for girls of marriageable age are still practised.
Day 10: Saturday, 13 December 2025
Port Harcourt (PHC)/Return flight
There are no extensions for this tour, please contact us at info@kanaga-at.com.
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