This past weekend, a group of friends and I hiked all the way to the seventh level of the Olumirin / Erin Ijesha waterfall. Although, I didn’t include the Erin Ijesha waterfall or Osun state in my post on my top places to visit in Nigeria. It was definitely on my “to do list” and has been on it for a long time. So when the opportunity (Read as my housemanship ended lol) came to make the trip down there, I jumped at it.
Hiking up the seven levels was such a tough but eye-opening experience for me. I’m always ready to pack up a bag to go see new places but honestly? I’m not exactly the fittest or most adventurous person out there so being able to stretch myself that much during the hike made me re-think a few things about life.
Related: My Top 5 Places To Visit In Nigeria To Fuel Your WanderLust.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a couple of posts about my trip to Osun state to conquer the Erin Ijesha waterfall. A few people reached out to me via the gram to ask for details of the trip, so I decided to just make this post as informative as possible to also help people who might be planning to go on a road trip from Lagos to Erin Ijesha in Osun State.
Planning A Road Trip To The Erin-Ijesha Waterfall? You Should Check This Out First! Click To TweetJourney + Accommodation.
Road tripping from Lagos to Erin Ijesha was pretty straightforward. The plan was to leave Lagos on Friday, explore the Erin Ijesha waterfall plus visit the Oshogbo groove on Saturday and head back on Sunday.
My Friends and I boarded a commercial SUV type cab going to Ilesha in Osun state at the Ojota bus stop in Lagos. Ilesha is a neighboring town to Erin Ijesha, the town where the waterfall is located in.
The cab cost N2050 per person (Apparently the extra N50 is to bribe policemen along the way SMH). It was a pretty smooth ride, we left Lagos by past 1 pm, made a stop along the way to pick up another friend and got to the Ilesha bus stop by 6 pm or thereabouts.
We had to pay the cab guy an extra fee to take us directly to our hotel from the bus stop. Although, we think the cab guy scammed us because the place he stopped us claiming to be the Ilesha bus stop didn’t exactly look like a bus stop. It was just a roadside and we think it might have been an attempt to make us pay him to take us further inside. Well, it worked as we couldn’t navigate the road on our own being JJCs and seeing as it was already getting pretty late.
We stayed at two different hotels during our time in Osun. The Florence G hotel and Springhill hotel. Both costing approximately N8000 per night for a room (We got 2 rooms and split bills). They were both average hotels, nothing too fancy and not bad either. Service was good and we could order food from the kitchen. Worked for our needs! Check the hotels out and other hotels in Osun here
Experiencing The Erin Ijesha Waterfall.
The next day we set out to explore the Erin Ijesha waterfall using majorly Google Map as our navigator. We met up with another friend who came with a car so we didn’t have to hassle over cabs or transportation means during our stay there and for our journey back to Lagos.
The Olumirin aka Erin Ijesha waterfall is a seven-level waterfall located in the community of Erin Ijesha in Osun State. There are seven layers with three major waterfalls at the first three levels.
Driving into the entrance of the Erin Ijesha community was such an amazing view! We all had to get down to take pictures. Pree Above.
We drove through the community to get to the waterfall proper. At the entrance, you’ll see a parking area with a couple of people selling shower caps, slippers, and also the ticket stand. Tickets cost N500 for adults and we also had to pay for our cameras which cost N500 as well. I wonder why my camera would cost the same a human being but I don’t make the rules.
We got in and started the longest walk I’ve ever done in my life (That’s aside from the walk I did from LUTH to Unilag during one of our many protests). I honestly never expected the hike to be that deep! I visited the Olumo rock earlier in the year and I think I approached Erin Ijesha with the mindset of the climbing I did at Olumo rock. Wrong Move!
The Erin-Ijesha Waterfall Is Definitely A Must Visit In Nigeria. Here's How To Plan A Trip To Erin Ijesha! Click To Tweet
Walking to the first and second levels of the Erin Ijesha waterfall was already enough struggle for me even with the fact that there were stairs to guide us and make the walk a bit easier. So you can imagine that I definitely wasn’t prepared for the mountain climbing that followed afterward. lol!
The waterfalls made up for the first two levels of climbing though. It was such an amazing view, my God! I really do not know how to explain how awesome it is.
Going further up, we had to climb the rocks (on all four sometimes to ensure you don’t slip) as there were no stairs to lead the way anymore. It was such an exhausting hike! At some point, my friends and I missed the way and had to climb back down and then up again. I could feel the blood pumping into my head at this point lmao. See ehn, In all your gettings, acquire fitness!
I was about ready to turn back by the time we got to the third level because there was pretty much no other waterfall left to see, but my friends wanted to get to the seventh level so I had no choice but to stick with them. It was either that or turn back alone.
The seventh level is home to the Abake village, a small village at the top of the hill. Getting to this level requires another walk for about an hour and thirty minutes going through basically bushes. It was such a dull and scary walk for me. The village is also said to be in a local government in Ekiti, so practically I can say that I walked from Osun state to Ekiti. Can your fave ever??!
It was honestly not a spectacular view or anything but I guess that feeling of having made it to the top will suffice. We walked through the village with me pondering over how they were coping without electricity, good water supply, and other basic amenities. It looked like something right out of the old Nollywood videos.
We stopped at their stream to cool off a bit before turning back and hiking back down to the second waterfall level. The walk back was faster and less stressful.
Our last stop, one we left for the last so we could properly indulge was the second waterfall level! This also happens to be the biggest of the three waterfalls. The current is so heavy but it was a really fun experience.
If you ever visit the Erin Ijesha waterfall, please don’t be like me and not come without a change of clothes and a small towel to dry off, so you won’t have to sit in wet clothes afterward like me. lol
Chasing Waterfalls - Check Out My Experience Climbing To The Seventh Level Of The Erin-Ijesha Waterfall! Click To Tweet
Erin Ijesha and Osun state were definitely an experience for me. An awesome one, at that and one, I’ll always remember. Even though it was such a struggle climbing up, I was glad my friends didn’t indulge me and made me test my limits. Would I be climbing up the Erin Ijesha waterfall again? NO! Like my canopy walkway experience, one experience is enough for me. haha
I can still feel the ache in my thighs as I’m sat here typing this but this doesn’t mean that I won’t be climbing more hills and chasing other waterfalls in the nearest future.
Have you ever been to Erin Ijesha waterfall? How was your experience and did you make it to the seventh level? Let me know, so you can join me at my table. For the rest of you, I’m sorry but you can’t sit with us. haha
What I Wore.
First off, can we observe a one-minute silence for my shoes that I lost during the hike up? Thank you. Now, don’t be like me and come wearing toms or any other excuse for sneakers. Find a comfortable pair of sneakers to wear and put slippers in your bag too for when you get into the water because walking in wet shoes isn’t exactly fun.
I’m not going to talk much about my outfit because there’s really nothing to say but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share some of these bomb pictures. I mean, if I do say so myself.
I hope that you found this post a bit helpful if you’re planning to visit Erin Ijesha.
Please feel free to share using any of the click to tweet buttons, like they say on twitter – someone who needs this post might be on your TL. lol
Share your thoughts please and let’s connect!
N500 for your camera is just ridiculous. Lol na wa. Looks and sounds like a strenuous hike. Shoutout to you guys for finishing the whole thing. Damn. Reminds me of when my fam, friends and I made the arduous trek at Kwa Falls. There were dilapidated steps for like 10% of the trek. The rest of it we had to improvise movement. Def one of the harder treks I’ve done. If I visit Erin Ijesha, I might just stop after seeing all waterfalls. Haha. Nice one, Cassie!
It was pretty strenuous. I won’t lie loool
Fam, Kwa falls is on my list Ohhh, don’t ruin it for me please. 😥😢
Looks like so much fun!! I have to go next time I am in Nigeria
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You totally should! Just go with the mindset of getting down and dirty lol. Thanks alot for reading
I visited erinjesha waterfalls this year too. I could only make it to the third floor. It’s a magnificent view. These are really good pictures
Thank you Ghana. Coming from a bad ass photographee like you, I take this compliment to heart. Thanks!
Such a beautiful place, I am so in love with the pictures. You had to pay for your camera ke? Who makes all these rules, smh. Lool I could feel your pain as you described the hike to the seventh level, I think it’s really cool that a small village is right at the top. Thank you for this post and for your tips, my bestie has invited me to come to her village for Christmas. Her village is in Osun and if I end up going, there’s no way we’re not going to visit this place, it’s stunning and I bet a lot of fun. And yes, Cassie your outfits are the bomb 😉
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Ese gan my dear!Thank you for complimenting my outfits *side eye to everyone else*
You totally should visit there. I’m sure I’d be going back to Osun soon for the Osun oshogbo Grove myself.
Now, i really want to go here! I wasn’t sure before, but I really want to now!!
Going through a period of wanderlust, hoping to go probably after internship though.
So sorry about your shoes Cassie! Thanks for the tips amd for sharing 😊
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Thank you for doing this post! 😊😊
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you found it helpful
Stunning Pictures.. Nigeria tourism better develop this places to be a tourist attraction.
Definitely adding exploring Nigeria to my bucket list.
Your outfits are gorg and the waterfalls look so beautiful. Loving your travels, making me miss Nigeria so much. And paying for your camera? Wow. These people and their silly demands. Good thing you had a great time regardless.
I’m having all sorts of romantic ideas that my bank account is not in agreement with… It’s just doing me like “uurrrrrhhhh”
But low-key, there are some really cool places in Nigeria…
Hey! Next helpful and nice post, thank you!
Do you remember how long it took you (more or less) to climb to the village and come back? I am planning to visit Erin Ijesha this weekend.
So adventurous! The waterfall looks ah-mazing! Makes me wanna visit too. 💙
Hi Cassie, thanks for this post. I found it so helpful. Please i’ll like to know if you used a tour guide and how much they cost. I’m visiting with a few friends and i’m just wondering if we will be left to wander off just like that lol
Hiii, we didn’t use a tour guide and yes you can wander on your own if you want.
Hi Cassie, been following you for close to 4 years. I was looking at suggesting an office trip for bout 50 people. But we are in Lagos and it will be stressful and expensive too.
Thanks for the post. It helped a lot.
I recently visited this waterfall. And you bet, I stopped at the 3rd layer of the hill. I couldn’t even dare walk on all fours to see the last part. It was fun taking a shower in the waterfall. However, you’re a great storyteller, when will explore more places?
I did last year, i also stopped at the 4th layer……felt it was getting dark, was not prepare for such hike oooh….but definitely going back soon.