Things to do in Abuja

Landmark · Central Area, east

The 400-metre granite monolith the city was planned around, with the Presidential Villa, National Assembly and Supreme Court at its foot.

Local tip: You cannot approach the rock itself — the security zone is real. The best view is from the Central Area or from the Millennium Park side, and photographing security installations is a genuinely bad idea.

Culture · Central Area, Independence Avenue

The gold-domed national mosque and the vast national church face each other across the central axis — deliberate symmetry in a country balanced between the two.

Local tip: The mosque welcomes non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times with appropriate dress and a guide from the office. Seeing the pair together on the same avenue explains more about Nigeria than most museums do.

Nature · Jabi

A reservoir in the middle of the city with a waterfront mall, a boardwalk and boats — the city's default place to be outdoors.

Local tip: Go on a weekday evening rather than a Saturday. The lakeside path is one of the few pleasant places to walk in Abuja, and the mall side gets very crowded at weekends.

Culture · Central Area, near the Sheraton

A permanent market of small stalls selling work from across Nigeria — leather from Kano, bronze from Benin, textiles, beads and carvings.

Local tip: Prices are negotiable and the quality varies a lot; go slowly and look at several stalls for the same item. It is the most reliable place in Abuja to buy Nigerian craft that was actually made in Nigeria.

Nature · West of the city

The reservoir that supplies Abuja's water, in green hills that look nothing like the popular image of northern Nigeria.

Local tip: Access is controlled and it is worth checking the current position before driving out. The wider landscape west and south of the city — granite inselbergs and open savannah — is the surprise for anyone who expected desert.

Nature · Katampe, north of Maitama

A high ridge above the city with the best panoramic view of the whole master plan laid out below.

Local tip: Go at sunset on a clear evening in the dry season and you can see the entire planned city from the Central Area to Gwarinpa. It is a short drive from Maitama, costs nothing, and most residents have never been up.