A visit to the State of the Living
Spring, Osun state , is not complete for a tourist without a visit to
Erin-Ijesa in Oriade local government. You might be wondering why a
tourist will need to take such trip from the state capital, Osogbo,
which is home to the popular Osun Osogbo festival and culture. The
answer is not far fetched as Erin Ijesha is host to the popular
Olumirin Waterfalls.
Olumirin water fall, according to Engr.
Daniyan, is the most visited tourist site in Nigeria today. As at
November of 2014, from January to November the tourist site grossed
50,000 visitors. No other tourist site has had that level of
patronage .
The waterfall is 2km off Erin Ijesha
town. According to one of the custodians of the waterfall, it was
discovered by a woman called Akinla, founder of Erin-Ijesha town and
a granddaughter of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, in the
year 1140 AD during the migration of Ife people to Erin- Ijesa.
Legend has it that when it was first discovered, the waterfall had
the appearance of a mysterious figure.
Travelling in company of three other
tourists I came across at the Ilesha park in Osogbo,I was spellbound
seeing the seven layers of rocks and seven waterfalls as the water
flows majestically among the rocks and splashes down with great force
on the vegetation around like a mysterious figure indeed. Erin-ijesa
as part of south western Nigeria falls within the tropical climatic
belt with alternating hot dry and warm humid seasons. Atmospheric
temperatures only slightly from 30-34oC ranges while the annual
rainfall averages 1500cm.
The breeze cool and refreshing
The breeze at the waterfalls is cool
and refreshing. The whole scenery is fascinating and idyllic. I tried
comparing the scenery with that of Agbokim waterfalls in Cross River
state. What I saw at the Olumirin water falls is like the collection
of seven cascades which pour over a cliff creating an impressive
seven-part waterfall as in Agbokim Waterfalls.
As we savour the surroundings of the
waterfalls, the tourist guard on duty, Oluwole explains that when the
falls was first discovered that no one dared move near it for fear of
being swallowed up. “It was believed to be a living spirit through
whose several mouths water gushed out; a very tall and huge spirit
whose height reached to the high heavens. The inhabitants therefore
named the fall Olumirin.
“They thought this was another god
whose power over the whole area was only similar to Akinla, the
founder of Erin Ijesha town.”
Climbing the waterfall
According to a tourist who has visited
the waterfalls, “it doesn’t look like anything out of this world
until you begin climbing the seven levels of the ascending plains of
the waterfalls. “So, we begin the climbing, the view at all the
levels is wonderful and the freshness of the water is energizing.
However, the last and seventh level is definitely the most
intriguing, well that’s if you ever dared the torturous climb.”
The tour guard seeing the panting of
some of us said only few tourists can climb beyond the second layer.
He said: “Climbing up to the third level can best be equated to
traipsing the snowy steeply Mount Everest. “The area can also serve
for mountaineering exercise. Obviously, being at these different
levels and just basking in the invigorating freshness of the falls is
an unforgettable experience.”
But guess what? The place to be is
definitely the seventh level. Why? Not only does it lie at the peak
of the falls, it also hosts a settlement where many of its
inhabitants have lived for several years!” Still another enraptured
tourist could only wax poetic when he was confronted with the sheer
splendour of nature at Olumirin. “I could not resist the seduction
of this beauty, for Olumirin Water Falls is craft of supreme
architecture.
Overcoming his inertia, one of the trio
plunged deep into the fresh flowing fountain, burying his fears and
anxieties in the clear water. This was the first fall. Each fall
distinctly marks the mystical propensity of the fountain. Its ability
to sieve out the adventurous from the lilly-livered enjoys universal
acclaim. “Ascending the first steps that point to the first fall is
usually for all. Though its dancing bridge and the mould covered
greenish stones leave a bare feet squirming in pain, yet the first
fall is all embracing. Like a mother, she opens her bosom for all
visitors to the fall to soup from her clear spring.
It’s after this that the ascent to
the second fall begins. We made it to the second fall. “We had
erroneously believed that we had seen the best of Olumirin Water
Fall. But we saw nothing in the first fall. The second fall was out
of this world, we came to appreciate why we are human, not an animal.
A tourist, Wale Folarin, narrating his
experience at the falls said “My eyes beheld beauty. I saw, touched
and tasted beauty. I flew off on the wings of contemplation. As the
water like a snake lazily sliced through the heights, it picked up
velocity that slapped the flesh, pumping out like an imprisoned rebel
through the thickness of the woods. The third fall was something
else…”
Yet another dazed visitor said, “The
breeze at the waterfall is cool and refreshing, the water flows among
rocks and
- See more at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/olumirin-waterfalls-natures-gift-to-erin-ijesha-2/#sthash.HOxJ3xsu.dpuf
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