Akure: the Yoruba capital of cocoa

Capital of Ondo State, Akure remains at the center of one of Nigeria's main cocoa-producing regions.

The center, Yoruba capital of cocoa, is visited comfortably by shared taxi.

The Palace of the Deji of Akure, residence of the traditional Yoruba sovereign of the city, houses ceremonial objects and royal regalia still used today.

Just minutes away, the cocoa plantations surrounding Akure remain among the main sources of agricultural income for the entire state of Ondo.

Moving inland you can reach the Idanre National Park, with rock formations sacred to Yoruba tradition for generations.

In the evening, Akure markets animate trade in traditional Yoruba fabrics and agricultural products of the surrounding region.

Ondo State, of which Akure is capital, remains among Nigeria's leading cocoa producers, a crop introduced by British colonists in the late nineteenth century and become a pillar of the regional economy, exported toward Europe and North America.

The Idanre Hills, considered sacred by local Yoruba tradition, shelter an abandoned ancient settlement reachable via over six hundred steps carved into the rock, destination of ritual pilgrimages still practiced today.