Assop Waterfalls Plateau State

Assop Falls is 70 km along Jos-Kagoro road on the top of the Jos Plateau. The Assop River supplies water which the rapids and falls use, and it feeds the natural vegetation of grasslands that extend into the gallery forests.Assop FallsThe site is an area of Guinea Savanna on the slopes and top of a mid-altitude ridge of the Jos Plateau, beside the Jos-Kagoro road, about 70 km from Jos. The vegetation comprises gallery forests sorrounded by grasslands. The Assop river, which feeds the picturesque rapids and falls, drains part of the Jos Plateau.

Plateau State is perhaps one of the most blessed in Nigeria; situated in the tropical zone of the Middle Belt region, Plateau State is in fact in the centre of the country and can boast of one of the best of climates in the country.Known as Home of Peace and Tourism, Plateau State parades lots of tourist attractions and sights, traditional architecture, zoos, wild life parks with animals like buffalos, lions, leopards, baboons, monkeys, derby elands, pythons, crocodiles, chimpanzees, jackals and the rare pygmy hippopotamus.

Perhaps another microcosm of the Nigerian state with diverse ethnic groups and different languages, the official language in Plateau State is English, while as is the case in most Northern states, Hausa is the common universal medium of communication and commerce.With a unique and beautiful climate conducive for cotton production as well as groundnuts, rice, Irish potatoes, maize, soya beans, it boasts of a strong agriculture potential.

Blessed with abundant relaxation sites, Plateau State is home to many waterfalls and perhaps the most notable of them all, and one of the most notable among the waterfalls in Nigeria is the Assop Falls.With a population of over 3.5 million people, Plateau State, despite its abundant beautiful sceneries, today faces violet clashes, where lives have been lost; this however does not remove the loveliness of the state.Assop Waterfalls, located at the edge of the Jos Plateau, about 64 kilometres from the state capital, Jos, on the road to Abuja, is a popular tourist stop for picnicking, swimming and enjoying the scenery.

Assop Falls has also proved popular with people shooting local soap operas and advertisementsStill photography does not do justice to the incredible avalanche of water gushing down and one can only enjoy the scenery by a close-up look and personally exploring its beauty first hand or even having a picnic there while listening to the sound of water surging down the steep valley and emptying into the water below.



Assop Waterfall is a natural waterfall occurring at the bottom of the famous Hawan Kibo, a rocky uneven hill stretching a long distance below which members of the immediate community live and by which the community, is named.The silence before getting to the waterfall itself is occasioned various songs or different birds chirping while creating rhythmic music to the ear only to prepare you for what comes next...Assop Waterfalls flooding down the valley with an intensity that will send a shrill of excitement through your heart and make you wonder of the awe that the creation of such beauty only nature can truly boast of.

There are concrete rock formations in between that lead to the waterfall site, either side surrounded by thicketsTo see this beauty of nature costs a paltry N50, but any tourist who wishes to access the waterfall is required to part with nothing less than N300 or more, if he is to take photographs.To hold a meeting at the waterfalls attracts a charge of N3,500 while group picnics attract N4,000. To hold a 'ceremony' at the falls attracts N4,500 charge while movie producers pay N18,000 to shoot their movies at the Assop Waterfalls.

Locals believe that the Assop Waterfall harbours spirits, and that the spirits have been responsible for the deaths that have occurred there. Giving credence to the belief that spirits were responsible for the incidents, one of the guides said the spirits often used the beauty of the water to draw victims into a trance, rendering such victims vulnerable for the deadly slip or jump as the case may be that typically led to death.

But like other tourist attractions across the country, patronage at the beautiful natural heritage has decreased with time and this is not unconnected to the neglect that the Assop Waterfall has suffered, as well as the security challenge peculiar to that area of the country.Tourists no longer trust that part of the country anymore. And the guides there said that once security is assured, the Assop Waterfall will return to its normal bubbling attraction that it was once again.Also, government also need to take tourism beyond the level of rhetorics and turn to revenue earner by ensuring that the facilities around the waterall are put in proper shape to meet with international best standard.