I Explored a $100,000,000 Abandoned Resort Village

we are about to explore the largest and arguably the most expensive Resort ever built in West Africa what you are seeing right now is an ecosystem built 1 600 meters above sea level which in turn waterfall cable cars mounting cabins and a lot more beginning Construction in 2005 the developers plan for this result to attract millions of tourists from all over the world and on completion was named one of the most beautiful places in Africa this area Now lies desolate and is what many people will call a ghost town it's like lighting alarm and keeping it under the table no one does that if you're curious like me I'm sure you're wondering what really happened and if this place is still in use today I begin my adventure to Calabar in Nigeria to explore this remote region and to speak to the locals in hopes of figuring out why such a beautiful project and so much potential got abandoned getting to obudu wasn't going to be a walk in the park the trip should normally take six hours but took us 9 to 10 hours due to how bad the roads were but we finally arrived foreign [Music] is currently located in ogudu a region across River State in Nigeria and shares close boundaries with Cameroon it used to be a remote Village up in the hills with mostly normal and livestock Farmers living here until 1949 when his Cottage Rancher came acrossip he saw the potential and had the idea of making it into a resort which eventually founded in 1951 with his friend eventually was passed down to the Cross River state government who still operated today opoto cattle ranch presents a perfect opportunity for tourism within the country the route covers an area of 1 600 meters and is located at the top of a plateau that's 5200 feet above sea level we're shown to our cabin which was part of a cross-section of 20 beautiful structures perched at the top of a hill which had a really amazing view of the surrounding areas my best part about that cabin was that you could experience sunrise and sunset from the open deck there were also cartoons grazing around the ranch I'm someone who loves being in nature and just unplugging and to be honest this felt like the perfect place to do that in the evening we encountered our first problem [Music] wearing Beautiful Darkness as we're currently out here it's so beautiful as you can see oh sorry you can't see anything because it's dark there's no life it's really sad because people have looked really beautiful at night okay come on currently they put on a little bit of light for us so we kind of like have like we were the only ones in any of the cabins every other cabin was empty and looked like it had been broken into a glass of brick and everywhere was really silent more Darkness Now find some semolina not eating this much water in my entire life this cost four thousand dollars well it's what I was optimistic about this trip so I went to bed with a plan to wake up the next morning to explore more of the ranch It's a beautiful morning out here currently in OBU Carter Ranch you have to watch the sunrise on this side [Music] the first place to look at was the presidential villa which was used to house the three past presidents of Nigeria whenever they came visiting I just want to show you guys the potential of this place and what it currently is now I think it was commissioned by Musa the president this was in 2007. whenever the president comes into over the country ranch this is where he actually would stay all the glasses you can see here they're all bulletproof glasses I didn't think anybody has stayed in this place for years because it just looks empty and everything is just rotten away and this is one of the reasons why I actually stopped doing a lot of videos about tourism in Nigeria because every time you go to all this sport I want to promote them you get there and then by the time you see the reality of the place it just makes you feel really sad when I asked around I was told that the last time any president ever was dead was over 10 years ago due to the dilapidated conditions of the place and the building looked like it was hanging on by a thread [Music] foreign back then according to the people on ground they said obasanjo came and then he stood somewhere there and he shot at these glasses so this that you can see are all bullet holes of the bullets that never penetrated [Music] I wanted to see more of the side so a guy took us around [Music] there's a very beautiful waterfall on that side of the mountain but we can't get there from here to that waterfall it's three hours going three hours coming back wow that one is definitely out of the question because of my legs usually during the rainy season everything is green and the clouds are always close to the mountains looking down the mountains our guide informed me of a cable car which in the past took people down the mountain and I was really looking forward to riding it keep going keep going don't be lazy but the country route has so much going away and one of the best ways to experience this was taking a canopy walk above the trees even with the fact that most of the things are not usually how they're meant to be but it still really looks nice here and I'm actually happy I'm here it feels so cool to be surrounded by Nature we're going down and we have to climb back up but it feels nice it feels nice [Music] um can we come here company foreign so far I was really nervous about working across a metal extension Bridge because I wasn't sure of when last any work was done to maintain it currently 700 plus feet from the ground I noticed that many parts of the canopy work was falling apart walking across it meant you had to be very selective of where you stepped and this made me feel like I was in an episode of Indiana Jones [Music] some beautiful local chicken from over here cheers [Music] [Music] it was known so we're already very hungry I decided to head to the main restaurant area which was beside the conference center that was used to cater to the hundreds of guests that came here and it was empty not just empty but it also presented a major safety hazard one of the saddest Parts about being here is saying things that if they're functioning they were giving tourists an amazing experience like check this out this used to be the international restaurant but look at what it looks like now and I remember there's even a big hole there and everything is just shut down my heart sank what really happened [Music] standing on the deck as the song was fascinating I could only imagine what he must have felt like to have a meal or drink here and watch the sunset and I can imagine how he must have been back then but this is what it is now after going around and doing all these activities I'm talking normally you're meant to just go to the spa and probably just get a massage or just relax but spies also shut down restaurants to shut down comfort center is shut down if I don't fix the ranch before I leave next time wherever it takes over for me we'll say well you always from there what did you do up the ranch [Music] as someone who has traveled the length and bread of this country and made videos about different places my heart always sinks When I visit places and see the level of attention given to them it's even worse when it was built and then left towards Nigeria as a country loses so much every year from untapped tourism due to the government's total disdain for any form of income that doesn't do with exporting oil thank you to give you an idea of the power of travel and tourism when done right by a country South Africa's tourism sector generates over 740 000 direct jobs and in 2019 over 13 million people visited Morocco with all the amazing places that exist in Nigeria there is no reason we can't do these numbers this would have added a big boost to our GDP on a yearly basis while providing more jobs for more people if the Nigerian government is aware of this then why does this happen over and over again [Music] I was still looking for something to make an already disappointing day grade so I decided to head out for a walk along a road decoding intestine wood because of his winding patterns across the hill on both sides were lots of cattle headers who were grazing with their cattles is so if we guide these ones now go one side yes it's kind of like a language they speak you can see that he's making a sound this one's actually very big how much we want you place it won't buy 500 000. wow so he said one of these characters is like 500 000 which is half a million there which is almost a thousand dollars let's say like this one that is not so big but if it's really expensive maybe I should go into Cartier in this YouTube thing I don't know it's not paying me as much all right no Farms so we're going to a spot where we're going to be able to see the intestine road now it's really bumpy but we are getting close [Music] together the spots we need to walk up this hill [Music] guys this is remarkable the world was a nice piece of engineering and at least one of the things that I've lasted and was still functioning so far here foreign this is usually what is meant to take people from the cable car house there all the way down the hill where they can get the beautiful view and I can imagine what it looked like if I was actually inside one of these cable cars but apparently people in charge of cable cars are on strike so we can't get to access it which is really sad to take all our team so far I went to a mini waterfall that was located in a different section of the ranch avoid the fall at the waterfall use the hand wheels well that comes out [Music] when you're here and you're going around like I don't know these activities you don't feel like you're stressed out because the weather is really cool and you can also get sit down under the street here I'm gonna get just some of that cool back foreign my last video I flew all the way from Nigeria to Tanzania just to experience the pool we talked to it's what we have here currently sure you can look at it but we can't get it foreign [Music] you got some bananas you're gonna [Music] go just hold it foreign from here we took a bike ride to a spot called The Holy Mountain which had one of the most amazing views ever and this was the highlight of my day we're headed to the Holy Mountain now and we had to drop our cars and get on these bikes with this awesome gentlemen here so let's go [Music] during the Civil War people that ran to this mountain will see if you can see those heaps of sand on top of the mountain there those are bonds pools that people were hiding those days missionaries do come here for prayers people come to pray for fruit of the womb health problem and they come back with testimony that's why this place is a Holy Mountain I'd heard that lots of people come here to pray and drop offerings there is something about praying at a very high location that I believe makes people feel like they are closer to their gods there's a tight box there where you can drop money let me see if I can actually drop some money our guys playing my tires I mean one man Time Lord I shall return to this place with a testimony in the mighty name of Jesus amen type books here I'm dropping some money into it I just want to say a quiet prayer to God first of all I want to pray for 1 million subscribers before the end of the year I have many other players now okay let me just be my moment in Jesus mighty name that's great amen [Music] before we continue our exploration of this result I would love to talk about a long time sponsor of this Channel and the sponsor of today's video epidemic sound epidemic sound has been my go-to source for music for years it's great for online video creators like me who want to make money from their videos without having it demonetized music determines how people feel when you're watching your videos for example here is a clip of music number one and then this is music number two you can see that by just changing the music you get a different feeling even though it's the same clip and this is where epidemic sound comes in epidemic sound owns 100 of all their music so there is never a chance that your videos will receive a claim or take down which can be very painful the epidemic sound has over 35 000 tracks and 90 000 sound effects and new tracks have been added daily I currently use the personal plan which is great if you're creating content or podcasts for your own use on your own channels and most platforms like YouTube Facebook and Instagram are covered to get started sign up for the personal plan by clicking on the link in the description below so now let's jump right back into the video finally to close off the day I wanted to see the water parks and the cable cars so I asked the guide how about the cable cars which were built for you to take a Scenic ride up and down the mountain could I see that at least as I've been looking forward to taking a ride on it on this trip Justin what was 2015. this is like seven years ago and everything is still here look in here you can see that everything was made in Switzerland why was the government blind to the potential right in front of them for investment management just expressing something from the ground and expressing it from the cable car is actually different and I feel like that was the vision behind building these spots here we are now [Music] I believe apart from the lack of adequate infrastructure there is also a maintenance problem Nigeria doesn't have a maintenance culture which is reflected in most of the projects across their country once the structure is built and all the photographs have been taken adequate resources are input in place to ensure that quality is retained throughout his lifespan and this is reflective from everything we see around us today another problem is change of government and internal politics there is no long-term plan so everyone comes to the table with their own agendas if the first governor likes tourism and the next one doesn't then it's bye bye to all the infrastructure that has been built in that state which is the sad case of obudu foreign on my way back to Calabar the next day I decided to stop at the tinapa resort which was meant to be our version of Hollywood this was a resort that was built in 2007. it was meant to be a business and tourism Resort it was meant to attract a lot of people this is the studio but you know the whole of this place has been abandoned now so there's nothing here it's kind of like a ghost town how can this be solved I'm someone who doesn't just like to talk about problems without preferring some solutions and the best solutions for most of our tourism spots like obudu and the rest is that they should all be privatized and so to the right people who can turn it around I also believe the ease of doing business in every sector especially the tourism sector should be opened up and encouraged a page can be taken from Rwanda where you can open a new business in less than four hours finally I believe the right leadership plays a big role and that is why in the upcoming election we should be selecting leaders who have a vision for the future and who can lead Nigeria in the right way possible so that we don't end up becoming a sad story like the ogodocato ranch everywhere I go I've always tried to have a great time despite the situation and obudu in Calabar was no different despite all the challenges being here was really calming and I got a chance to unplug and not be on social media all day I also got a chance to meet and connect with the locals and see one of the most amazing landscapes in Nigeria I'm someone who is able to adapt to multiple situations so not have running water or electricity wasn't going to spoil my trip leaving with less has always been my lifestyle but that shouldn't be the case for everyone else in a country as rich as Nigeria we shouldn't always have to suffer and smile every time every Nigerian deserves to live in a working Society where all our basic needs are met after all is said and done cross river is an amazing place to live walk and play I love the calmness the food and the vibe here the people here are really hospitable and as someone who has lived most of my life in a fast-paced environment like Lagos you reminded me to slow down be in the moment and just leave and I would definitely be visiting again hope you guys enjoyed this video if you did please subscribe and I'll see you guys on the next one peace [Music]

Channel: Tayo Aina

Views: 597,789

Keywords: i explored a 100000000 abandoned resort village, abandoned, abandoned places, abandoned resort, hotel, abandoned mansion, abandoned hotel, urbex, exploring abandoned, exploring with josh, abandoned castle, travel, resort, abandoned buildings, exploring an abandoned mansion, abandoned mansions, urban exploring mansion, abandoned family mansion, abandoned hospital, disney, ghost town, exploring the unbeaten path, tayo aina, obudu mountain resort, tayo aina films, yes theory travel

Id: rxm3E1w6D9I

Length: 19min 44sec (1184 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 13 2023