Information about flights to Abuja
A new city in the making, Abuja was built from the ground up to be Nigeria's new capital. A bright and beautiful new city, with many natural and man-made attractions, it has beautiful parks, great shopping and an exciting nightlife. It’s easy to see what makes Abuja the perfect place to visit in order to experience the wonder and colourful atmosphere of Nigeria.
Getting there
Flights to Abuja depart from London, Manchester and Birmingham airports, taking around six hours with possible stopovers in Paris, Addis Ababa or Frankfurt. Your flight will bring you to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, around 35 minutes west of Abuja.
Explore the city
The city of Abuja is defined by the immense Aso Rock, a 400m high monolith carved out by water erosion. The city itself has some impressive buildings worth seeing too – check out the beautiful Abuja National Mosque with its golden dome and four vast minarets. There are also wonderful shopping centres, restaurants and fun nightclubs around the city to explore.
Get back to nature
Escape the bustle of the city at one of the parks in and around Abuja. Millennium Park, the largest public park in the city, is divided by a river into two sides, one dedicated to uncontaminated Nigerian nature, and the other has a more traditional and rigid Italian-style garden layout. There is also the National Arboretum which maintains natural flora and fauna in their original conditions for the public to enjoy.
Family fun
Animal lovers and families should visit the National Children’s Park and Zoo with its modern spacious enclosures for various species of African animals, such as tortoises, camels, cheetah, giraffe, ostrich, zebra and lion. There are also plenty of playgrounds and activities for kids as well as more domesticated animals for them to pet and feed.
Traditional crafts
Be sure to visit the Arts and Craft Village in the centre of the city. Here you can buy some of the beautiful art and craft works that represent Nigeria’s culture. Thatch-roofed huts with red clay walls sell everything from little sculpted warrior statuettes, beaded necklaces and bracelets to African traditional masks, traditional leather bags and Adire clothing. There are also plenty of stalls selling traditional Nigerian street food and drinks.
Food and drink
Individual ethnic groups within the country give Nigerian cuisine a wonderful variety of dishes and flavours. Try jollof rice, dodo, fufu, iyan and moin moin as side dishes. Try the BluCabana Restaurant for different world cuisines such as beef, chicken and fish suya, a Nigerian favourite, consisting of grilled skewered meat coated with spices.
