Jos is the capital of the Plateau state in Nigeria. It is situated
more or less in the middle belt of Nigeria and has a population of about
900,000. It is popularly known as “J-town” or “Jesus Our Saviour” by
the locals. Jos has recieved a lot of negative attention for the clashes
between the Muslim and Christian populations, especially during the
years of 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Despite this Jos is known as “the
Home of Peace and Tourism” and is well known for it’s captivating
rock-formations.
Jos is served by Yakabu Gowon Airport (IATA: JOS, ICAO: DNJO) which
is often times reffered to as Jos Airport. The airport was named after
Yakabu Gowon. The airport has a few airlines operating flights from it’s
premises namely : Aero Contractors and Arik Air.
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Domestic flights |
Info |
Domestic flights
Jos is located in the centre of Nigeria and has a number of states
that are adjacent to it. It is close to Kaduna state and with Kaduna
state having two airports, it is not a major air destination. There are
regular scheduled flight from Lagos to Jos though.
| Airline | Destination(s) |
|---|---|
| Aero Contractors | Lagos |
| Arik Air | Lagos |
General Info (Climate, Geography, Travel & Tourism)
Climate
Jos is situated 1,217m above sea level and enjoys the cooler
temperatures that come with this altitude. Average monthly temperatures
are about 21 to 25 °C. It also suffers because of the high altitude
though with winter night times being quite chilly and hail stones during
the rainy season because of the drop of temperature. Jos is preffered
among the tourists and expats though because of this lower temperature
as temperatures in other regions can become unbearably hot to people who
aren’t accustomed to them. Jos recieves more or less 1,400mm of
rainfall annually.
| Average Temperatures for Jos | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Avg |
| Average High | 27 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 25 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 |
| Average Low | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 0.4 | 2.5 | 30 | 93 | 160 | 199 | 304 | 290 | 195 | 35 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 109 |
Geography
Jos is situated in the Jos Plateau. The area is thought to be a area
of younger granite with a intrusion of older granite. This is what is
responsible for the “unusual scenery of the Jos Plateau”. It is filled
with many hill-like structures that emerge from the ground like
mushrooms. The area also had much volcanic activity in years before
leaving numerous volcanoes behind and the plateaus that were created by
the flowing lava. The volcaninc activities many years back are one of
the reasons for Jos being in one of the mineral rich states. Tin is
still a very important mineral that is mined to this day in Jos.
One of the many famous Jos “hilltops”
Travel and Tourism
As mentioned before Jos is affectionately known as the “Home of Peace
and Tourism” and has many things to see and do. Here is a short list
with some of the more prominent of them :
The Pottery Hall
The pottery hall is one of the museums in Jos and incorporates the
Museum of traditional Nigerian Architecture. In these two museums one
can find Nok terracotta heads and artifacts that come from a by-gone
era, 500BC to AD200. One can also have a look replica’s of the walls of
Kano, the Mosque of Zaria to Tiv villages. All these replica’s are
life-size.
Some of the many artifacts that can be seen at Pottery Hall and the Musuem of traditional Nigerian architecture.
Jos Wildlife Park
Established in 1972 the park is home to many animals that live both
in natural and artificial reserves. It is about 5km from the main city
and covers an area of 8 square km. It is the only man-made zoological
garden and park in Nigeria. The park includes animals such as lions,
elephants, the rare pygmy hippopotamus and huge african pythons.
Some of the many happy inhabitants of the park.
The Rock Formations
Jos is very famouos for it’s rock-formations which include the Riyom
Rock. This is a pile of rocks that are balanced quite awkardly on top of
one another. There is even one that resembles a clown hat. The rocks
are observable on Jos-Akwanga road.
Some of the magnificent rocks at Riyom rock.
There are many things to do and see in Jos
and the greater Plateau State and it deservedly carries the title of
“the Home of Peace and Tourism”.