Things to do in Jos
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Jos
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, cool and clear, the best window for hiking, golf and excursions, with cold harmattan nights.
Hot build up before the rains, with Nzem Berom and Easter falling in this window when they run.
Rainy season, greenest plateau and fullest waterfalls but difficult roads, peaking July to September.
Rains ease, the country stays green, and the Jos Festival of Theatre and Independence Day fall here.
What's on
- Nzem Berom first week of April
The great Berom cultural festival heralding planting season, suspended in 2026 on security grounds.
- Jos International Festival of Theatre Usually May; check dates, as it has moved before
The city's long running theatre festival.
- Jos Carnival December
A December festive season carnival in Plateau festive calendars, with returning diaspora families in the city.
- Independence Day 1 October
Nigeria's national day, marked with events in the Plateau State capital.
Best things to do in Jos
National Museum Jos
Nigeria's essential archaeology museum, holding Nok terracotta sculpture and a pottery hall from across the country.
Museum of Traditional Nigerian Architecture
An open air park of life size replicas of Nigerian historic buildings, from the Kano walls to a Tiv village.
Jos Wildlife Park
A wooded conservation park from 1972 with elephants, lions and a pygmy hippo, best visited in the morning.
Jos Zoo
The compact 1957 zoo beside the museum, best combined with the galleries and MOTNA in one morning.
Ten Commandments Prayer Altar
A 25 foot tablet shaped monument in granite rock country, now a symbol of resilience for Plateau State.
Afizere Settlement
A historic hilltop settlement reached by the 100 Steps climb, with wide views back over Jos.
Terminus Market
Downtown Jos at full volume, where the plateau's famous potatoes, vegetables and strawberries concentrate.
Solomon Lar Amusement Park
A landscaped family park in central Jos with rides, lawns and shade for a low cost afternoon.
Where to stay in Jos
Rayfield, Jos South
the base to choose, calm and best hotels
Leafy former mining era district with Jos's best hotels, golf, the resort lake and better restaurants.
GRA and Apollo Crescent
business stays near government
By the State Secretariat, with mid range hotels and Tin City Cafe on Apollo Crescent.
Think twice about
- Central Jos and Terminus, Jos North
The city's historic and current tension geography, first to be curfewed, and not a base for a visitor.
- Anguwan Rukuba and Gangare, Jos North
Flashpoint neighbourhoods named in the city's violence history, including the 2026 bar shooting at Anguwan Rukuba.
Best restaurants in Jos
Tin City Cafe
Jos's best known cafe, serving breakfasts and deli lunches in a green garden across from the Secretariat.
The Net Cafe
Jos's veteran visitor restaurant, with the city's broadest menu of Mexican, African and international dishes.
Barcardi Jos
An Italian American cafe known for pizzas, pastas, grills and a much praised lamb and cheesecake.
Pizza & Ice Cream Club
Pizzas from a real pizza oven and ice cream at cheap eats prices, a Jos family favourite.
Sweet November Bistro
A small international bistro at cheap eats prices, the quiet dinner pick in the Jos listings.
Chef Kakas Cuisine
Home style Nigerian cooking of soups, swallows and rice dishes, described by reviewers as a taste of home.
Suya at Standard Building
Jos's famous suya address, beef, chicken and fish grilled with yaji spice and served with massa cakes.
The Quintana Space
An arts, food and music space in Rayfield where Jos's creative scene eats, exhibits and gathers.
Outdoor things to do in Jos
Shere Hills
The highest ground on the Jos Plateau, a guided ridge hike with enormous views, best in the dry season.
Assop Falls
A tiered waterfall in wooded country on the Jos road, a beloved Plateau picnic and filming location.
Kurra Falls
A quieter waterfall by the site of Plateau's first hydroelectric station, paired with Riyom Rock.
Riyom Rock
The plateau's postcard, a dramatic pile of balanced granite boulders rising from the Riyom landscape.
Rayfield Golf Club
A century old course in cool highland air, locally called one of the oldest golf clubs in West Africa.
Lamingo Golf Club
Jos's more accessible 18 hole course in open plateau scenery by the Lamingo dam country.
Rayfield Resort
A lake resort for boat rides, fishing and picnics in Jos's most relaxed suburban district.
Amurum Forest Reserve
A research reserve with over 300 bird species and two Nigerian endemics, visited by arrangement.
Best hotels in Jos
Crispan Suites and Event Center
Jos's flagship hotel, with around 100 rooms, an Olympic size pool, spa and the city's biggest event halls.
Silk Suites
A quieter Rayfield hotel of suites and apartments with a bar, in the district locals call serene and safe.
Valada Hotel and Resorts
A well kept mid range hotel off Apollo Crescent, handy for government business and Tin City Cafe.
Hill Station Hotel
Jos's historic hill station hotel from the tin era, booked for its gardens, setting and plateau views.
Crest Hotel & Gardens
A long running central hotel with gardens, used by Nigerian business travellers at budget prices.
Shartell Hotels
A straightforward budget hotel in the Jos listings, with basic rooms and a local business clientele.
Is Jos expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NGN 25,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NGN 65,000 a person |
| Splurge | NGN 150,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Shere Hills: a few days ahead
- Assop Falls: a few days ahead
- Kurra Falls: a few days ahead
- Riyom Rock: a few days ahead
- Rayfield Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Lamingo Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Amurum Forest Reserve: weeks ahead
- Crispan Suites and Event Center: a few days ahead
- Confirm the hotel directly, including security, generator and water arrangements, in writing.
- Arrange Shere Hills guides, Amurum visits and visitor golf several days out by phone or via the hotel.
- Never build a trip around a Jos festival date without confirming close to departure that it is running.
Is Jos safe?
- Plateau State carries severe risks of terrorism, crime and kidnapping.
- Nigeria overall is high-risk for terrorism, crime and kidnapping.
- Stay in Rayfield, move by known driver in daylight, and avoid Jos North flashpoints and Terminus after dark.
- Carry medical evacuation insurance: health care is inconsistent and ambulances are unreliable.
- Treat any curfew or security operation as an absolute instruction.
Jos travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Pack a real jacket, as dry season nights drop toward 10 to 15 degrees and rooms are largely unheated.
- Do not treat Jos as a relaxed resort town to wander, despite its cool hill station image.
- Re verify every listing on the ground, as Jos listings include closed, moved and renamed businesses.
- Never take a waterfall or rock excursion without current local security advice that morning.
Getting around Jos: public transport and more
- Use a hotel arranged private car and driver, agreed for the full day with fuel, for all excursions.
- Keke and local taxis work for short in city hops in daylight only.
- Do not make the Abuja to Jos road journey without current security advice from a local contact.
- Carry small naira notes, as card acceptance outside hotels is unreliable.
Who Jos suits
| Solo travellers | Not ideal |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Jos your trip
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