Agodi Gardens was our first stop on our Ibadan trip. 


Formerly called Agodi Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Agodi Gardens was created in 1967. The garden was destroyed by the Ogunpa flood disaster in 1980 as most of the animals were swept away by the raging water. The garden was renovated in 2012 by the Oyo State Government and the new Agodi Gardens was reopened in 2014. [Wikipedia]


What we first noticed was that Agodi gardens is located around the secretariat and from the outside it looked really nice and they had music playing at the gate. There is a security guard, a pay station, signs to wear a mask, washing hand station - that wasn’t enforced. 

First impression: 




The staff at the paypoint was so engrossed in her movie that it took a lot more than banging the glass for her to attend to us. You couldn’t enter without paying and they had network issues with the POS, no close-by ATM machine so we had to wait till the network worked for us to pay. I would suggest going there with cash. 


Gatefee: 

It is N500 for adults and children. 










First Impression when we entered: 


We were really amazed at the greenery, animals roaming (donkey, horse, peacock), trees. It was just so nice to behold. The trees have information about them in case you’d like to learn more. 
They had a nonfunctional amusement ride that would only work if the children pretended. There is a trampoline somewhere around and you could ride the horse for N500. 









There is a food court where they sell things like rice, chicken and chips, soya, etc. 
There is also a pool and to access the pool, you have to pay differently which is also N500/person 

What we loved: 


We loved the scenery, we loved that there was a huge space for the kids to play and we swam. The pool was shallow enough for the children to play in and have confident fun in the water.

What we didn’t like: 


The staff had an “I don’t care” attitude from the paypoint to the lifeguard at the pool. 
The pool was so dirty, it wasn’t cleaned even after requesting that he used his net to pick up the obvious dirt because of the children. 

If the place was bit more maintained, especially the pool & Cleaning the toilets.

Other things to note: 

We noticed more people came in towards the evening when we were leaving and it gave the place a little more life, if you don’t mind the crowd, you can schedule your visit to the later part of the day so it can be a bit more lively for you. 

Cuddly loves: 

Rating it 3.5 cuddly loves. 
Will I go back, if I had the chance? Yes! 

Have you been to Agodi gardens before? What are your thoughts?


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