Overview
The Mambilla Plateau is a high plateau in the south-east of Taraba State, on the border with Cameroon, and includes the highest inhabited ground in Nigeria. It is named for the Mambila people, and its elevation gives it a cool, wet climate unlike most of the North East zone.
History
The plateau has long been home to Mambila and neighbouring communities living in scattered hill settlements, with cattle keeping by Fulani herders established over generations. Its remoteness meant limited outside contact until the colonial period, when administrative posts and mission stations were set up. Tea was introduced on the plateau in the twentieth century and became associated with the Kakara and Nguroje areas, and the highlands have since been studied for their montane forest, which holds species not found elsewhere in Nigeria. A large hydroelectric scheme has long been proposed for the area, and its status has changed repeatedly, so this page does not state a current position.
What to expect
The plateau is grassland and patches of montane forest at altitude, with escarpments, streams and waterfalls at its edges, and temperatures noticeably cooler than the plains below. Roads onto the plateau climb steeply and conditions vary with the rains. Because access and facilities change, current travel information should be checked rather than assumed.
Connected history or culture
The plateau's people are covered on the Mambila page, and it lies in the same eastern highland belt as the forests described in Cross River rainforest timber.