Idanre

{{Use Nigerian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Idanre | other_name = Ufẹ̀ Òkè | native_name = Ùdàn'è | nickname = | settlement_type = Local Government Area and Town | motto = | image_skyline = A view of Idanre hills by Ayooluwa Isaiah.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = View of Idanre Town from Idanre Hill | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Nigeria | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Nigeria | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Nigeria}} | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Ondo | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | coordinates = {{coord|7|05|32|N|5|07|56|E|region:NG|display=inline,title}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-wikidata = yes | mapframe-marker = village | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | established_title = | established_date = | area_magnitude = | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = 1,543.4 | population_as_of = 2006 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 129,795 | population_density_km2 = | timezone = WAT | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = | blank_info = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Idanre''' ({{Audio|Idanre.wav|listen}}), known formerly as '''Ufẹ̀ Òkè''' is a historic town in Ondo State, and the headquarters of the Idanre Local Government Area which carries its name. The town is located at the foot of the scenic Idanre Hill which is of unique cultural and environmental significance,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ogunfolakan |first=Adisa |date=November 2012 |title=Report of geo-archaeological survey of Ufe-Oke (Oke-Idanre), Idanre, Ondo State, Nigeria |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.08.1080 |journal=Quaternary International |volume=279-280 |pages=357–358 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2012.08.1080 |issn=1040-6182|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and attracts many tourists.<ref>{{citation |url=http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/07/idanre-hills-tourists-haven-on-its-knees/ |url-status=usurped |title=Idanre Hills: Tourists haven on its knees |website=Daily Independent |date=13 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050208/http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/07/idanre-hills-tourists-haven-on-its-knees/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=5 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="whc.unesco.org">[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5169/ Oke Idanre (Idanre Hill) - UNESCO World Heritage Centre]</ref><ref name=frost>{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Amietophrynus/Amietophrynus-perreti |title=''Amietophrynus perreti'' (Schiøtz, 1963) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2015 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=24 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=OnadekoEtAl2014>{{cite journal|last1=Onadeko|first1=Abiodun B.|last2=Rödel|first2=Mark-Oliver|last3=Liedtke|first3=H. Christoph|last4=Barej|first4=Michael|year=2014|title=The rediscovery of Perret's toad, ''Amietophrynus perreti'' (Schiøtz, 1963) after more than 40 years, with comments on the species' phylogenetic placement and conservation status|journal=Zoosystematics and Evolution|volume=90|issue=2|pages=113–119|doi=10.3897/zse.90.8234|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The town is about {{cvt|20|km}} southeast of the state's capital Akure, it has an area of 1543.4 square kilometers (595.91 sq mi) and a population of 129,795 as of the 2006 census.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2011 |title=ONDO STATE DIGEST OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND VITAL STATISTICS |url=https://www.ondobudget.org/publication/2012/DIGEST%20OF%20DEMOGRAPHIC%20AND%20VITAL%20STATISTICS.pdf |access-date=1 November 2024 |website=Ondo Budget |page=16}}</ref> The postal code of the area is 340.<ref>{{cite web|title=Post Offices- with map of LGA |publisher=NIPOST |url=http://www.nipost.gov.ng/PostCode.aspx |access-date=20 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007011423/http://www.nipost.gov.ng/PostCode.aspx |archive-date=7 October 2009 }}</ref> Idanre is Nigeria's largest cocoa producing area.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5RWAAAAYAAJ|title=Politics and Economics of Africa|volume=2|author=Frank H. Columbus|publisher=University of Virginia (Nova Science)|year=2001|isbn=978-1-59-03327-88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vE0EAQAAIAAJ&q=Idanre+cocoa+largest+farming+nigeria|title=Africa Today|volume=33|publisher=Afro Media|year=1997|page=42}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://thenationonlineng.net/cocoa-once-upon-a-cash-crop/|location=Lagos, Nigeria|title=Cocoa: Once upon a cash crop|author1=Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf (Lagos)|author2=Damisi Ojo (Akure)|author3=Ernest Nwokolo (Abeokuta)|author4=Adesoji Adeniyi (Osogbo)|date=April 14, 2013|access-date=December 28, 2017|newspaper=The Nation}}</ref> The residents of Idanre are mainly a Yoruba speaking people (with a tongue similar to the ''Ondo'' dialect). A majority of its people are into farming and trading.

==History== Ufe Oke was founded by Olofen Aremitan from the Oduduwa royal household who was said to have left Ife with his band of followers with an item of inestimable value, a brass crown (Ade Ude). Idanre is made up of three disjointed township or localities, namely; Atosin, Alade and Odode (Ode Idanre). Although Ode Idanre is the major township with more populace and land area than the other two smaller localities, the others have always been recognized by the inhabitants independently. The Idanre hill, or ''Oke Idanre'' is located in Idanre town in Ondo State of southwestern Nigeria. It was in these hills that the people of Ufe oke (Ife of the mountains) lived for more than eight hundred years before they finally descended into the plains in the year 1923. The old site still remains in the hills, accessible through a 660 step ascent that leads up into the hills.

thumb|Aerial view of Idanre hills

== Site description == thumb|350px|A short oral history of Idanre in Ùdàn'è dialect by a native speaker

The hill of Idanre is considered to be one of the most beautiful natural landforms in Nigeria. It consists of cultural sites as the Owa's Palace, shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun Footprint, Thunder Water (Omi Apaara) and burial mounds and grounds. It resides {{cvt|3000|ft}} above sea level and houses a unique ecosystem upon which the cultural landscape has integrated. A great tree called the Iraye Tree is situated at the entrance of the ancient city.

=== World Heritage status ===

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 8, 2007, in the Cultural category.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Oke Idanre (Idanre Hill) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5169/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

=== Wildlife === ''Amietophrynus perreti'', or the Perret's toad, is only known from a single locality at the Idanre Hill. The five sites where forest elephants are found in southern Nigeria are the Omo Forests in Ogun State, the Okomu National Park in Edo State, the Cross River National Park in Cross River State, the '''IDANRE FORESTS''' and Osse River Park in Ondo State and the Andoni Island in Rivers State. [Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) ]

== Climate == Idanre features a tropical monsoon-influenced savanna climate with abundant rainfall from April to October, enhanced by its hilly terrain. The dry season from November to March has warm temperatures and reduced cloud cover.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yearly & Monthly weather - Ondo, Nigeria|url=https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/nigeria/ondo-climate|website=Weather Atlas|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en-us|first=Weather|last=Atlas}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Local government areas in Ondo State Category:Towns in Yorubaland Category:Articles containing video clips