Nigeria has a number of great watering holes but no watering hole in the country is as crystal clear and blue as the Wikki warm springs.

This underrated swimming hole does not require too much but that you travel to Bauchi and it’s worth it.

Swimming in the water here will make you think you’re in a tropical paradise.

The Wikki Warm Springs is one of the best features of Yankari game reserves. It is crystal-clear, disease free and naturally warm.

For many individuals, the Wikki Springs with white sand resting at the bottom is the main reason for visiting the Yankari. Flood-lit at night, it’s wonderful after a hot day’s game-viewing to relax in the warm water.

It is about 13.0 metres wide and 1.9 metres deep and daily flows 21,000,000 litres of clear, spring water into the Gaji river. The spring has a constant temperature of 31.1 °C through the year during both day and night and has been developed for recreation.

The Wikki Warm Spring can be found in the Yankari National Park, Nigeria’s most revered national park for spotting wildlife. The Wikki Warm Spring is the biggest of the four warm springs in Yankari, which have come about as a result of geothermal activity below the park.

The spring is Mother Nature’s answer to a spa with a consistent temperature of 31°C which boasts crystal clear waters and flows into a beautiful lake which is 200 meters long by 10 meters across and nearly two meters deep, making it the perfect spot for a swim.

Bauchi State has gone through a much transformation since it was created. During the colonial era up to independence, it formed part of the Bauchi-Plateau of the then Northern Region, until the 1967 state creation exercise, when the Bauchi, Borno, and Adamawa provinces constituted the former North-Eastern State.

With the creation of Bauchi state in 1976, then comprising present Bauchi and Gombe states, it included 16 Local Government Areas. The number of Local Government Areas in the then Bauchi State was increased to 20 and later to 23. However, in 1997 when Gombe state was created out of Bauchi and additional local governments were created in the country, Bauchi State was left with 20 Local Government Areas.

Bauchi Local Governments Areas (LGAs)

Bauchi State has 20 (twenty) Local Governments Areas (LGAs), namely: Alkaleri, Bauchi, Bogoro, Dambam, Darazo, Dass, Gamawa, Giade, Ganjuwa, Jama’are, Itas – Gadau, Katagum, Kirfi, Misau, Ningi, Shira, Tafawa Balewa, Toro, Warji, and Zaki.

1. Alkaleri
2. Bauchi
3. Bogoro
4. Damban
5. Darazo
6. Dass
7. Gamawa
8. Ganjuwa
9. Giade
10. Itas/Gadau
11. Jama’are
12. Katagum
13. Kirfi
14. Misau
15. Ningi
16. Shira
17. Tafawa-Balewa
18. Toro
19. Warji
20. Zaki

List of Bauchi State’s 20 Local Governments Areas, headquarters and land area

SN	LGA	Area (km2)	Headquarters
1.	Alkaleri	5,918	Alkaleri
2.	Bauchi	3,687	Bauchi
3.	Bogoro	894	Bogoro
4.	Damban	1,077	Damban
5.	Darazo	3,015	Darazo
6.	Dass	535	Dass
7.	Gamawa	2,925	Gamawa
8.	Ganjuwa	5,059	Kafin Madaki
9.	Giade	668	Giade
10.	Itas/Gadau	1,398	Itas
11.	Jamaare	493	Jamaare
12.	Katagum	1,436	Azare
13.	Kirfi	2,371	Kirfi
14.	Misau	1,226	Misau
15.	Ningi	4,625	Ningi
16.	Shira	1,321	Yana
17.	Tafawa Balewa	2,515	T/Balewa]
18.	Toro	6,932	Toro
19.	Warji	625	Warji
20.	Zaki	1,476	Katagum

Bauchi State is located between latitudes 9° 3′ and 12° 3′ north of the equator with a total land area of 49,119 km² representing about 5.3% of Nigeria’s total land mass. The state is bordered by seven states; namely Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the east and Kaduna to the west.

Bauchi state has two distinctive vegetation zones, namely, the Sudan Savannah and the Sahel Savannah. Sudan savannah vegetation covers the southern part of Bauchi state where the vegetation gets richer and richer towards the south, especially along water sources or rivers, but generally, the vegetation is less uniform and grasses are shorter than what grows even farther south, that is, in the forest zone of the middle belt.

Languages of Bauchi State per LGA

LGA	Languages
Alkaleri	Dass; Bole; Duguri; Giiwo; Guruntum-Mbaaru; Labir; Tangale
Bauchi	Bankal; Duguri; Dulbu; Galambu; Gera; Geruma; Giiwo; Guruntum-Mbaaru; Ju; Kir-Balar; Labir; Luri; Mangas; Mbat; Pa’a; Polci; Shiki; Tala; Zangwal
Bogoro	Sayawa(Za’ar)
Darazo	Bole; Deno; Diri; Giiwo; Mburku; Ngamo; Zumbun
Dass	Bankal; Dass; Gwak; Polci; Saya; Shall-Zwall; Zari
Dukku	Bole
Gamawa	Karekare
Ganjuwa	Ciwogai; Gera; Geruma; Jimi; Kariya; Kubi; Miya
Kirfi	Bure
Misau	Fulato/Borno; Shuwa; Kanuri; Hausa; Fulani
Ningi	Diri; Gamo-Ningi; Kudu-Camo; Pa’a; Siri; Warji; Geruma
Tafawa Balewa	Sur; Vaghat-Ya-Bijim-Legeri; Zari; Bankal; Gwak; Izere; Sayawa(Za’ar)
Toro	Bankal; Dass; Geji; Geruma; Gwa; Gyem; Iguta; Izere; Jere; Lame; Lemoro; Mawa; Panawa; Polci; Sanga; Saya; Shau; Tunzuii; Zari; Zeem; Ziriya
Zaki	Bade

Other languages of Bauchi State are Ajawa, Beele, Berom, Kanuri, Kwaami, Manga, Pero, and Piya-Kwonci.

Sahel type of the savannah, which is also known as the semi-desert vegetation, becomes manifest from the middle of the state as one moves from the state’s south to its north. This type of vegetation comprises isolated stands of thorny shrubs. On the other hand, the southwestern part of the state is mountainous as a result of the continuation of the Jos Plateau, while the northern part is generally sandy.

Yankari has become the most developed wildlife park in Nigeria with a lot of attractions for visitors with a wide variety of flora fauna. The park is famous for its variety of animals available for viewing around the year, though the animals are better watched between November and May period of the dry season when the animals converge around the Gaji River in the park.

Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria, the capital of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau, at an elevation of 616 m. The city has a population of 316,173 (2004). The Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km2 and had a population of 493,810 at the time of the 2006 Census.

The city was founded by Yaqub ibn Dadi, the only non-Fulani flag-bearer of the Sokoto Empire. The name was derived from a hunter called Baushe, who advised Yaqub to build his city west of the Warinje Mountain. In return Yaqub promised to name his city after the hunter. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is buried in the city, while the Yankari National Park is 110 KM from the state capital. The city lies on the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri railway line. The Bauchi State Library Board was established-in-1976.

Bauchi state is a heterogeneous state, with predominant tribes like, Hausa, Fulani, Jarawa, Tangale, Waja, Balewa, Sayawa and Tarewa. It is made up of 20 local government areas, namely: Bauchi, Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro, Katagum, Alkaleri, Dambam, Giade, Ganjuwa, Darazo, Dass, Ningi, Shira, Gamawa, Itas/Gadau, Jam’are, Kirfi, Toro, Warji, Zaki, Misau.

Bauchi state is an agricultural state. Its vast fertile soil is an added advantage for agricultural products, which include maize, rice, millet, groundnut and guinea corn. Irrigation fanning is practiced and supported by the use of dams like Balanga dam, etc. Cattle and other livestock are also reared in the state.

The state has industries like the Bazamri PVC – Wire Limited, Kuda Nails Factory, Yankari Natural Water Company, Zaki Flour Mills and Arewa Ceramic Industry and others.