Iyake Suspended Lake is belived to be a mystical, emotional, medicinal and spiritual water body atop Ado Hill. The marvelous lake took its name from a crying mother, who for being barren, was reported to have drowned in the Lake.
The Lake which is the only natural suspended in the world is the mother of other attractions on Ado Hill. In contemporary society, festival tourism is becoming increasingly popular as a new form of tourist activities.
Festival tourism is a powerful economic force that generates employment, foreign exchange, tax revenue and facilitates social development, Iyake Suspended Lake is a great asset to us in Africa and it’s my pleasure to introduce you to the annual Iyake International festival celebration of wonders of Africa only natural suspended Lake.
The people of Oyo are rich in culture with passionate attachment to their African heritage. Each year, they gather to celebrate and promote the the Iyake Festivals
The Alado of Ado Awaye Kingdom, Oba Ademola Olugbile Folakanmi, has reiterated the commitment of the Oyo State Government to promote the Iyake Festival into international tourism standard.
Oba Folakanmi said, “The festival is meant to create a foremost brand of tourism in Oyo State, Nigeria and the African continent. Also to showcase many of the outstanding endowments in Ado mountain, the only natural suspended lake in the world, and to significantly increase investments in infrastructures around and within Ado Awaye through robust Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
“The 2023 Iyake festival is important as the planning committee is working towards externalising the festival scope to neighboring countries like Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.”
The monarch stated this during a press conference at the Alado Hall, National Museum of Unity in Ibadan ahead of the forthcoming 3rd edition of the Iyake international festival scheduled to hold from November 14 to 16 in Ado-Awaye, Oyo State.
He added that the Iyake Suspended Lake is the only natural suspended lake in the world known for its healing power, affirming that it was recently also rated third amongst the Nigeria heritage wonders, and the most famous tourist centre in the state.
Speaking on the mysteries behind the lake, he said, “Iyake Suspended Lake is among the wonders of the world, being the only natural suspended lake in the world. The lake is more appealing for its splendor, myths and the arrays of natural wonders surrounding it. It is believed to be bottomless as nobody has ever dived to its end and come back.”
He adviced the state government to take advantage of the economic values of the lake to improve the revenue of the state
“Iyake Suspended Lake is highly suitable for nature oriented activities such as camping, hiking, nature/ethnic culture, wild life, mountaineering, mountain climbing competition and nature photography.“The lake has the potential of generating over 30% of the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) if well developed and managed. The governor has promised to identify five festivals within the five zones of Oyo State to adopt as state projected shows and cultural days under his Omituntun 2:0 Agenda.”
The monarch further said that the lake is a blessing to the people of oyo state and Nigeria, that it can be harnessed to promote tourism and attract tourism not only in Nigeria, Africa and even the world.
He, equally praised and hailed the efforts of the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, Honorable Jelili Oyinloye, the chairman of Iwajowa Local Government, Chief Tunde Odunlade, Ambassador Wale Ojo Lanre, Oba Awurela of Brazil, partners and lovers of culture and tourism among others for their spirited effort in ensuring the development of the tourism endowments and development in Nigeria.
The Festival is endorsed by Oyo State Government, National Tourism Development Agency and Ado Àwaye Tourism Heritage Development Initiative.
