Oshogbo is Nigeria's most interesting city. It is the cradle of Yoruba art and home to a number of sacred places. Oshogbo is as sprawling as many other Nigerian cities, but it has a lot less traffic.

The Sacred Groves (or sacred forest) is a large rainforest area only 2 km from the town center. Inside the forest are numerous stunning sculptures and shrines dedicated to various Yoruba gods. One of the most amazing ones is the Shrine of Oshun, which is centered on a rock in the river, where offerings are made to the Great Fish, during the annual Oshun Festival in the last week of August. Only few people are supposed to have actually seen the Great Fish. The festival includes numerous traditional rites and dances.

Many of the newer, walls and shrines have been erected by Austrian sculptor Suzanne Wegner, who arrived there in the 1950's, but others, such as the Shrine of Oshun are very old and have been restored. A guide is compulsory and you're expected to make small 'offerings' at several points, so bring enough change! The money is used to upkeep all the monuments.

The Oja Oba Market is the central market where lots of ritual juju items are sold. Across from the market is the Oba's Palace that is also worth a visit. There are numerous shrines scattered all over town and especially near the market you'll find many of them. They are all dedicated to different gods, of which the best-known ones are Obatala (God of Creation) and Sango (God of Thunder and Lightning).

There are many hotels in Oshogbo, as well as restaurants. There are two taxi parks in town; one close to the center and another one some km out of town, for destinations in the direction of Benin. The motor park is uphill from the center. Oshogbo is 195 km northeast of Lagos and 330 km southwest of Abuja.