The hook
A dense forest along a sacred river, dotted with shrines and fantastical sculptures to the Yoruba gods, one of the last great sacred groves of a living African religion, and the stage for a huge annual festival to the river goddess Osun.
01Why it's worth it
The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, on the edge of the city of Osogbo in southwestern Nigeria, is a rare survival: a tract of primary forest along the Osun River preserved as a sacred space in the Yoruba religion, home to the goddess Osun and a pantheon of other orisha (deities). Once, such groves stood beside every Yoruba town; now this is among the largest and last, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winding through the trees are shrines, sanctuaries, and sculptures, many of them the striking, organic works created and inspired from the mid-20th century by the Austrian-born artist and priestess Susanne Wenger and local artists, giving the grove a dreamlike, otherworldly quality. Each year the grove is the focus of the Osun-Osogbo festival, a two-week celebration culminating in a great procession to the river to renew the bond between the community and the goddess, drawing worshippers and the Yoruba diaspora from around the world. It is a powerful, living expression of a resilient African spiritual tradition and its art.
02How to experience it
Walk the forest paths among the shrines and Wenger's sculptures with a guide who can explain the Yoruba deities and the grove's meaning. If you can, time your visit to the Osun-Osogbo festival for the processions and ceremonies, though it is crowded. Treat it as the active sacred site it is.