Mountain · Nigeria
Chappal Waddi
Chappal Waddi is the highest mountain in Nigeria and reaches 2419 metres. It rises in the Gotel Mountains of Taraba State, a cool green highland close to the border with Cameroon.
Picture credit: Dotun55 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Nuredeenn (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Dotun55 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Chappal Waddi?
Chappal Waddi is part of the Gotel Mountains, Taraba State.
You will find it in: Nigeria.
Summit: 7.036° N, 11.715° E
The story behind it
Nigeria is known for hot lowlands and busy cities, but here the land climbs into round, grassy hills where the air feels fresh and mornings are grey with mist. Chappal Waddi is the highest of these hills, covered with short grass instead of forest, while thick woodland fills the valleys and hides streams that feed the Benue river. Fulani herders bring cattle to graze on the slopes in the dry season and live in camps of round huts. The name comes from Fulfulde and is usually translated as mountain of death, perhaps because of the cold nights, the steep ground and the fast weather. Nearby lies Gashaka-Gumti, the largest national park in the country, where chimpanzees, baboons and many birds live. Reaching the peak means long hours on rough tracks and then walking.
Find it on the globe
Chappal Waddi is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How high is Chappal Waddi?
The summit lies 2419 metres above sea level. At that height the air is much cooler than in the rest of Nigeria, and blankets are needed at night.
Which country is Chappal Waddi in?
The mountain stands in Nigeria, in the east of Taraba State. The Gotel Mountains that carry it run along the frontier with Cameroon, above the Mambilla Plateau.
Can you climb Chappal Waddi?
Yes, and the last stretch is mostly a steep walk over grass, without climbing gear. Getting there is the real effort: rough roads, river crossings and a guide from the villages who knows the way through the hills.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
Last checked: