The largest city in West Africa, Lagos is a dynamic cultural center where people of all backgrounds live and work together. It is also the home of the world’s largest film industry, Nollywood, and a lively music scene with the Afrobeats movement.
The city’s old town is a pleasure to explore, with whitewashed houses and cobbled streets surrounded by 16th-century walls. Here you can find some museums (Museu de Lagos) and churches such as Santo Antonio Church.
The Old City
The Old City of Lagos is wanderers’ heaven with its colorful buildings, cobblestone streets and vibrant ambiance. It’s easy to spend a half day exploring the historical center of the town.
The city was first occupied by the Phoenicians before being discovered and conquered by the Romans, Greeks and Carthaginians. It was also a Moorish settlement before it became a Portuguese colony.
After the Portuguese conquest, the town grew to become the most important port in the African trade. In the 15th century, caravels from Lagos started discovering the African coast and bringing back gold, spices and slaves to Portugal.
The town is surrounded by a defensive wall, and it’s a must-see in the historic centre of Lagos. The views from the walls are stunning.
Kayaking
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert kayaker, Lagos offers a plethora of adventures. It’s one of the most popular places for kayaking in Portugal, and it’s a fun way to see this spectacular stretch of coastline.
Kayaking tours usually last around 2 or 3 hours, and most of them include a visit to the stunning Ponta da Piedade caves. The sea cliffs around Ponta da Piedade are carved by the force of water, creating natural pillars and tunnels that contrast perfectly with the vivid blues and greens of the sea.
If you’re a family, this is a great tour to do with kids because they get to stop at a lovely beach where they can swim or snorkel. They also go around the rock formations and enter the caves.
The Lagos Lagoon
The Lagos Lagoon is an important water resource for the nation and surrounding communities. It serves as a habitat for aquatic organisms that provide food and income for the local population.
The lagoon is a brackish water environment that is home to many aquatic species. It also supports the Nigerian economy, with several of its fish species being commercially significant.
Despite its vast size and importance, the lagoon is also one of the most impacted by pollution. Hydrocarbons enter the lagoon from river run-off, accidental spillages at oil depots and careless waste oil disposal.
As a result, the lagoon has been heavily exploited by fishing and aquaculture, leading to a progressive deterioration of the ecosystem. However, there is a lack of understanding as to the extent of environmental perturbation in the lagoon and its corresponding ecological effects on foraminiferal assemblages (bioindicators). This study aims to address this gap by investigating benthic foraminifera assemblages across a range of sediment types to assess their sensitivity to anthropogenic influences.
The Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is a force that has shaped Lagos from a humble port town into Africa’s largest metropolis, home to 22 million people. Its waters also form a barrier around the city, protecting it from the effects of coastal erosion.
But rising sea levels and storm surges are a constant threat, and environmental safeguards have been weak. The government has installed 18 groynes, a type of coastal defence that traps sand and prevents it from washing into the ocean.
Despite these measures, the coastline is still eroding rapidly. Experts say it is caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that makes the ocean more acidic over time.
In addition, a new development being built on reclaimed land called Eko Atlantic, which will be 8.4km long when completed, is generating waves that may erode the coastal areas around it. Critics are urging the developer to reconsider its plans for the project and the surrounding area.