Its history dates back to 1956, when it was established for the preservation, conservation and management of its wildlife, cultural, historical and geo-morphological attributes; for posterity, education, research, recreation and tourism. First opened to the general public in December 1962, the reserve has been attracting thousands of tourists annually. It is also very popular among researchers and
students of biological sciences, archeology and tourism. WHAT TO EXPECT
Yankari resort and safari abounds with wide variety of wild animals and plant species, cultural and historical sites, geologic formations and beautiful sceneries. There are some 52 known species of mammals, 350 of birds, 17 of reptiles, 26 of fish, 7 of amphibians and perhaps hundreds of insects. Among the large mammals include African elephants, buffalo, roan antelope, Bubal hartebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, hippo, lion, Anubis baboon, Patas monkey and Tantalus monkey. Cultural and historical features include ancient wells at Dukkey; Marshall caves (the only known man-made caves in west Africa) at Barkono; ancient iron foundry sites at Ampara and other locations; and several sites in a number of locations with stone walls, stone mounds and terraced hillsides as evidence of early settlements by mostly unknown people. Wikki resort itself is located on the site of an old village. Geologic features include 5 warm springs Dimil, Gwana, Mawulgo, Tungan Maliki and wiki, waterfalls and gorges at Barkono and Tonglong, river valleys, natural caves at Filiyaram, buttes, isolated hills and hill ranges, and beautiful sceneries in the Tonglong and Sha’aman Hills. Many of these are visited by special arrangements, as they fall outside the regular viewing routes.
