One of the biggest and tallest monoliths in the world, Zuma Rock rises to a height of roughly 300 meters (980 feet) above the surface. The natural monolith is situated close to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, in the country’s western region.

Because of the abundance of guinea fowls surrounding the rock, the Zuba people of Niger State named it zumwa when they discovered it in the fifteenth century. After settling near the rock, the Zuba people began to regard it as a spiritual guide and offered sacrifices to it in exchange for protection. The landmark was also used as a defensive position against other invading tribes because it provided a clear view of the surrounding terrain.

Zuma Rock is depicted on the 100-naira note. During intertribal wars, the Gbagyi people used it as a defensive retreat from invading neighboring tribes.

Zuma Rock is unusually tall in Nigerian geography. It is more than four times taller than the NECOM House (Lagos’ tallest skyscraper as of 1979) and taller than the combined heights of Aso Rock and Olumo Rock.

Zuma Rock is composed of igneous rock, specifically gabbro and granodiorite. The natural runoff of water has left the rock surface with a human-like facial feature imprinted on the rock, with features like, mouth, nose, and eyes. The rock tends to get alight with fire during the rainy season. Friction created moving rocks caused by the sliding slope of the rock and during this, the fire came up.

It has become one of the most prominent landmarks in Nigeria, and since 1999 has been printed on the country’s 100 naira notes. Hiking up to the top of the rock takes about five hours.

Modern day mysteries Several centuries down the line, Zuma Rock still has multiple mysterious stories woven around it. Some natives have tales of unseen evil spirits dwelling in the belly of the rock. Others regard it as a den for ritualists, a hidden temple for initiation into the world of the occult and an abode for dare – devil armed robbers who seek temporary refuge there whenever they conclude a successful operation and want to share their loot or when security agencies are on their trail. Not far from the rock , is an uncompleted white edifice known as the Zuma Rock Hotel.

Some residents of the area believe that the hotel was a haunted zone hence it was abandoned by its owners. In the course of exploring the area and trying to fix the jig-saw puzzles of the rock , residents living within the radius of the rock gave varying accounts.

Some are of the opinion that the evil spirits had re- located, giving people a respite to now begin farming on the parcels of land near the rock. Yet, some residents said evil the spirits were still living in the bowels of the rock and do exhibit strange powers especially during odd hours of the night