Two to three days work well for most visitors. That leaves time for the view from Milliken Hill, a walk to the cave in the Ngwo Pine Forest, a market visit and an evening in Independence Layout. Add a day if you want to see Awhum Waterfall, about 30 km from the city.

Enugu comes from the Igbo words énú ụ́gwụ́, meaning hill top. The name first belonged to Enugwu Ngwo, a town on the escarpment above the colonial coal camp. Funnily enough, the city itself sits at the foot of the escarpment, with the hills rising along its western side.

Enugu grew around coal. British surveyors found coal under the Udi Hills in 1909, and Nigeria's first coal mine opened there in 1915. A railway to Port Harcourt carried the coal to the sea. Most mines have closed, but the nickname stuck, and some old mines welcome visitors.