Dry-season dust drifts over the stalls of Akesan Market, where carved calabashes wait in the shade a short walk from the Alaafin's palace. Come back in August and the same streets turn red, as Sango devotees in beads and braids gather near the Koso Temple to drum, chant and share roasted new yam.
Beyond the palace quarter, the town spreads into campuses and farm roads, and the office of Old Oyo National Park points the way north to the ruins of the empire's first capital. The climate is tropical savanna, dry from November to March and wet from April to October. A Local Friend keeps your plans loose enough to swap a market morning for a festival afternoon.
