Katsina-ala is a cosmopolitan settlement that sits on the Katsina-ala River. The town is almost surrounded by water and it is linked to other major parts of the state via a dual lane bridge over the river. The town is about 126 km from Makurdi the capital of Benue State. There are reports of unrest and insecurity in the town, be advised.
Katsina-ala is a town that that has significant political and administrative importance to the state. It has a guinea savannah vegetation with undulating hills and shrubs. The town has an annual rainfall range between 158 mm to 185 mm. Just like most parts of Nigeria, there are two main seasons - rainy and dry seasons.
Katsina-ala shares a border with Taraba and it is one of the routes that can be used to exit Benue state. There is a bridge that runs over the River Katsina-ala and it connects the town and every other traffic from there to Makurdi, Gboko, Adikpo. The people of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State are mainly farmers who engage in small-scale farming. The town is blessed with very good soil, rainfall and drainage. During the dry season, irrigation is actively used, mostly for vegetables. Major crops cultivated include yams, sorghum, cassava, yellow melon, beni-seed (sesame), soybeans and groundnuts. One can also find surplus oranges, mangoes, guava, etc.
There are numerous schools in the town, with majority of the high schools and elementary Schools ran by private owners. There is the popular College of Education, Government Day Secondary School, Government Model College, Demonstration Secondary School, Katsina-ala, Divine Girls Catholic Secondary School etc.
The town used be a really peaceful and exciting place to live in, very accommodating and full of life. But sadly it has been marred by a series of communal clashes between the two dominant tribes, the Ikyurav and larger Shitile. The unrest later escalated into chaos and series of killings when a notorious criminal and gang leader, popularly known as Gana was killed. This led to his gang breaking up into different factions, each seeking to be the new leader. The unrest is mostly in the rural parts of the town.
The main way to get into Katsina-ala is by road and boat.
Katsina-ala does not have an airport. The nearest airport you will find is the Makurdi Airport, located in the state capital. It receives flights from major cities in the country.
Katsina-ala can be accessed mainly through road travel. Major transport companies make trips to the town and they offer private rides too.
Coming from Abuja or Lagos, the first drop off is at Makurdi from where you can take a direct bus direct to the town.
From Makurdi, a taxi would take about 2-3 hours with a distance of 126km. The time might be longer depending on the vehicle you boarded and the traffic on the road. There are different interstate bus services that plys the route from Makurdi and Gboko to Katsina-ala. The state run transport company, Benue Links runs a direct service from Makurdi to Katsina-ala. However, using other transport companies is better, as their take off time is guaranteed. One can you Pleasure Travels, which is quite close to Benue Links. The transport fare ranges from ₦1500 - 2,500. If you are going to take a private service, it will cost you more and depends solely on which company you will be using. One can also come in from Obudu in cross-river state and from Taraba state. All these places are connected to Katsina-ala through a direct road.
The River Katsina-ala connects to the Benue river and, even though not a popular travelling route, it can be used to get in to town.
The major means of getting by in the town is by motorcycle as there are no taxis or public transport company within the town.
Due to the security situation in the town, there is a curfew and all activities have to come to a close by 7PM (updated June 2021). If you have a city guard and the person is mobile, you will enjoy moving around more.
Katsina Ala like most cities in Nigeria has 2G/3G/4G mobile networks but the service may be disrupted the farther away you go from the city center, and you might occasionally experience network outage for all or some of the mobile phone service providers in those remote areas of the city. Different networks tend to be more stable and reliable in different locations of the city at different times.
Tourist who intend to come to Katsina Ala to spend some time should endeavour to come with more than one phone or a phone that has multiple SIM cards ports, and sim cards of different networks so that you can inter change them at interval since you can't tell which will be more stable and reliable at a time in your location during your visit.
Primary administrative division