A rainforest canopy walk, elephants at a savannah waterhole, sacred crocodiles and monkeys protected by village tradition. Ghana's parks and wildlife sites, and what a visit is really like.
Ghana is not East Africa. There are no great herds on open plains and no big-five safaris. What it does have is a wide range of habitats in a small country: tropical rainforest in the south-west, savannah woodland in the north, wetlands, lagoons and hills, and some remarkable community-run sanctuaries where village traditions have protected animals for generations.
Two parks dominate most itineraries: Kakum on the coast, for its canopy walkway, and Mole in the north, for its elephants. The rest are for visitors with time, patience and a taste for places few tourists reach.
National parks and protected areasA fresh perspective, on ghana-net.com.About half an hour north of Cape Coast, Kakum protects a large area of tropical rainforest. Its fame is the canopy walkway: a chain of narrow rope-and-plank bridges strung between giant trees, high above the forest floor. Walking it is the most popular nature experience in Ghana, and easy to combine with Cape Coast and Elmina in one trip.
Be realistic about wildlife: Kakum has forest elephants, monkeys and hundreds of bird species, but in a dense forest with a crowd on the walkway you will mostly see trees and birds. Go early in the morning for the quietest walk and the best birdsong. The walkway sways; people with a fear of heights should think twice.
kakumnationalpark.infoThe dedicated Kakum site. Kakum National ParkOn ghana-net.com.Tours to Kakum and the castle coast: entrance fees are included in the tour price. Tips for your guide and driver are not included, but they are always welcome.
Ghana's largest national park, in the Savannah Region west of Tamale, and the country's best place for wildlife. Elephants come to the waterholes below the lodge, especially in the dry season, and armed rangers lead walking safaris and drives where you may see antelope, warthogs, baboons, monkeys and many birds. Walking up to wild elephants on foot, with a ranger, is an experience few places in Africa still offer.
Mole is a long way from Accra: fly to Tamale and drive from there, or take the long road via Kumasi. The best season is the dry months, roughly January to April. Book lodge rooms well ahead. The famous mud mosque at Larabanga is on the road in.
Mole National ParkThe dedicated Mole site. Mole National ParkOn ghana-net.com. Larabanga MosqueOn ghana-net.com. DamongoSavannah Region capital, on ghana-net.com.Tours to Mole and northern Ghana: entrance fees are included in the tour price. Tips for your guide, ranger and driver are not included, but they are always welcome.
Some of Ghana's best wildlife encounters are protected not by the state but by local belief and village management. Your entry fee goes directly to the community.
Waterfalls belong here too: Wli, Tagbo and Boti in the east, and Kintampo in the centre.
Wli FallsOn ghana-net.com. Kintampo WaterfallsOn ghana-net.com.Ghana's forests and rivers are under serious pressure. Galamsey, illegal gold mining, has torn into forest reserves and turned rivers brown with mud and mercury. Logging, farming and charcoal burning eat at the edges of protected land. Some parks exist more on paper than on the ground. Visiting the parks, paying the fees and hiring local guides is one of the few ways visitors can show that standing forest is worth more than a gold pit.
Galamsey coverageOn kakumnationalpark.info.