Ankasa Rain Forest

The Ankasa Conservation Area lies in southwest Ghana, in the Western Region on the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It covers 509 km2 and comprises two adjoining protected areas: Nini-Suhien National Park and Ankasa Resource Reserve. The Ghana Wildlife Division describes it as the most biodiverse protected area in Ghana and the only wet evergreen protected area in almost unspoiled state, sitting within the country's wet evergreen tropical high forest zone.

That forest supports more than 800 recorded plant species, including endemic ones, along with Forest Elephant, Bongo, Leopard and Yellow-backed Duiker. Primates include six confirmed and three unconfirmed species, among them Western Chimpanzee and rare subspecies such as Roloway Diana Monkey, Geoffroy's Pied Colobus and White-naped Sooty Mangabey. The bird list exceeds 200 species, mostly forest-dependent, and over 600 butterfly species have been recorded. The Ankasa, Nini and Suhien rivers drain the area; their rapids and streams support reptiles including the Broad-fronted Crocodile.

Visitor highlights include the Bamboo Cathedral at Nkwanta, about 8 km from the park gate, the rivers and rapids, and the "Big Tree" (Tieghemella), one of the tallest trees in the forest, towering well over 20 metres. More than 10 km of the park is motorable, but the area is best experienced on guided walks along five tourist trails.

The entrance road is at Sowodadzem, 120 km from Takoradi and 22 km from Elubo along the Takoradi–Elubo section of the Ghana–Côte d'Ivoire international highway; the park gate is about 6 km from Sowodadzem. A visitor information centre sits roughly 100 metres from the main gate. Four tourist chalets, each with two beds, stand in the heart of the park with basic cooking facilities, potable water, a shower, toilet and solar-powered electricity; visitors bring their own food. Larger groups of up to 34 people can arrange lodging at the Ankasa Exploration Base, which has similar facilities. Nearby, Frenchman Home Stay is about 1 km from the park, and hotels and beach resorts along the West Coast are a one- to two-hour drive away. The private Ankasa Reserve Lodge offers guided birding, mammal, butterfly, hiking, biking and culture tours.