Ave-Dakpa Crocodile Pond

Ave Dakpa Crocodile Pond, also known as the Ave Crocodile Resort, is an eco-tourism and sacred site in Ave Dakpa, the capital of Akatsi North District in the Volta Region. The water body began as a community dam built in 1963 for domestic and agricultural use. Crocodiles later settled there, and residents, guided by traditional custodians, came to treat the pond as spiritually significant and to protect the reptiles through customary practice.

The site became a tourism destination after consultations between traditional authorities and the Akatsi North District Assembly, and the resort was established as an eco-tourism facility in 2017. The district assembly manages it today. Visitors come to watch crocodiles being summoned from the water by a community crocodile caller, the traditional priest Torgbui Afudzishie Egbor, who has worked with the reptiles for more than two decades using whistles and feeding rituals. The site has drawn tourists, students, researchers and adventure seekers.

Ave Dakpa lies roughly 58 km from Ho, the regional capital, and is reached by a rough road that passes through the town. Development of the site has been promoted for its proximity to the Ho airport and the Aflao border. Reported amenities have varied with the stage of development: live crocodile viewing with a trained guide, a buffer between visitors and the crocodiles, and revenue booths for ticket collection have been described, while restaurants, a recreational park, a children's park, accommodation and a cultural village have been listed as planned rather than confirmed as operating. Nine acres of land were secured from the chiefs for development.

Entrance rates quoted by the district assembly at a reopening in March 2024 were GHS 15 for adults, GHS 5 for children and pre-tertiary students, GHS 10 for tertiary students, and GHS 50 for foreign visitors, with reduced group rates for parties of ten or more. These figures are dated and current rates are not confirmed. In 2020 operations were disrupted after a crocodile attack on a visitor, prompting stricter safety measures. No source found describes wheelchair access, paved paths or assisted-access facilities, and no dedicated resort phone line was found; published contact details belong to the district assembly.