Bia National Park

Bia National Park is the northern half of the Bia Conservation Area, a twin protected area in Ghana's Western North Region. The conservation area covers roughly 306 km2, of which the national park accounts for 77.7 km2 and the Bia Resource Reserve for 227.9 km2 to the south. The park sits in the transition zone between moist evergreen forest and moist semi-deciduous forest, with annual rainfall of 1500–1800 mm. It was first protected in 1935 and became an official national park in 1974, and it is described as Ghana's first UNESCO-recognised Biosphere Reserve.

The setting is the southwestern corner of Ghana near the Côte d'Ivoire border, where the Bia River forms part of the boundary. The park falls within the Bia and Juaboso Districts, in what is known as the Juaboso-Bia landscape. Debiso is the nearest town, the park headquarters is near Sefwi Wiawso, and Kunkumso is the local access point.

For visitors, the draw is forest wildlife and long, guided walking. Recorded wildlife includes 62 mammal species, among them ten primates — black-and-white colobus, olive colobus, red colobus and chimpanzees — as well as African forest elephants, the threatened bongo, bushbuck and white-nosed sooty mangabey. More than 160 bird species have been recorded, including the endangered white-breasted guinea fowl, along with 404 butterfly species. The area also supports scientific and ecological research.

Activities listed by the park are guided nature walks lasting from a few hours to several days, bird and butterfly watching, photography and research tours. A guide is recommended for forest walks. There is a guesthouse near the park entrance and a five-bedroom guesthouse at park headquarters, plus a campsite at the edge of the rainforest and camping deeper inside the park. A small visitor centre provides introductory information.

Access is by road only, and roads are not first-class. Routes include Kumasi via Bibiani and Sefwi Wiawso to Sefwi Asempanaye, or via Goaso through Sankore to Sefwi Asempanaye; Sunyani via Berekum, Wanfi, Adabokrom and Debiso; and from Côte d'Ivoire via Osei Kojokrom and Debiso. Tro-tros run from Kumasi (Sefwi Bus Station) and Berekum (Main Station), and a VIP bus from Accra (Circle Station) reaches Debiso, from where a taxi or tricycle continues to Kunkumso.