Mole National Park

Mole National Park is Ghana's first and largest protected area, covering roughly 4,577 km² of fairly undisturbed Guinea savannah in northern Ghana. It is one of the country's seven national parks and is managed by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. The park's lands were set aside as a wildlife refuge in 1958 and designated a national park in 1971. It lies within the Savannaland Tourism Destination Area.

The park is known for its biodiversity. Published figures cite about 742 vascular plant species, more than 90 mammal species including five primate species, 334 bird species, 33 reptiles, nine amphibians and some 120 butterfly species. Species of conservation and visitor interest include elephant, buffalo, kob, western hartebeest, roan antelope, defassa waterbuck, oribi, bohor reedbuck and red-flanked duiker. Rarer or endangered species recorded here include yellow-backed duiker, black-and-white colobus monkey, leopard and lion. The park is described as holding the most viable elephant population in Ghana.

Visitor activities listed for the park include game viewing, bird watching, foot and drive safaris, night safaris, tree hides, camping and visits to neighbouring communities. It was inscribed on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Properties in 2000.

The park sits in the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region, with Damongo as the locality and Larabanga the nearest town. There is only one main park entrance, located 3 km from Larabanga off the Damongo–Sawla road. The park headquarters is about 146 km south-west of Tamale, the regional capital, and about 690 km from Accra; the park is 24 km from Damongo, the district capital.

Published contact details for the park are Mole National Park, Post Office Box 8, Damongo, Northern Region, Ghana; telephone 233 (0)24 435 8371; email [email protected]; website www.molenationalpark.org.gh. Opening hours, entry fees and accommodation arrangements are not confirmed in the available material, so visitors should verify these directly before travelling.