Tafi Atome Monkey Shrine

The Tafi Atome Monkey Shrine is the fetish shrine within the sacred grove at Tafi Atome, a village of more than 1,000 residents in Ghana's Volta Region. Residents say that about 200 years ago their ancestors migrated from Assini in central Ghana, bringing an idol or fetish that was placed in the sacred forest to keep it safe and cool; the forest was then considered sacred and protected. The fetish priest of Tafi Atome acts as messenger between residents and the idol, and the mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona mona) are regarded as "representatives of the gods" and are taboo to kill.

The fetish forest is the core area of the larger sacred forest and is where the shrine itself stands. Entry to the fetish forest is strictly forbidden except by the fetish priest, and the tourist trails do not go near it. Visitors therefore encounter the shrine as part of the wider grove rather than as a structure they can approach. The grove is a dry semi-deciduous forest of roughly 28 hectares in the forest-savannah transitional zone, protected by a 2006 Hohoe District bylaw. The sanctuary is described as a traditional conservation area backed by statutory enforcement in cooperation with local communities, and it holds both mona and patas monkeys in a remnant patch of forest that has survived fire and human disturbance around the village.

A festival to celebrate the monkeys takes place every February, managed by the fetish priest, who kills a goat and pours libations at the forest shrine. Shrine-related ritual activity is led by the fetish priest.

For visitors, the sanctuary offers guided walks with local guides, a visitor centre built in 1998 where fees are collected and which contains a small gift shop, and a community guesthouse. Cultural activities include village tours, pineapple farm visits, crafts, and evening drumming, dancing and storytelling. The standard sanctuary walk is listed as low difficulty, which may suit children and elders, though trail conditions after rain should be checked.

Tafi Atome lies in the Hohoe District, now Afadzato South District, roughly 230 km northeast of Accra and 43 km south of Hohoe. Access is via the Ho–Hohoe road, turning at Logba Alekpeti and continuing about 5 km to the visitor centre.