Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary

The Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary is a community-led conservation and tourism project at Wechiau in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region. It protects a 40 km stretch of the Black Volta River, which forms Ghana's north-western boundary with Burkina Faso, and holds one of only two remaining hippopotamus populations in Ghana. Local chiefs established the sanctuary in 1999 in partnership with the Calgary Zoo, now the Wilder Institute, and it involves around twenty communities.

Wildlife recorded here includes hippos, more than 200 bird species, monitor lizards, bats, chameleons, hedgehogs, snakes, crocodiles and baboons. Visitor activities centre on river safaris by dugout canoe, bird-watching, nature walks and hiking trails, cultural tours of Lobi and Wala communities, and overnight stays in hippo hides. The dry season, roughly November to June, is the period when hippos are most readily seen.

The Welcome Centre sits in the middle of Wechiau village and provides sanctuary information, a gift shop with local handicrafts and flush toilets; a local guide can be arranged at the Welcome Office. Lodging is available at the Mark Donohue Lodge at Talawona, about 1 km from the Black Volta, with basic rooms for two to three people, mattresses and mosquito nets, roof sleeping and space to pitch a tent. A tree deck seats about ten people. Water comes from a borehole roughly 1 km away and is stored in tanks, so filtration or bottled water is recommended; bathing is by bucket in a bath house, and there are three pit latrines. Two hippo hides along the river can be used for overnight wildlife watching.

Access is by road from Wa, the regional capital. Vehicles can be chartered in Wa; from Wa, 46 km from Wechiau, the route runs past Uplands Hotel to the Vieri T-intersection and turns left, while from Ga, 23 km away, visitors turn at the sanctuary signboard. From Wechiau village the sanctuary is reached by tro-tro or rented bicycle, with assistance at the Welcome Centre. A 2024 guide describes the road from Wa as generally good but partly unpaved, about 45 minutes to an hour to the reception and a further 45 minutes over farming paths to the riverbank. Wa Airport is served by domestic flights from Accra. Enquiries and lodging information are handled by email at [email protected].