Suspended rope-and-plank canopy walkway among tall trees at Bunso Eco Park.

Explore Ghana

Forest reserves in Ghana

Bunso Eco Park (Bunso Arboretum) · Photo: Roland Darko · License: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Ghana's forest reserves are where the country slows down and breathes. In the space of a few days you can walk a canopy walkway at Kakum National Park near Cape Coast, meet Mona monkeys in the sacred grove at Tafi Monkey Village in the Volta Region, and stand beside Lake Bosomtwe, Ghana's only true inland natural lake, in its million-year-old crater south-east of Kumasi. Bunso Eco Park in the Eastern Region offers a gentler forest outing with a canopy walkway, a zipline and more than 600 tree species, while Bobiri Forest Reserve and Butterfly Sanctuary near Kubease is a semi-deciduous rainforest known for its butterflies.

What these places share is shade, birdsong and a strong community welcome. They differ in character and scale. Nini-Suhien National Park in the Western Region is wet evergreen forest, part of the wider Ankasa Conservation Area, and Subri River Forest Reserve, gazetted in 1950, is a Key Biodiversity Area for wildlife. Tsenku Waterfall near Dodowa is seasonal, and the Effutu Community Sacred Forest at Winneba is a customary hunting ground tied to the Aboakyir festival. Some are national parks, others sacred groves or botanical gardens.

Good to know

Before you go

Plan around the seasons: Tsenku Waterfall is seasonal, so check conditions before travelling. Forest reserves sit in different regions, so group them sensibly — Kakum and the Effutu sacred forest near Winneba in the Central Region, Bunso in the Eastern Region, Bobiri and Lake Bosomtwe around Kumasi, Tafi Atome in the Volta Region, and Nini-Suhien and Subri River in the Western Region. Road travel between regions takes time, so allow a full day for longer hops. Before setting out, confirm opening times, guide availability and any entry arrangements directly with each site, as several are community-run or managed by CSIR-FORIG. Wear sturdy shoes, carry water and rain protection, and take a local guide where offered.

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Places to explore

Attraction · Bunso

Bunso Eco Park

Bunso Eco Park, formerly the Bunso Arboretum, is a forested ecotourism park and botanical garden at Bunso in Ghana's Eastern Region.

Photo: Roland Darko · Source

Attraction · Cape Coast

Kakum National Park

Kakum National Park is a 375 sq km protected forest near Abrafo in Ghana's Central Region, about 33 km north of Cape Coast, best known for its canopy walkway.

Photo: MooseHypezGh · Source

Attraction · Abono

Lake Bosomtwe

Lake Bosomtwe is Ghana's only true inland natural lake, set in a million-year-old meteorite crater about 30 km south-east of Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region.

Photo: Noahalorwu · Source

Attraction · Tafi Agome

Tafi Monkey Village

Community-run sacred grove in Tafi Atome, Volta Region, protecting Mona monkeys and offering guided forest walks and cultural village experiences.

Photo: Mike Norton · Source

Waterfall · Dodowa

Tsenku (Chenku) Waterfall

Tsenku (Chenku) Waterfall, also called Wuruduwurudu Falls, is a seasonal two-level waterfall in the Dodowa Forest, Shai-Osudoku District, about 39 km from Accra.

Photo: Ferraripoundz · Source

Attraction

Attraction · Kubease

Bobiri Forest Reserve and Butterfly Sanctuary

A 54.65 km² semi-deciduous rainforest reserve and butterfly sanctuary at Kubease in Ghana's Ashanti Region, about 35 km southeast of Kumasi, managed by CSIR-FORIG.

Attraction

Attraction · Bunso

Bunso Arboretum

Bunso Eco Park is a 40-acre forest reserve and botanical garden in Ghana's Eastern Region, with a canopy walkway, zipline and over 600 tree species.

Attraction

Attraction · Winneba

Effutu Community Sacred Forest

A communal sacred forest and customary hunting ground near Winneba, Central Region, maintained by the Effutu for over 300 years and central to the annual Aboakyir festival.

Attraction

Attraction · Amokwawsuazo

Nini-Suhien National Park

Nini-Suhien National Park is a 160 km² wet evergreen forest park in Ghana's Western Region that, with the Ankasa Resource Reserve, forms the ~500 km² Ankasa Conservation Area.

Attraction

Attraction · Essaman

Subri River Forest Reserve

Subri River Forest Reserve is a large moist evergreen forest reserve in Ghana's Western Region, gazetted in 1950 and confirmed as a Key Biodiversity Area.

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