A kingdom in the forest
Akyem Kotoku is a traditional kingdom in eastern Ghana that dates back to at least the sixteenth century, and its capital is and was Akyem Oda. It is one of three independent states — alongside Akyem Bosome and Akyem Abuakwa — that together form the Akyem Mansa. According to tradition, the founder of Akyem Kotoku came from the Agona clan, migrating from Adansi to Ahwiren and then to Adupon near the Konongo–Agogo road; by the seventeenth century the state had been established between the Pra River and Lake Bosumtwi.
The wider Akyem polity, known to early European traders as "Akim" or "Great Acani", occupied a strategic position between the expanding imperial states of Denkyira and Akwamu, and was connected to regional gold production and long-distance trade. Akyem oral traditions trace their origins to Adanse, the Akan homeland, from which migrant groups moved east into the Pra basin. Gold production tied Akyem into Akan trade networks that reached the coast and beyond. Today the Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku, Oseadeeyo Dr. Frimpong Manso IV, holds the paramount stool at Akim Oda, and the traditional council still meets at his palace in the town.
Cocoa, gold and the Birim
Akim Oda's economy relies heavily on cocoa, grown on formal plantations and in casual plantings that sometimes line the roadsides; harvested beans are dried and stored in warehouses before shipping. North of the town, along the Birim River, smallholder palm oil plantations cover roughly 6,000 hectares, and bamboo is grown and processed into furniture, flooring, paper and building materials.
The Birim itself is a source of gold and diamonds, and local miners still work the riverbank with simple tools and traditional methods. The river gives its name to the Birimian rocks, major sources of gold and diamonds that extend through Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. Diamonds were discovered along the Birim in 1920, when Ghana was the British colony of the Gold Coast, and the wider area became one of the country's most important diamond-producing regions. Forestry has shaped the town too: Ghana's forest cover shrank from 8.2 million hectares in 1900 to 1.6 million hectares in 2000, and plantations are now being established near Akim Oda under the National Forest Plantation Development Programme.
The Big Tree and the sacred groves
The Big Tree stands in the Esen Apam Forest Reserve, about 22 kilometres from Akim Oda and roughly 300 metres off the Oda–Agona Swedru trunk road, near the community of Aprokumase. It is a Tieghemella heckelii, known locally as baku or cherry mahogany, and it is estimated to be between 350 and 400 years old, with a low rate of natural reproductive success that makes its survival precarious. Its measurements are remarkable: 66.5 metres tall and 396 centimetres in diameter at breast height, with a girth of about 12 metres. Unlike most tropical giants, it keeps a fairly uniform girth from base to crown, with a thick grey, longitudinally ridged bark.
Tradition holds that the tree was discovered by a hunter named Yaw Andoh, who followed strange voices to its location, and it was later declared sacred by local leaders. People visit to pray, make offerings and reflect, leaving coins and schnapps at its base; some believe its bark and leaves have healing and fertility properties, and its fruits are said to be used medicinally. The annual festival of Akyem Manso celebrates the tree as a cultural symbol. The forest around it takes its name from the Esuboni River, a water source for nearby communities, and shelters species including funtumia and the aprokuma tree believed to have given Aprokumase its name.
What to do
Things to do in Akim Oda
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1.Stand beneath the Big Tree
The reason most travellers come. In the Esen Apam Forest Reserve, about 22 km from Akim Oda off the Oda–Agona Swedru road, this Tieghemella heckelii rises 66.5 metres with a girth of roughly 12 metres, and forestry officials describe it as the biggest single tree ever found in Ghana and West Africa. Two forest trails lead in — a shorter walk of about fifteen minutes and a longer one of around twenty-five — and the site has a rest area, visitor information and local craft vendors.
Tip: Wear closed shoes and bring water, a hat and insect repellent; mobile reception is patchy, so download your map before you leave town.
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2.Walk the Esen Apam and Esuboni forest reserves
The Big Tree sits inside a continuous forest block formed with the Essin Apam and Oboyow reserves, protected by the Forestry Commission. The Birim Central Municipal District holds nine forest reserves in all, and the woodland around the tree shelters funtumia wrapped in climbers and the aprokuma tree that gave Aprokumase its name. A redevelopment of the eco-tourism site added hiking trails and labelled 22 tree species with their botanical names for visitors and researchers.
Tip: Go with a local guide if you want the trees identified — the labelled species are the easiest introduction to the forest's botany.
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Attraction
3.Shop the Monday and Thursday market
Akim Oda Market, also known as the Kotoku Market Complex, is the town's central trading ground, dealing mainly in foodstuffs and busiest on Mondays and Thursdays. It is the practical heart of Birim Central: cocoa country produce, palm oil, plantain, pepper and dried fish change hands in a dense, good-humoured press of stalls. Come to shop, to eat, and to watch a market town do what it has always done.
Tip: Arrive in the morning when the foodstuffs are freshest and the crowds are at their liveliest; keep small notes handy for change.
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Attraction
4.Trace the Akyem Kotoku story through the town
Akyem Kotoku is an Akyem state of southern Ghana whose traditional capital and Omanhene's seat is Akim Oda, which is also the capital of the Birim Central Municipal District. Walking the town with that history in mind changes what you see: the palace, the market, the old and new townships divided by the road behind the palace, and the surrounding stool lands all belong to a kingdom that dates back to at least the sixteenth century and was once a major inland Akan polity.
Tip: Ask at your guest house for someone who can explain the town's layout and chieftaincy history — context makes a short walk far richer.
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5.See cocoa and palm oil country
The roads out of Akim Oda run through working agricultural land. Cocoa is grown on plantations and in informal plantings that sometimes edge right up to the roadside, and harvested beans are dried and stored in warehouses before shipping. North of town, along the Birim, smallholder palm oil plantations cover roughly 6,000 hectares, and bamboo is grown and processed into furniture, flooring and building materials. A drive or walk in the surrounding countryside is a lesson in how this part of Ghana earns its living.
Tip: Ask before photographing farms or farmers, and buy something small from roadside sellers — it is the easiest way to turn a drive into a conversation.
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6.Watch the Birim River workings
The Birim River flows through Akim Oda and is a source of gold and diamonds, with local miners using traditional methods and simple tools to work the riverbank. The river gives its name to the Birimian rocks, major sources of gold and diamonds across West Africa, and diamonds were first discovered along it in 1920. Seeing small-scale workings at first hand is a sobering, fascinating counterpoint to the forest.
Tip: View workings from a respectful distance and never enter an unshored pit or riverbank excavation; ask a local guide to accompany you.
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7.Take in a traditional ceremony
Akim Oda offers visitors the chance to witness traditional ceremonies with Akan drumming, and the Akyem Kotoku traditional area maintains an active calendar of durbars, council meetings and festivals. The annual festival of Akyem Manso, celebrated near the Big Tree, honours the tree as an important cultural symbol. If your visit coincides with a public ceremony, it is one of the most memorable things you can do here.
Tip: Ceremonies are not performances. Follow the lead of those around you, keep to the edges, and ask before taking photographs.
Plan your time
Suggested itinerary
Half a day: the Big Tree and the market
Start early and drive the roughly 22 km out of Akim Oda along the Oda–Agona Swedru road to the Esen Apam Forest Reserve. Take the longer forest trail in, spend time at the base of the Big Tree, and read the labelled tree species on the way back. Return to town for lunch, then spend the afternoon in Akim Oda Market — if you can time your visit to a Monday or Thursday, so much the better — before a short orientation walk past the Akyem Kotoku Palace.
Akim Oda Market (Kotoku Market Complex)→Akyem Kotoku Palace (Omanhene's Palace, Akim Oda)
One day: forest, town and countryside
Give the morning to the Big Tree and the forest trails, then come back into Akim Oda for the market at its busiest. In the afternoon, walk the town with its Akyem Kotoku history in mind — the palace, the old and new townships, the road that runs behind the palace — and finish with a short drive into the surrounding cocoa and palm oil country, or down to the Birim River to see the small-scale gold and diamond workings.
Akim Oda Market (Kotoku Market Complex)→Akyem Kotoku Palace (Omanhene's Palace, Akim Oda)→Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area (Akim Oda heritage)
Two days: Akim Oda and the wider Akyem state
Day one: the Big Tree, the forest reserves and the market, with an evening in town. Day two: a slower morning around the palace and the Akyem Kotoku heritage of Akim Oda, then time in the surrounding countryside — cocoa farms, palm oil smallholdings and the Birim River — before heading on towards Koforidua, Cape Coast or Accra, all within roughly 80–100 km.
Akim Oda Market (Kotoku Market Complex)→Akyem Kotoku Palace (Omanhene's Palace, Akim Oda)→Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area (Akim Oda heritage)
Seasons and festivals
When to go
Akim Oda has a semi-equatorial, wet climate. The rainy season runs from April to June and again from September to November, with October and June the wettest months on average. The dry season falls between December and February, when temperatures are noticeably cooler and forest trails are easier underfoot — the best window for the Big Tree and the reserves. March and early April are hot and humid before the rains break. Whatever the month, expect a tropical downpour to be possible and plan indoor time around the market and the palace.
- Akyem Manso festival · Annual
- The annual festival of Akyem Manso celebrates the Big Tree as an important cultural symbol, with the tree at the centre of the community's observance.
- Akyem Kotoku traditional council meetings and durbars · Periodic
- The Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku, Oseadeeyo Dr. Frimpong Manso IV, holds traditional council meetings at his palace at Akim Oda, where chiefs are elevated and traditional business conducted. These are working ceremonies rather than staged events, so ask locally about timing.
Access
Getting there and around
Akim Oda lies in the south-western corner of Ghana's Eastern Region, in the Birim Central Municipal District. It is roughly 97 km from Accra, about 82 km from the regional capital Koforidua, and around 96 km from Cape Coast, so it works well as a stop on a loop between the coast and the Eastern Region. The town sits on the Oda–Agona Swedru trunk road, which is also the route out to the Big Tree, about 22 km away and roughly 300 metres off the road near Aprokumase. Travellers generally arrive by road, by private car or by trotro from the larger towns; once in Akim Oda, the town itself is compact enough to explore on foot, with taxis available for the run out to the forest reserve. The district is bordered by Birim North and Kwaebibirem to the north, Adansi South and Assin North to the west, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa and Agona West to the south, and West Akim to the east.
Good to know
Before you go
Akim Oda is a working Ghanaian town, not a resort, so travel with the same courtesy you would anywhere in Akyem country. Dress modestly, especially around the palace and at ceremonies, and always ask before photographing people, royal buildings or mining sites. The Big Tree is a sacred site as well as a natural monument: people come to pray and leave offerings, so keep your voice low, do not disturb anything left at its base, and take nothing away. Forest trails are uneven and can be slippery after rain, so wear closed shoes and carry water, a hat and insect repellent. Mobile reception is limited around the reserve, so download maps and arrange your return transport before you set out. Carry small notes for the market, and remember that Mondays and Thursdays are the busiest trading days. If you plan to visit the palace, ask locally first — it is a residence and an office, not a visitor attraction with fixed opening times.
FAQ
Questions travellers ask about Akim Oda
Where is Akim Oda?
Akim Oda is a town in Ghana's Eastern Region, in the south-western corner of the region. It is the administrative capital of the Birim Central Municipal District and the traditional capital of the Akyem Kotoku state, roughly 97 km from Accra and about 82 km from Koforidua.
What is the Big Tree and how do I get there?
The Big Tree is a Tieghemella heckelii in the Esen Apam Forest Reserve, about 22 km from Akim Oda and roughly 300 metres off the Oda–Agona Swedru trunk road near Aprokumase. It stands 66.5 metres tall with a girth of about 12 metres, and forestry officials describe it as the biggest single tree ever found in Ghana and West Africa.
When is Akim Oda market busiest?
Akim Oda Market, also called the Kotoku Market Complex, trades mainly in foodstuffs and is busiest on Mondays and Thursdays. Mornings are the best time to see it at full pitch.
What is the best time of year to visit?
The dry season from December to February is the most comfortable window, with cooler temperatures and easier forest trails. The rains come from April to June and again from September to November, with October and June the wettest months on average.
What is Akim Oda's economy based on?
Cocoa is the mainstay, grown on plantations and in roadside plantings, alongside palm oil from roughly 6,000 hectares of smallholder plantations north of town, and bamboo. The Birim River is also a source of gold and diamonds, worked by local miners using traditional methods.
Is Akim Oda part of a larger Akyem kingdom?
Yes. Akyem Kotoku is one of three independent states — with Akyem Bosome and Akyem Abuakwa — that form the Akyem Mansa, and it dates back to at least the sixteenth century. Its capital is and was Akyem Oda.
Keep exploring
More destination guides
Sources for this guide (8)
- Akim Oda — Wikipedia
- Akyem Kotoku — Wikipedia
- Old Akyem — Wikipedia
- Birim Central Municipal District — Wikipedia
- The Big Tree (Oda) — Wikipedia
- The Big Tree — A living monument in Ghana — Graphic Online
- The Backstory of West Africa's Biggest Tree — Face2Face Africa
- The Big Tree (in Akim Oda) — viewGhana
Written September 29, 2026 from these sources and reviewed by the VisitGhana.app team. Confirm practical details locally before travelling.