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
Explore Ghana
Wildlife reserves in Ghana
Ghana's wildlife reserves are as varied as the country itself. Some protect rainforest, some savannah and granite hills, some rivers, lagoons and wetlands, and several are run hand in hand with the communities who live beside them. What they share is a gentler, closer kind of wildlife watching: monkeys that come to meet you, hippos surfacing on the Black Volta, turtles nesting on the Anlo-Keta coast, butterflies drifting through Bobiri Forest Reserve and Butterfly Sanctuary.
The differences are worth planning around. Kakum National Park near Cape Coast is famous for its canopy walkway, while Shai Hills Resource Reserve, about 50 km from Accra, offers baboons, caves and hiking trails. In the Volta Region you can walk to Wli Waterfalls in the Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary, meet Mona monkeys at Tafi Monkey Village, watch birds on the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site, or look for sitatunga at Avu Lagoon. Further west, Amansuri Wetland is explored by canoe towards the stilt village of Nzulezo, and up north lie Kyabobo National Park and the Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary.
Good to know
Before you go
Plan around the seasons and the wildlife. Turtle nesting at Dzita and on the Anlo-Keta coast runs roughly September to March, so time coastal visits accordingly. Many of these places are community-run and reached by guided walk, canoe or boat, so arrange your guide locally and allow a full day for each. Distances are long: Kakum, Shai Hills and Bobiri sit within reach of Cape Coast, Accra and Kumasi, but Kyabobo, Wechiau and the Volta wetlands reward an overnight stay. Before setting out, check current access, trail conditions and boat availability directly with the reserve or visitor centre, and carry water, sun protection and cash.
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Places to explore
Attraction · Nkwanta
Kyabobo National Park
A mountainous national park in Ghana's Oti Region, on the Togo border, with forest-savanna habitats, waterfalls and hiking and mountain-biking trails.
Photo: Tahiru Rajab · 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 · Doryumu
Shai Hills Resource Reserve
Shai Hills Resource Reserve is a Forestry Commission–managed wildlife reserve of savannah and granite hills about 50 km from Accra, known for baboons, caves and hiking trails.
Photo: daSupremo · 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
Attraction · Wechiau
Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary
A community-run sanctuary at Wechiau protecting a 40 km stretch of the Black Volta River and one of Ghana's two remaining hippo populations.
Photo: Kradolferp · Source
Waterfall · Wli
Wli Waterfalls
A two-cascade waterfall in the Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary near Wli, Volta Region, with an easy trail to the lower falls and a longer guided hike to the upper falls.
Photo: Bosiako Creatives · Source
Attraction
Attraction · Liati Soba
Afadzato South Snake Village
The Zimmaziwo Snake Zoo and Herbal Medicine Centre, or Snake Village, is a community tourism site at Liati Soba in the Afadzato South District, Volta Region.
Attraction
Attraction · Beyin
Amansuri Wetland
A blackwater wetland system near Beyin in Ghana's Western Region, visited by canoe to the stilt village of Nzulezo.
Attraction
Attraction · Ave-Dakpa
Ave-Dakpa Crocodile Pond
Ave Dakpa Crocodile Pond is a sacred, crocodile-inhabited pond and eco-tourism site in Akatsi North District, Volta Region, managed by the district assembly.
Attraction
Attraction · Gui
Avu Lagoon
Avu Lagoon (Xavi) is a community-protected freshwater wetland in Ghana's lower Volta Region, part of the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar site and home to Ghana's only sitatunga.
Visitor information
Visitor information · Beyin
Beyin Visitor Centre
Reception and departure point in Beyin, Western Region, where visitors arrange guided dugout-canoe tours to the stilt village of Nzulezo on Lake Tadane.
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 · Dzita
Dzita Sea Turtle Site
Community-linked sea turtle conservation and viewing site on the coast at Dzita, Anloga District, Volta Region, with nesting roughly September to March.
Attraction
Attraction · Keta
Keta Lagoon Birdwatching
Birdwatching on the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site in the Volta Region, a brackish lagoon with boat access to bird-breeding islands.
Attraction
Attraction · Keta
Keta Lagoon Islands
Small, undeveloped sand islands in Ghana's largest lagoon, reached by locally arranged boat from Keta town and known for birdwatching in the Keta Lagoon Ramsar site.
Attraction
Attraction · Atiteti
Keta Ramsar Centre Sea Turtle Watching
Community-run sea turtle conservation and turtle-watching activity on the Anlo-Keta coast, within the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site in the Volta Region.
Attraction
Attraction · Kulmasa
Kulmasa Crocodile Pond
A crocodile pond beside Kulmasa in Ghana's Savannah Region, listed by Visit Ghana and identified in a government framework as a cultural resource.
Attraction
Attraction · Nkwanta
Kyabobo National Park Headquarters and Entrance
Arrival point and administrative base for Kyabobo National Park, about 5 km off the Ho–Temale Road at Nkwanta in the Oti Region, where guided hikes and bike rental are arranged.
Hotel
Hotel · Tafi Atome
Madora Lodge
Madora Lodge is an eight-bedroom eco-guesthouse set directly inside the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary in Afadzato South District, Volta Region, Ghana.
Attraction
Attraction · Cape Coast
Nii Ananse World Eco Park
Nii Ananse World is an operator-described eco-wildlife sanctuary and eco-tourism park on over 200 acres at Assin Adadientem, Assin South District, Central Region, Ghana.
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 · Xavi
Xavi Bird Sanctuary
Community-run bird sanctuary on the Lotor River in Xavi, Akatsi South District, Volta Region, known for river canoe rides and birdlife; operating status uncertain.
More in Ghana
- Things to do in Ghana
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- Museums in Ghana
- Craft centres in Ghana
- Rivers in Ghana
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- Forts and castles in Ghana
- Monuments in Ghana
- Palaces in Ghana
- Lakes in Ghana
- Caves in Ghana
- Shrines in Ghana
- Forest reserves in Ghana
- Mountains and hills in Ghana
- Islands in Ghana
- National parks in Ghana