Welcome to Ghana, a country located on the west coast of Africa, known for its rich cultural heritage, diverse ecosystems, and stable democracy. Ghana is located in West Africa and is sandwiched between Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Togo. The northern border is the country Burkina Faso and the southern border is the Gulf of Guinea.
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule, marking a significant milestone in the continent’s history. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule: Ghana was colonised by the British until it gained its independence on March 6, 1957, led by Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Ghana’s independence was a major milestone in the history of Africa, inspiring other African countries to fight for their independence from colonial powers.
The name “Ghana” means “warrior king” in the Soninke language: The name “Ghana” was adopted when the country gained independence in 1957, inspired by the ancient Ghana Empire that existed in West Africa from the 6th to the 13th century. The Ghana Empire was known for its strong military and trade relations with North Africa and the Mediterranean world. Today, Ghana is a multicultural society with more than 100 ethnic groups and several religions, including Christianity and Islam.
Ghana is known for its rich cultural traditions, including music, dance, and art: Ghana is home to a diverse array of ethnic groups, each with its unique cultural practices and traditions. Ghanaian music, for instance, is known for its lively rhythms, percussions, and vocals, ranging from highlife to hiplife, gospel to reggae. Ghanaian dance is characterised by its colourful costumes, energetic movements, and symbolic gestures, expressing the values and beliefs of the community.
Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa: Ghana is situated on the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
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The country is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. The landscape consists mainly of plains and low plateaus covered by rain forests in the west and Lake Volta in the east.
Ghana is relatively rich in animal life, although it has been reduced by hunting and the spread of human settlement. Large mammals include lions, leopards, hyenas, antelope, elephants, buffalo, wild hogs, chimpanzees, and many kinds of monkeys. Among the snakes are pythons, cobras, horned and puff adders, and green mambas.
Crocodiles, the endangered manatees, and otters are found in the rivers and lagoons. Hippopotamuses are found in the Volta River. There are many species of lizards, tortoises, and giant snails. The ocean, rivers, and inland lakes are rich in fish and other forms of life.
Insect life is particularly abundant. There are beetles, fireflies, ants, termites, butterflies, crickets, and bugs. Among the most dangerous insects are mosquitoes, tsetse flies, and blackflies (Simuliidae), which are responsible for transmitting the endemic diseases of malaria and yellow fever, trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), and onchocerciasis (river blindness, a parasitic disease), respectively.
Ghana is an important country for dozens of vulnerable, threatened, endangered, critically endangered or near-extinct mammalian species including the primates common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius), the big cats lion (Panthera leo) and leopard (Panthera pardus), African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), and water-birds, being located on the boundary of the east Atlantic Ocean Flyway and Mediterranean Flyway.
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The country is home to diverse ecosystems, including rainforests, grasslands, and coastal wetlands: Ghana’s geography is diverse, with a range of ecosystems that support a rich variety of flora and fauna. The country has six major vegetation zones, including the tropical rainforest in the south, the savanna grassland in the north, and the coastal wetlands along the Atlantic coast.
Although soils and biotic factors (i.e., those pertaining to living organisms, including humans) are important, vegetation is primarily determined by precipitation.
Fishermen in Ghana use small boats called pirogues.
Exploring Ghana's Diverse Habitats
The Mole National Park near Damongo is about 1,900 square miles (4,900 square km) in extent and has an abundant game population including elephants, monkeys, and crocodiles.
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The Coastal Savanna
The coastal savanna in the southeastern plains around Accra consists of a mixture of scrub and tall grass (mostly Guinea grass), with giant anthills, often 10 to 14 feet (3 to 4 meters) high, providing an anchorage for thicket clumps that often include Elaeophorbia (a fleshy-leaved plant containing caustic latex) and other drought- and fire-resistant species such as the baobab (Adansonia digitata).
The Forest Zone
In the forest zone (the southern third of the country and the area along the Akwapim-Togo Ranges, where the mean annual precipitation exceeds 45 inches [1,140 mm] and is well distributed throughout the year without a pronounced dry season), the predominant vegetation is evergreen and tropical semi-deciduous forest. There are tall trees of varying heights, forming a closed canopy at the top, above which tower a few forest giants, such as the silk cotton tree, the wawa tree (African whitewood, a hardwood), and the African mahogany. The evergreen forest is in the extreme southwest, where the precipitation exceeds 65 inches (1,650 mm) a year, while there is a semi-deciduous forest farther north.
The Northern Savanna
The third vegetation type, the northern savanna, is found in the northern two-thirds of the country, where the low annual precipitation, between 30 and 45 inches (760 and 1,140 mm), occurs in a single season and is followed by a period of intense drought. There the vegetation consists mostly of tall Guinea grass, together with a scattering of low trees, such as the shea butter tree, various species of acacia, and baobabs. Along the northern border the savanna gives way to a more open type of grassland that has developed largely as a result of prolonged human interference.
National Parks and Reserves: Preserving Ghana's Wildlife
Ghana has several national parks and reserves, including Kakum National Park and Mole National Park: Ghana has several protected areas, including national parks, wildlife reserves, and forest reserves, covering about 16% of the country’s land area. Kakum National Park is a tropical rainforest reserve that is home to many bird species, monkeys, and other wildlife.
Kakum National Park, which is located about 14 miles (22 km) north of Cape Coast and opened to the public in 1994, had originally been established as a timber reserve in 1932. It comprises about 140 square miles (360 square km) of rainforest and contains many endangered mammals, reptiles, birds, and butterflies, as well as a large variety of tropical trees and plants. Other reserves have been developed farther south, notably on the western side of Lake Volta.
There are six national parks and many smaller nature reserves, which were set up to help protect Ghana’s wildlife. There are over 650 butterfly species in the Kakum National Park, including the giant swallowtails, which are nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters) across.
The park is also home to leopards, hornbills, Diana monkeys, flying squirrels, and scarlet-tailed African gray parrots.
Elephants, leopards, wild buffalo, and antelope were once plentiful across the savanna, but now are found mostly in nature reserves. Elephants, crocodiles, warthogs, and hippos can be seen around the watering holes in the Mole National Park.
Poisonous snakes such as the cobra and puff adder are native to Ghana as are pythons, which don’t bite, but can squeeze their victims to death.
Experiences in the Wild
This evening, gather with your fellow travelers and expedition leaders for a welcome dinner and briefing. After an early breakfast, visit the Shai Hills, not far from the capital, for your first taste of West African wilderness. The highly productive grassland and dry woodland around the bases of the namesake granite inselbergs support a fine array of Guinean savanna birds, notably Blue-bellied and Purple rollers, Double-toothed Barbet, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Oriole Warbler and the glamorous Guinea and Violet Turacos. Careful scanning of the boulders may also reveal coveys of vocal Stone Partridge and the musical White-crowned Cliff Chat.
Rise early and head to the small, semi-deciduous tropical rainforest sanctuary of Bobiri, renowned for its butterflies. Although barely 20 square miles in extent, Bobiri offers some heavyweight avian specialties, such as Red-billed and Western Dwarf Hornbills, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Red-billed Helmet-shrike, and perhaps even the impressive Congo Serpent Eagle. West African lowland forest birding can be challenging but patience and persistence is always rewarded, and as the heat climbs, the diversity and sheer number of colorful butterflies create a new spectacle. In the late afternoon, watch for African Grey Parrots returning to their roost, and wait for the first nightjars and owls to begin calling.
Drive southwards to the remote village of Bonkro. Set beside a patch of Upper Guinea forest hosting White-necked Rockfowl, Bonkro has become an inspirational model of ecotourism-supported conservation in Ghana. When the rockfowl, also known as Yellow-headed Picathartes, were first discovered here, locals still relied heavily on the forest for bushmeat. Settle into your lodging and set off in the afternoon to one of the known breeding sites of the rockfowl, situated on granite outcrops deep within the forest.
After dinner, don your headlamp in preparation for a first crack at another iconic creature. The same hunters-turned-guides of Bonkro have developed a reputation for being able to locate the most sought-after of all mammals, pangolins! Two species of these endangered and highly elusive animals occur here: the smaller, more slender Black-bellied, or Long-tailed, Pangolin, and its heftier White-bellied cousin, also known as the Tree Pangolin. By carefully scanning the rainforest tangles, and listening for the tell-tale sounds of foraging above, you may be lucky enough to encounter one of these truly extraordinary animals.
The forest fragments around New Edubiase and Bonkro teem with birdlife, and your expedition leaders will determine the best trails and locations from which to search for Western Long-tailed and Western Dwarf Hornbills, Fire-bellied Woodpecker, the elusive Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Forest Wood-hoopoe, and Rufous-sided Broadbill. During the morning, keep alert to the possibility of foraging pangolins. Unlike the strictly nocturnal White-bellied Pangolin, Black-bellied Pangolins sometimes extend their activity into the sunlight hours.
Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant around forest ponds and streams, and particularly conspicuous as the day warms. After lunch and a midday rest back at your hotel, you may choose to return to Bonkro for a second session with the celebrity rockfowl.
After breakfast, set off toward Ghana’s best-known wilderness area, the jewel in the crown of its protected area network, Kakum National Park. The drive takes you through a largely human-altered landscape of subsistence fields and so-called “farmbush,” a wooded, second-growth habitat that is nevertheless rich in birdlife. At one time, much of Africa’s coastal zone west of the “Dahomey Gap” was covered in a contiguous rainforest belt spanning almost a quarter million square miles. An expanding human population, farming, and logging have fragmented this Upper Guinea forest, with less than a third remaining. Kakum is one such forest “island”, spanning 150 square miles of primary and tall secondary forest, set aside by the British colonial administration as a reserve in 1925 but only formally opened to the public in 1994. Arrive in time for an afternoon exploration near the park headquarters at Abrafo.
Rise early today to head to Africa’s most famous forest canopy walkway, spanning over 1,000 feet between seven giant forest trees. With special permission for a pre-dawn arrival, we hope to encounter the last of the nocturnal forest denizens, notably the striking, black-and-white, gliding Pel’s Anomalure. Spend the critical morning hours 130 feet above the forest floor, watching the forest come alive from the walkway’s expansive platforms. The gorgeous Black Bee-eater is usually in constant attendance, even perching on the walkway’s rigging; immense Black-casqued, Yellow-casqued, and Brown-cheeked Hornbills wing noisily by; and the surrounding tree canopies are home to Fire-bellied Woodpecker, the striking Blue Cuckooshrike, Violet-backed Hyliota, Crested and Red-headed Malimbes, family parties of Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, and the brilliant Buff-throated Sunbird, to name but a tiny portion of the species on display here.
Head back to the lodge for lunch and a rest during the heat of the afternoon, then return to the walkway this evening to look for the rare Brown Nightjar and Fraser’s Eagle Owl. Although Kakum’s list of recorded mammals is a long one, West Africa’s practice of hunting for bushmeat has decimated many wildlife populations but we will nevertheless keep our eyes peeled for primates such as Olive Colobus Monkey, Lowe’s Mona and Lesser Spot-nosed Monkeys, and smaller canopy dwellers like Green Bush Squirrel and African Giant Squirrel.
After breakfast at the lodge, head west by road to Ankasa Reserve, Ghana’s only wet evergreen rainforest. Covering over 200 square miles, Ankasa consists almost entirely of primary growth rainforest, and is the most biologically diverse of its kind in Ghana. Upon arrival in Ankasa, check into your lodge, overlooking the Ankasa River near the entrance to the park. Birding is excellent right at your doorstep, and you may do some this evening, on a quest for Fraser’s and Akun Eagle Owls, and the legendary Nkulengu Rail, with its unmistakable, rhythmic conga drum call.
With so many rare and sought-after species to see in Ankasa, days will feel full and action packed. After breakfast, set off in 4x4s to explore the forest. A broad track allows access into the rainforest canopy, where the long list of Upper Guinea endemics and avian specialties includes such sought-after birds as White-breasted Guineafowl, Yellow-throated Olive Greenbul, Rufous-winged Illadopsis, and Red-fronted Antpecker, as well as the more widely distributed but no less sought-after Red-chested Owlet, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, and Forest Scrub Robin. Ponds and swamp backwaters deep in the rainforest hold the exceedingly elusive Spot-breasted Ibis, White-crested Tiger Heron, Hartlaub’s Duck, and both Shining Blue and White-bellied Kingfishers. Scan the sky for the powerful, monkey-eating Crowned Eagle.
Diurnal mammals are thin on the ground due to hunting, but after dark, with the help of careful spotlighting and the use of infra-red heat scopes, you may be fortunate to encounter some of the area’s star nocturnal mammals such as West African Potto, Demidoff’s Galago, Western Tree Hyrax, Lord Derby’s Anomalure, Tree Pangolin, and Brush-tailed Porcupine.
Enjoy your last morning in Ankasa, before returning to Kakum. Passing along the coast, stop to visit Cape Coast Castle, one of the country’s most infamous edifices, standing as a chilling memorial to the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Spend a final day exploring Kakum National Park. Revisit the canopy walkway, or focus on the farmbush and forest edge, where the more open habitat plays home to Ahanta Spurfowl, the handsome Yellow-billed Barbet, Black-and-White Shrike-flycatcher, and a plethora of sunbirds and starlings.
3 Days at MOLE NATIONAL PARK || Ghana Largest Wildlife Refuge || Exploring Northern Ghana 🇬🇭
Ghana's Fungal Diversity
Ghana is home to a significant number of fungi species including: Aspergillus flavus; Athelia rolfsii; Auricularia auricula-judae; Curvularia; Fusarium oxysporum; Fusarium solani f.sp.
The baobab tree grows in the northern parts Ghana and other savannas in Africa. Ghanaians eat the large, gourd-like fruit, they make barrels from the trunk, the tree provides shade from the sun, and the bark can be made into rope and clothing.
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