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An Eco Tourism site and an ideal place for adventure, picnics and relaxation located in the Abuakwa south municipality of the Eastern region of Ghana. The site has over 600 species of trees used for used for various medicinal purposes.

About

Bunso, just two hours from Accra, offers visitors a combination of semi-deciduous native forest and species introduced to Ghana by the Plant Genetic Resources Centre of Bunso, which uses the facility for research. The site contains over 110 species of birds, 30 species of butterflies and a herb garden with over 40 species. Tour the arboretum with a guide to learn about the native and exotic plants, including their medicinal properties for traditional healing, or go on an indigenous foods tour to learn the many ways in which local people harvest food from local plants. Guests can also experience village life and cocoa farming on a tour of the nearby village.

What to See & Do

Beyond being an eco park where you can embark on first adventure hike or visit the bamboo cathedral, the park has a;

1. Tree-top canopy walkway

Experience the walk on ropes suspending high in this forest area and get a good view of the several tree species from up high. This is the second highest canopy walkway built after Kakum.

2. Children’s playground/walkway

This child-friendly park has purpose-built canopy walkway to bring out the adventure in children. Do not leave the children out of your trip to this park.

3. Butterfly/Bird Sanctuary

With a wide variety of butterflies, a walk through the park forest offers one the opportunity to discover several species of butterflies and at times birds. (Best time to see butterflies is before. 8am)

4. Horse-riding

One of the latest additions to the park is two horses that offer patrons the opportunity to ride through the park.

5. Zipline

Pump up some adrenaline by riding down the 50-metre long newly constructed Zipline. The unique thing about the zipline is that entry to and from the Zipline is via a suspended ropes walkway.

About the Village

Near the coast at the far western side of Ghana, near the border with Cote d’Ivoire, is a unique village in all of Ghana. The spectacular scenery of the 400-year old stilt propped water settlement of Nzulezu, is a unique village built on stilts in Lake Tadane, home to hundreds of people in the Western Region.

Nzulezu is an Nzema word meaning ‘surface of the water’. The inhabitants are said to have migrated from Walata, a city in the ancient Ghana Empire, the earliest of the Western Sudanese States. According to tradition, ancestors of the village were brought to their present place by a snail.

The serene ambiance of the surrounding landscape, coupled with the general activities of life on stilts points to a dynamic relationship between man and nature. It is essentially one long pier, called Main Street by the locals, with buildings constructed on both sides. One side of the ‘street’ is living quarters while the other side has businesses, a school, a community center, and other commercial ventures.

Village life is adapted to the unique environmental conditions, and all activities such as the pounding of fufu (a traditional meal), schooling, worship, baptisms and burials are carried out on the lake. It is said that the lake averts possible disasters such as fire outbreaks.

The people of Nzulezu still adhere to traditional norms and taboos. For instance, Thursday is a sacred day on the lake where the villagers do not engage in strenuous activity.

Today the village subsists on fishing, farming on nearby land, and tourism. The village has a small guest house for visitors who would like to spend the night.

The Nzulezu stilt village is not connected to electricity, but there are a significant number of television poles attached to almost every home in the village. These are powered by car batteries. Inhabitants use lanterns, flashlights, or rechargeable lamps to move about at night. To the amazement of visitors, villagers carry on daily life as if they don’t live on stilts.

The one-hour dugout canoe trip from the Beyin visitor center to Nzulezu passes through a pristine series of marshes, swamp forest (the largest strand left in Ghana), and open pools rich with wildlife, including crocodiles, egrets, herons, and kingfishers. This natural area has been designated as an Important Bird Area based on criteria from Birdlife International.

In addition, the beach adjacent to the visitor centre is the site of a sea turtle conservation project in cooperation with the Ghana Wildlife Society. The project seeks to protect three endangered turtle species that nest on the beach. Evening tours are offered to see the massive turtles laying eggs and their tiny hatchlings making their way to the sea.

One of the highlights of a visit to Nzulezu is certainly the journey to get there. Nzulezu is one part of the Amasuri Wetland, a Ramsar site and the largest inland swamp forest in Ghana. After driving as far as the unpaved road will allow for the current conditions, there will be a short walk to get to your canoe. A canoe ride of 45 minutes to an hour passes narrow, lush channels, open plains, and finally the wide expanse of Amansuri Lake. The ride is safe and lifejackets are available.

Things to Do

• Stop at the visitor centre in Beyin to arrange a guided tour of the stilt village. You will travel 5 km by dugout canoe for one hour through a succession of lush water habitats that finally open to Lake Tadane. Time: 3 hours.
• Take a guided evening tour of the beach from October through August to see endangered sea turtle nesting or hatchlings emerging. Time: variable.
• Enjoy evening drumming and dancing by a local cultural group by special arrangement. Time: variable
• Visit Fort Apollonia in Beyin, one of the smaller of Ghana’s many historic coastal forts. The interior isn’t open to tourists, but you can view the exterior and its picturesque setting on the beach. Time: 30 minutes.
• Stay in one of the new facilities being developed.

When to Visit

More birds and monkeys are seen on the canoe trip to Nzulezu during the rainy season (May 15 through August) and you can canoe the entire way, versus walking the first 1 km during the dry season. Guided sea turtle walks are offered from October through August.

Accommodation, Food, and Refreshments

Nzulezu has a guesthouse called the Homestay Bar and Rest house that is part of the stilt village. The small window in each of the rooms looks out onto the lake and each has two single beds (sheet and flush toilet, but no mosquito net or towel). Meals and liquid refreshments are available. Camping is also available at the visitor centre in Beyin.

Hours

8 am to 4 pm daily.

Directions

From Takoradi, travel 90 km west to the visitor centre in Beyin. Nzulezu is 5 km north of Beyin by canoe.

Getting there

The village of Nzulezu is about a 7 hour drive west of Accra.

Contact

0553488755

About

The only true inland lake in the country located in the Ashanti region. It is an awesome place to relax and enjoy nature. The lake has no surface outlet and was formed in a meteorite impact crater with an area of 19 square miles (49 square km) and a depth of 230–240 feet (70–73 metres), The lake is surrounded by lush mountains and fed by small streams that tumble down the crater’s steep sides (500–1,400 feet [150–425 metres] above water level).

Situated in the Ashanti region of Ghana, Lake Bosomtwe is one of six UNESCO designated biosphere reserve sites. It is one of three of such internationally recognized sites in the country – Bia in the Western, and Songhor in Greater Accra Region.

The southernmost section of the site overlaps the northern section of the Bosomtwe Range Forest Reserve creating a combination of forest, wetland and mountain ecosystems. The biosphere reserve sustains 35 tree species, including some used for timber. The site is also home to a great diversity of wildlife and a human population of over 50,000 inhabitants whose main economic activities are farming, fishing and tourism, as the lake is a major national tourist destination. The area is widely used for research, especially on climate change, as well as environmental education for schools and universities.

Location
Latitude: 6°24’35”N – 6°35’33”N
Longitude: 1°19’22”W – 1°29’30”W
Midpoint: 6°30’16”N – 1°24’31”W

History

 Bosomtwe is a circular lake, caused by a meteor impact a million years ago. The sides rise steeply, covered with trees and bush. There are various settlements around, mainly fishing and farming villages but also some places to stay. Lake Bosumtwi also sometimes spelled Bosomtwe, is a lake formed by an ancient meteorite strike in the Ashanti Region.

Oral tradition has it that the lake was formed in 1648 when a hunter pursuing and antelope shot and injured the antelope “Otwe” – in the Twi dialect. The antelope however continued its run until it disappeared in a small pond ahead. The said hunter by name Akora Bompe in shock decided to stay beside the pond and never returned to his town of Asamang. He then named the place “Bosomtwe” which in English translates “antelope god.” He believed that the water was a god and saved the life of the antelope.

Each village in the lake area has its own shrine or fetish grove. With the arrival of Christianity, some of the people lost their belief in those traditions, but nonetheless, many still worship these gods for help in bad times or against diseases.

Currently, there are about 23,000 people living in the 27 lake communities. Each village around the lake area has its own shrine with many visiting to look for spiritual help.

There is a stone at the lake side called Abrodwum Stone and believed to be the spiritual centre of the lake. Usually, whenever there is poor yield, it is considered a bad omen, thus sacrifices would have to be made.

This deed is undertaken in the presence of the Asantehene. In the ceremony, the cow’s innards are offered to the stone and the rest thrown into the water. It is a spectacular sight to see the crowd rush into the water with cutlasses and axes to take their share of the meat.

Considering the above belief, Lake Bosomtwi is held sacred by Ashanti traditionalists, though the finer details of its exalted status are rather elusive. Some claim that Bosomtwi is where a deity called “Twi” resides.

Others believe that it is visited by the souls of the departed on their passage to eternity. It is also the sacred water body of the Bosomtwi; one of five divisions in the matrilineal Nton system which the Asante and other Akans believe passes a father’s attributes to his children.

In former times, it was a taboo to touch the water with iron things, so the people never used conventional boats. Till date they move on the lake using the “padua”, a wooden plank that needs a lot of skill to be handled in the right way.

It must be admitted that it is not clear whether the crater in which Bosomtwi lies is volcanic in origin, was formed by a meteorite or a small pond. Either way, the lake is a beautiful spot, encircled by mountainous, thickly vegetated crater walls rising several altitudes. This presents ample opportunities for walking, birding, fishing, hiking and canoeing.

What to do

 There is an information centre, where you can find out about the lake and conservation efforts, and also arrange for a boat trip on the lake. If you are lucky someone will open a coconut or two for you for a few cedis.

It is possible to take boat rides on the lake, swim, and hike around. The various communities around the lake are very welcoming. There are also some great hikes up into the hills, and the sacred areas around villages.

Getting there

There is a tarred road that gives access to the lake from the direction of Kumasi, it rises in elevation over the rim around the lake and down into the lake ending at the first village Abono. There is a small fee to be paid at a community mounted entry point.

It is seen as taboo to use a regular dugout canoe or for metal or iron to touch the lake surface (i.e. modern boats, even though there are a couple that traverse the lake), because of this a very different type of boat is used by the fisherman in the lake, it is a large plank of wood that they sit on top of and use their hands, or plates in their hands to propel themselves.

The lake level continues to rise, and because of this the villages have had to keep moving up the hillside. You will notice that the villages often times have a number after the name which indicates how many versions of the village there have been. You will see tree trunks coming out of the water because of this also.