A 357km2 national park comprising undisturbed virgin rainforest. Excellent walking tours (and a canopy walkway) through the forest provide the opportunity to see much of Ghana's indigenous plant life, as well as rare butterflies, birds and game (that could include the extraordinary bongo and forest elephant). Highlights include:
Kakum National Park Visitor Centre
The Kakum National Park Visitor Centre (KNPVC), managed by Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust (GHCT) built with funding from USAID and technical support by Conservation International (Cl) is located on a 512-acre land adjacent to the Kakum National Park. The Centre has facilities that promote conservation education and awareness. There are also facilities for relaxation.
Rainforest Café
Kakum Rainforest Café encourages conservation efforts at the Park by supporting local farmers through the purchase of fresh produce while providing a relaxing location for visitors to enjoy a fine meal and refreshing drinks.
Hidden Connections
The "Hidden Connection" exhibit interprets the complexities which underlie tropical rainforest diversity, the interdependencies among species, and the numerous biological connections which make the rain forest a "web of life '. It also highlights the cultural connections that the people of southern Ghana have with the natural world that make them part of this "web". At least forty-five minutes should be planned for visitors to experience the exhibit as it prepares them to enter the rainforest and to notice more of the scents, sights and sounds unique to the forest environment while increasing levels of enjoyment and conservation education.
The Afafranto Campsite
This campsite is located 200 meters from the Kakum Visitors Centre. The Afafranto campsite is ideally positioned for visitors wanting an easily accessible forest camping experience.
Visitors who want to visit this site must bring along their own tents, mosquito nets, sleeping pads and/or cots for use at the campsite. It will soon be possible to rent them from the Visitor Centre.
Sun bird Trail
Visitors with a special interest in birds now have a new trail that is specially developed to incorporate three ecosystems: the rainforest, the secondary forest and a pond environment. Visitors can use this trail to search for more than 400 bird species found on the Kakum bird checklist. The departure times for bird watching can be specified when making a booking for the trails and guides.
Canopy Walkway
The Kakum Canopy Walkway, Africa's first and only rainforest walkway, is composed of 350 meters of suspended bridge and six tree platforms that reach the height of 30 meters above the forest floor. From the treetops, visitors experience a unique and spectacular view of the rainforest ecosystem and have the opportunity to see flora and fauna, which could never be viewed from the ground. Hundreds of species of butterflies and birds can be viewed from the Walkway early in the morning and if visitors are lucky, they may catch a glimpse of the Spot-nose, Campbell's and Columbus monkeys.