Northern Ghana Travel Bucket List

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Writing a 'bucket list' of places i want to go to always gets me excited. For me a bucket list is like a to-do list without the added pressure. For the past year, i have been living in the northern part of Ghana for my national service ( a mandatory one year spent working for the government upon completing a tertiary institution) but i am done with the service therefore i am back home in the south. Whiles living in the north, i took a one week backpacking trip to explore some of the beautiful tourist sites that the northern region had to offer. The northern parts of Ghana consists of three political regions namely the upper east, upper west and northern regions. All these regions have a variety of tourist sites and places of interest. My backpacking trip could not take me to all the places i wanted to go because i did not have the time or enough money to go there. I am writing this blog post as a public to-do list or travel bucket list which will make me extra committed to going to these places i'm about to mention.

First on my list is Mole National Park: The Mole park is a wildlife game reserve located in the northern region of Ghana. It is about the most popular game park in Ghana and has a variety of wildlife for viewing pleasure. There are elephants, antelopes, monkeys, Buffalos, leopards etc This park is one of the tourist sites i can't wait to visit. Information i've gathered so far tell me its best visited during the dry season which is usually from November to April. I am making plans to go there early next year. Mole has onsite catering and accommodation therefore it would be great to spend a few days watching the wildlife especially the elephants since i've never seen one in real life. Whiles returning to Wa from my backpacking trip, the bus i was travelling in passed by the Mole park but all i saw was tall trees and vast forest. I thought i could catch a glimpse of an elephant or a baboon.

courtesy: Mole Motel Ghana

Larabanga Mosque and Mystery Stone: Close to the Mole National park is the Larabanga Mosque. The mosque is an ancient work of art built by an Islamic trader in the 15th century. Larabanga is one of Ghanas revered tourist sites and receives lots of visitors both nationals and non-nationals alike. It also features prominently on some post stamps from Ghana. Over the years it has gone through several repair works because it was built with mud but the essential design that set the mosque apart has been maintained. The mosque is not very far from the Mole national park (about 10 kilometres)  therefore i plan to visit this ancient mosque as part of my trip to Mole

courtesy: Wikepedia

Close to the Larabanga mosque is the Mysterious stone. Legend has it that during the colonial era in Ghana, a road was to be constructed where the mysterious is situated therefore the stone was removed and displaced but it was found at the exact spot where it was removed the following day. The stone found it's way back when it was removed the second time. This by any standards is not normal hence the name 'mysterious'. This said stone is believed to have healing powers therefore pilgrims to the Larabanga mosque also touch the mysterious stone for healing and spiritual purification. The road has since been diverted around the stone and a wall built around it. I caught a glimpse of the wall which encompasses this stone whiles travelling to Wa but i was really sad i didn't see the stone itself.

Mysterious stone photo courtesy: Ghana photographers

Tongo Whistling Rocks: These rocks can be found in Tongo in the upper east region of Ghana. The rocks at Tongo makes ghostly whistling noises during the harmattan when the weather is generally dry and airy.

Tongo Rocks: Photo credit Ghana Travels

Tono Irrigation Dam: The last tourist site on my northern Ghana travel bucket list is the huge irrigation dam in upper east region of Ghana. It was built in the 70s for agricultural purposes but has clearly served another purpose which is tourism. Tono dam is an ideal destination for water sports and relaxation and it's very popular in the upper east region since there are not enough water bodies in the northern part of Ghana.

In Garu: Everything is Round

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From Bawku and all the blabbing about donkey travel  and how they can help reduce Co2 emission and global warming. I made my way to my friends place at Garu which is a small town about 35 kilometres from Bawku in the upper east region of Ghana. At this time all the travelling i've done during the week from statue watching in Bolgatanga to squatting on top of a crocodile for a pose at Paga was beginning to take its toll on me and i was dying for a proper bed and some good home made meal.

At Garu, all picture picture taking and interesting topics for blog posts derailed as i met my friend Joeseph. Everything then degenerated into conversations and chit chatting and our obsession with the latest movies (our shared passion). We also visited mutual friends who were also doing their national service in the area. But one thing that really took my interest was the round nature of the mud houses. Mud houses in the upper west where i was coming from are usually rectangular or square shaped therefore it was a pleasure seeing new ways of how people build houses.

I wished i lived in one of these 'bad boys' ha!

But i also wondered how furniture and other house hold equipment will fit into a round hut but it turns out people who live in mud houses do not have much anyway therefore there was nothing to worry about. Inside a mud house you will usually find a mat spread on the floor, a radio set, a plastic chair and the individuals clothes and a few cooking utensils. The lifestyle is quite minimalistic.

Picture of the town 'Garu'

After two days in Garu, my backpacking trip had come to an end officially as in the places i wanted to visit because in Garu i crossed every destination off my bucket list except Tamale. But then i wanted to go back to Wa through Tamale so that i could have a feel of what the northern region of Ghana looks like since i have not been there yet and besides i didn't want to go back the same way i came that is through Upper east region.

Bye Joe but before i leave let's take a selfie!!!

Hippopotamus Affair

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Have you heard of Wechiaw? no? Ok don't worry because i had not heard of it myself. Well Wechiaw is the capital of Wa west district, located in the Upper west region of Ghana it also the last town in the western part of the district. Wechiaw is famous for having a hippopotamus sanctuary where you can go and see untamed hippopotamus as well as a bird sanctuary which is very pleasurable to view in the morning. I currently live in a village called Lassia where i'm a national service teacher The village i i'm in is not very far from the hippopotamus sanctuary therefore myself together with a group of friends decided visit the place.

On the road with our good old driver

Reception area of the hippopotamus sanctuary where i got to do my crazy pose with a skull of a hippopotamus

My first canoe ride ever

Canoe selfie

Fellow excursionists

Crossing this river takes you to Burkina Faso, Ghana's neighbour to the north

It was a warm day therefore the hippopotamus were swimming in the river and since they were not tame you were not allowed to go close, just watch from a safe distance the camera was not powerful enough to capture them.

There is a bird sanctuary where you can spot varieties of birds early in the morning or evening

Evening super caught in the Volta

BYE!!!

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