Mount Afadjato and Tagbo Falls

Last Sunday I was invited by my office mates to join a short course group for an excursion to Mount Afadjato and Togba falls in the Volta Region.  Mount Afadjato is the highest mountain in Ghana at 885 meters or 2,904 feet above sea level. It isn’t what one would call huge, but climbing it was quite an adventure. Tagbo falls is 60  m or approximately 180 feet tall. 

 

There is a small village on the bottom of the mountain where one pays a small fee to climb the mountain. The trail up the mountain is crazy bad and quite dangerous in my opinion. Since it is the rainy season it was even worse. Luckily it didn’t rain when we were there, because we would have been riding our butts down the whole time instead of just half the time.

view from top of Mount Afadjato

Many in the group were not prepared for the severity of the hike up the mountain, lacking proper shoes making the hike even more difficult. Along the trail there was only one proper rest stop half way up the mountain. There were no hand rails or ropes along the trail and maintenance was very poor. Supposedly this was a new trail that was much better than the old one. The view from the top of the mountain is gorgeous. The only problem is a large amount of annoying flies that don’t exactly bite, but are looking for the moisture from ones skin. I recommend anyone who is interested in making this trek is a fan of hiking, in good to descent shape, wears proper shoes and clothing that they don’t mind getting dirty and maybe even stained.

Cocoa tree

Even if one is not a fan of strenuous hiking there is the Tagbo waterfall which is easy to reach on a well-kept trail. It is an easy thirty minute hike, well worth the beauty of the water fall. The trail starts by going through a forested area, with some cultivation of different types of agricultural products, including plantains, bananas, cocoa (for chocolate) and more. Farther down the trail it turns into the natural habitat. While I was hiking there had recently been a large tree cut down and put into planked boards for use by the village people. We met two women carrying large boards on their heads back to the village. The trail does cross a small stream several times that stems from the waterfall. The crossings over the stream are everything from a nicely built bridge to narrow boards laid across in some places. The village people request that women who are menstruating not touch or enter the water at the base of the falls, but if one has a swimsuit they are welcome to swim. But as a warning there have been drownings so it is not recommended unless one is a strong swimmer.

Tagbo Falls

rainforest

I have known people that have taken Tro-tro to reach the village, but be prepared for a hot, bumpy and crowded ride. It took us about four hours to reach the village, but this was with no stops along the way. 

On the way back we stopped at a small fishing village along the Volta river. Ghanaians are huge fans of Tilapia and often when visiting the Volta Region will stop in small fishing villages to buy a large quantity of freshly caught Tilapia and other fish. The price is very reasonable and the catch is always fresh compared to what one can get in Accra.

I had a fun and exhilarating trip with a group of wonderful people!