With over 750 different species of birds, Ghana is an ideal birdwatching destination. We use highly experienced tour leaders and guides with expert knowledge of Ghana’s birds and their habitats.
Day 1 You arrive at Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana. Accra is situated on the Gold Coast of Western Africa. This is the start of what will be an amazing journey that will live with you forever. After passing through immigration, you proceed to the conveyor to collect your baggage before heading to customs. We will meet you on the other side, just look out for our sign as you come out of the terminal building. Make yourself known to us and we will take care of you from here, and for the duration of your stay. We will board our air-conditioned 4x4, your mode of transport for the duration of your stay, before setting off.
Our first stop, the Dutch hotel, is 20 minutes outside of Accra. Located in a quiet area on the coast, the Dutch hotel is our accommodation during our stay in Accra. Once we have checked you in, Mark and the two local guides, who will be accompanying you for the duration of your tour, will offer you Akwaaba (Welcome). We will brief you on all aspects of your holiday during complementary drinks (first evening only) at the hotel bar. In the evening you can relax on the hotel terrace overlooking the Gold Coast.
Day 2 Our first full day in Ghana, and an early start to what should be a wonderful 16 day birdwatching tour. We head west leaving the busy city of Accra behind. Our destination is Cape Coast where we find the amazing Kakum National Park. En route, we will be stopping at various Ramsar sites including lagoons, mud flats, saltpans and a grassland reserve. Today, we hope to find siffling, croaking, black necked cisticola, copper sunbird, flappet lark, red winged prinia, yellow shouldered widowbird, black necked weaver, African quailfinch, orange cheeked waxbill, moustached grass-warbler, displaying orange and black winged bishops and the much sought after blue quail and quail plover.
Around the lakes and lagoons, we aim to see common paleartic tern, royal tern, African pygmy-goose, western reef egrets, herons, yellow bishop, preuss’s, swallows and many more species before our arrival at Hans Cottage, our base for the next 4 nights whilst we visit Kakum National Park. Our hotel is a very comfortable establishment built over a lake, which contains Nile crocodiles and is teeming with birdlife including vieillot, village and orange weavers, night heron, striated heron and the highly sought after white crested tiger heron. We will retire to our air-conditioned rooms after discussing the day’s sightings over dinner.
Day 3-4 Early start as we head for exclusive patronage of the world famous canopy walkway at Kakum National Park. Over the next two early mornings and evenings, we will be spending the most critical bird viewing hours 40 meters above the forest floor on the canopy walkway, which platforms are large enough to support Telescopes. The 607 km² Kakum National Park protects critically endangered primary guinea tropical rainforest and the species we expect to see from the canopy includes green hylia, violet backed hyliota, the rare yellow footed honeyguide, yellow bellied crombec, little grey flycatcher, grey headed, white breasted and chestnut breasted negrofinch, grey longbill, white headed and forest woodhoopee, West African batis, western bluebills, blue cuckoo shrike, chestnut bellied helmetshrike, large billed puffback, sharpes apalis, rufous-crowned eremomela, brown cheeked, black and white casqued, piping, yellow casqued and black dwarf hornbill, beautiful preussus weaver, red headed and red vented malimbes, rosy bee eater, yellow spotted and hairy breasted barbet, red fronted, brown necked, and grey parrots, velvet mantled drongos. The raptors we are likely to see include red necked buzzard, palm nut vulture, African cuckoo hawk, banded snake eagle, cassins hawk-eagle to mention just a few.
During the heat of mid afternoon, we have the option of resting around the hotel pool and bar or you could choose to go on a cultural excursion to Cape Coast visiting Cape Coast and Elmina castles. These wonderfully preserved colonial fortifications are recognised as UNESCO world heritage sites. They are both steeped in history and played a major role during Ghana’s tragic slave trade era. We will tour these castles and embark on a fascinating and thought provoking journey. A visit to the excellent museum and information centres at both monuments is a must before heading back to Kakum National Park for late afternoon birding adding more species to our rapidly growing lists. The park’s headquarters has an excellent information centre that offers a very informative overview of the parks flora and fauna. Over 40 different mammal species have been recorded within the park, which includes forest elephants, leopards and 6 primate species to mention just a few. Our evening will be spent at Hans restaurant and bar discussing the day’s sightings, adding to our checklist and enjoying the atmosphere of our surroundings
Day 5 Another early start this morning, we will be concentrating our attention on the many trails within and surrounding the park, which should prove to be very productive. We can expect to find fire crested alethe, common and grey headed bristlebills, collared and olive bellied sunbirds, blue headed wood dove, red rumped tinkerbird, African and white browed forest flycatchers, black headed paradise flycatcher, finches flycatcher, blue shouldered robin chat, olive long tailed cuckoo, pale breasted illadopsis, forest robin, red chested goshawk, yellow billed and guinea turacoú, long tailed hawk, black bee eaters, fire bellied woodpecker, black throated coucal, spot breasted ibis, western black headed oriole, African finfoot and if we are lucky we may spot congo serpont eagle, African pitta, forest francolin forest scrub robin, spotted honeyguide and the legendary, critically endangered white breasted guineafowl, the forest streams support shining blue and white bellied kingfishers.
We will return early afternoon after relaxing at the hotel to search the forest edge for bristle nosed and yellow billed barbet, yellow throated cuckoo, green crombec, ahanta francolin, black winged oriole, buff spotted and brown eared woodpecker, yellow throated cuckoo, kemps longbill, splendid and copper tailed glossy starling, yellow browed and olive green camaropterg. After a wonderful day of birding, we return to the hotel for our evening meal and to discuss the days birding over refreshments.
Day 6 Our final day at Kakum, we start the morning with a final visit to the park hoping to add some new species we may have missed previously. On our return to Hans, we have a leisurely breakfast, load up our 4x4 and depart for Kumasi after a wonderful time at Kakum. During our journey, we will add some species that we may have missed whilst at Kakum. We arrive in Kumasi at our hotel for a 1 night stay. On our arrival you will have the option of heading to Bobiri forest for evening birding or you can relax at your hotel.
Day 7 We wake early to visit Bobiri Forest Reserve which is actually a butterfly sanctuary. Upon our arrival, we will search this lush forest for swamp palm greenbul, bronze naped pigeon, red chested cuckoos, green headed sunbirds, red billed dwarf and white crested hornbills, white headed, woodhoopee, brown illadopsis, western nicator and some of the many raptors present include, cassins hawk eagle, red thighed sparrowhawks, African cuckoo hawk, great sparrow hawk to mention just a few.
We leave Kumasi after breakfast heading north towards Mole National Park. We can expect to see different bird species en route as we gradually enter the Sahelian Savannah plains of northern Ghana. During our journey, we will be stopping at riparian forests and woodland trying to add different species to our list. On our arrival at Mole National Park, we check into the Mole hotel, which is the only accommodation in the area. Situated on a 250 metre high escarpment over looking this 4840km² parks, it offers breathtaking views. It is an amazing feeling to be sitting around the pool on the hotel terrace watching African savannah elephants bathing in the two nearby watering holes which are inhabited by crocodiles. After our evening meal, we shall set off for an evening of birding around the Mole Airstrip which is particularly productive for nightjars.
Day 8-9-10 We awake early and move to the hotel terrace, which is an excellent spot to set up our Telescopes and watch the dawn activity where we aim to see chestnut-crowned sparrow weaver, lavender and orange cheeked waxbill, red throated bee eater, grey woodpecker, red billed and bared breasted firefinch, Senegal batis, stone partridge, freckled nightjar, beautiful and pygmy sunbirds, abyssinian ground-hornbill. The watering hole attracts Senegal thick knee and greater painted snipe, wolly necked stork and hadada ibis. Raptors are common in Mole and we should add to our list white headed, hooded, and white backed vulture, African hawk eagle, ayres’s hawk eagle, bateleur, short toed and brown snake eagle, lizzard buzzard, African hobby, lannar falcon and several species of harrier. We will take guided walks into the woodland that surrounds the waterhole in the cooler early morning and late afternoons. We will expect to encounter bruces green pigeon, purple and longtailed gloss starlings, white shouldered black tit, Senegal eremomela, oriole warbler, violet turaco, golden tailed and grey woodpecker, blackcap and brown babbler, snowy crowned robin chat, yellow breasted apalis, spotted creeper, northern puffback, rufus cisticola, swamp and lead coloured flycatchers and yellow fronted tinkerbird. During the heat of the afternoon, we have the option of a cultural excursion to nearby Larabanga and the 14th century mud and stick mosque. This wonderfully preserved traditional Sudanese style mosque dates from around 1421 and reportedly houses one of the original copies of the Koran. Alternatively we could relax on the terrace around the pool.
Day 11 After a final morning birding on the terrace of the hotel and after a hearty breakfast, we depart for Tono Dam in the Northern Region. As we venture northwards the landscape becomes more savannah woodland. We pass through many villages and stop at Tamale for lunch and refreshments. Tamale is Ghana’s 3rd largest city and is the capital of the Northern Region. We arrive at the Tono Dam in the late afternoon and check into our guesthouse for the evening. We will set off for an evenings birding were we hope to find long tailed and plain nightjars, African scops-owl, northern white faced owl and the seasonal standard winged nightjar.
Day 12 An early start as we watch the dawn activity around the Dam. We hope to find the beautiful, seasonally resident Egyptian plover as well as a variety of egrets, waders and herons. In the late afternoon we shall bird the surrounding woodlands looking for dark chanting-goshawk, stanley and white bellied bustards, forbes plover, red winged pytilia, swallow-tailed bee eater and many more species before our dinner and a final evenings birding around the Dam.
Day 13 A final morning birding at the Dam trying to add new species to our ever growing list. After breakfast, we set off for Kumasi retracing our journey of a few days earlier passing through Tamale where we stop for lunch. En route to Kumasi; we will stop at the beautiful Kintampo waterfall to relax. Some of our more adventurous guests have been known to use this opportunity to experience the best shower in Ghana. An invigorating experience and a great way to cool off! After our refreshing stop, we will set off on our final leg to Kumasi. Upon our arrival we shall check into our hotel and enjoy our evening meal around the pool.
Day 14 We have an option to revisit either Bobiri Forest Reserve, or Bomfobiri Wildlife Reserve which is also very productive for birding trying to add species we may have missed previously, before departing for Accra. En route and if time permits, we will stop at the Atewa Range for an evening of birding before arriving in Accra.
Day 15 An early start this morning as we return to the Atewa Range. This is the only site in Ghana where David, our tour leader has encountered blue headed bee eater. Other specialities include the endangered rufous-winged illadopsis, narina trogon, great blue turaco, dusky crested and olivaceous flycatchers and western bronze-naped pigeon. We will return to Accra for lunch and to relax before setting off for the Sakumona lagoon. One of our lead guides knows Sakumona lagoon very well as he lives a short distance away. This gives him the opportunity to bird there most mornings which can only enhance our group’s chances of a productive visit. Once we arrive at the lagoon, we will search for African spoonbill, white fronted plover, black headed heron, western reef egret, yellow throated longclaw, several species of kingfisher and African quailfinch. After a wonderful days birding, we return to our hotel where we have the option of relaxing on the terrace overlooking the ocean or visiting one of Accra’s beach front restaurants and bars.
Day 16 Sadly our final day with you in Ghana. The day starts early as we visit the nearby Shai Hills Reserve, an expanse of Savannah, grassland and woodland. The bird viewing here is excellent and we hope to find grey hornbill, African hobby, violet and green turacos, mocking cliff chat, Senegal parrot, croaking cisticola, white crowned robin chat and many more species. After lunch, and if time permits, we shall revisit Sakumona lagoon.
Depending on your flight departure time, we will visit a nearby beach hotel to relax and enjoy an early evening meal before your sad departure and flight home after an unforgettable 16 day experience.
All our tour prices include Accommodation: range from air conditioned hotels with en-suite facilities to traditional village homestead All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks Transportation around Ghana in an air conditioned vehicle Cultural excursions Park entrance fees Guide fees: fully escorted by professional and expert Western and local Ghanaian guides 24/7 care and attention
Price does not include International Flights Visa Items of a personal nature or not mentioned in the itinerary above
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The 14-day birdwatching tour was very rewarding. Going from location to location allowed us to see quite a bit of the country in addition to our 250+ species. I was very pleased with all of the accommodations -- they all had aircon and hot water.
The highlight of the hotels, however, was the proprietors. Ghanaians are supremely friendly! I especially liked the cook/owner of D&A Guest House in Shama. Very delicious buffet dinner.
Our guide, Robert Ntakor, amazed me. A bird would flit by and he'd identify it in a split second. He was also excellent at spotting birds in the dense brush and canopy. He seems to have the calls of every bird in Ghana on his iPod and we had great success attracting beauties such as the long-tailed hawk, great blue turaco, emerald cuckoo, and the list goes on.
It was great fun seeing and photographing the exotic birds.
