Things to do in Kakum National Park
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kakum National Park
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and the default window, with the driest trails, the most reliable roads and the best canopy visibility.
Harmattan inside the dry season brings haze, dust, lower humidity and cooler early mornings, with muted distant views.
Main rains, peaking in May and June. Lushest forest, muddy slippery trails, heavy downpours and the fewest visitors.
A cooler, cloudier dry break, and the coastal festival window with PANAFEST in its years and Emancipation Day on 1 August.
Second rains in September and October, easing by November. Fetu Afahye falls in Cape Coast on the first Saturday in September.
What's on
- PANAFEST Late July to early August, biennial
The Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival in Cape Coast and Elmina, held every two years. Confirm the year and dates locally.
- Emancipation Day 1 August
Marked at Assin Manso Slave River Site and across Ghana, the most significant date at Assin Manso.
- Fetu Afahye First Saturday in September
Cape Coast's annual festival of the Oguaa Traditional Area, with processions and a full base town.
Best things to do in Kakum National Park
Kakum Canopy Walkway
Seven swaying bridges on tree platforms, 350 metres long and up to 40 metres above the forest floor.
Kakum Visitor Centre
The ticketing, briefing and exhibition point at Abrafo where every canopy and trail visit starts.
Kakum National Park Guided Nature Walk
A guided ground level trail walk on trees, medicinal plants and forest life, for those skipping the heights.
Kakum National Park Birdwatching
Dawn birding from the canopy in a 266 species Important Bird Area, with hornbills and grey parrot.
Kakum Night Walk
A guided after dark walk, usually with a treehouse stay, looking for bushbabies, pottos and owls.
Where to stay in Kakum National Park
Park edge, Abrafo and Jukwa
dawn starts, birding and treehouse nights
Sleeping minutes from the gate is the only way to be first on the walkway and out at dawn or after dark.
Cape Coast
first trip, widest choice, castle on foot
The services town 35 to 45 minutes south, with the most beds and food and Cape Coast Castle walkable.
Elmina
beach rest plus castles plus Kakum
A beach town base about 45 minutes from the gate, with Elmina Castle and the most comfortable resort here.
Think twice about
- Cape Coast and Elmina beaches for swimming
Swimming is dangerous on Ghana's southern coast because of rip tides and undertows. Use a pool, not the sea.
- Bawku Municipality and the northern border areas
Several hundred kilometres from Kakum. They are not part of a Kakum trip.
Best restaurants in Kakum National Park
Kakum Rainforest Cafe
The visitor centre cafe for a simple lunch on a park day, closing in the mid afternoon.
Hans Cottage Botel
A lakeside restaurant over a crocodile lake on the Kakum road, serving Ghanaian dishes after the park.
Baobab House
A small vegetarian restaurant between the castle and the market, run with the Baobab school.
Outdoor things to do in Kakum National Park
International Stingless Bee Centre
A small research centre 2 km south of the park with guided hive tours, a forest walk and honey tasting.
Cape Coast Castle
The World Heritage slave castle 30 km south of Kakum, toured with a guide through its dungeons.
Elmina Castle
Built by the Portuguese in 1482, the oldest European building south of the Sahara, toured with a guide.
Assin Manso Slave River Site
The last bath river and memorial site about 40 km north of Cape Coast, before the march to the castles.
Best hotels in Kakum National Park
Kakum Treehouse
The park treehouse in the forest, with nets, a resident guide, a night walk and no electricity.
Rainforest Lodge
The closest proper lodge to the park, about 11 minutes by car, with a pool and restaurant.
Coconut Grove Bridge House
A simple ocean side bed and breakfast in Elmina with a restaurant and tour help for castles and Kakum.
Oasis Beach Resort
A long running Cape Coast beach resort near the castle, the default base for Kakum day trips.
Coconut Grove Beach Resort
A beachfront Elmina resort with pools and a restaurant, the most comfortable base in the destination.
Is Kakum National Park expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | GHS 450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | GHS 950 a person |
| Splurge | GHS 1,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kakum National Park Birdwatching: a few days ahead
- Kakum Night Walk: a few days ahead
- Kakum Treehouse: a few days ahead
- Rainforest Lodge: a few days ahead
- Coconut Grove Bridge House: a few days ahead
- Oasis Beach Resort: a few days ahead
- Coconut Grove Beach Resort: weeks ahead
- Book Cape Coast and Elmina beds ahead for late December and festival weekends.
- Confirm treehouse stays and specialist bird guides with the park in person or by phone, not only online.
- Confirm the fee schedule at the gate in cedis, because non-Ghanaian rates change.
Is Kakum National Park safe?
- Travel the Accra and Cape Coast roads by day where you can, use a driver you trust, keep doors locked in slow traffic, and do not walk the park road after dark.
- Kakum is a malaria area. Take prophylaxis advice, use repellent and nets, carry water, and carry your yellow fever certificate.
- Do not swim at Cape Coast or Elmina beaches, travel park roads after dark, or bounce or crowd a canopy bridge.
Kakum National Park travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Doing Kakum as a rushed day trip from Accra turns it into a road trip with a queue attached.
- Arriving at the walkway late morning means the longest queues, the worst heat and the quietest birdlife.
- Expecting elephants or monkeys on demand oversells a forest. Kakum is height, trees and birds, not a safari.
Getting around Kakum National Park: public transport and more
- Accra to Kakum is about 3 to 4 hours by road. Cape Coast to the gate is 35 to 45 minutes by negotiated taxi.
- Agree the taxi price, waiting time and any castle or Hans Cottage stop before you set off. Taxis are not metered.
- Trotro transport toward Abrafo is cheap but not timed to the walkway opening.
Who Kakum National Park suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kakum National Park your trip
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