Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary
Ghana · Upper West Region · 250 m
Description
Wechiau is a community sanctuary along a stretch of the Black Volta in the far north west of Ghana, holding one of only two hippopotamus populations left in the country. The river here is the border with Burkina Faso, and the animals are watched from a paddled canoe at first light or in the last hour before dark, when they come up in the pools. Twenty odd villages of the Wala and Birifor own and run the project between them, with lodges built of mud and thatch on the bank. Riverine forest along the water carries a long bird list.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 2 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – March
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Hippos in the Black Volta from a canoe
- Community run sanctuary and its river lodges
- Black Volta as the Burkina Faso border
- Dawn and dusk paddles when the hippos surface
- Riverine forest and its bird list
- Hippo hide platform on the bank
- Wala and Birifor compounds of the member villages
- Shea butter processing in the villages
- Baobab and the savannah woodland trail
- Wa and the Wa Naa's mud palace(Day trip)