Tamale to Bolgatanga/Bawku through Wa and Tumu

I am from Ghana (live in Accra) so I should be able to offer some advice.

1. Yes ten days is even too much to backpack around those areas. Tamale, Bolga, Bawku, Tumu and Wa are very close. Since they are busy routes, there should be endless mini buses throughout the day. The Northern regions are the basket of the country so you should not have any difficulties when it comes to transportation. Ten day is more than enough. Depends on how many days you wish to spend in each city/town.

2. The situation ns Bawku is very stable. Not something you should worry about. Its just some tribal BS. I can assure you there's nothing to worry about.

9 months in Africa? Wow!

I just posted this. Let me know if you ever plan on going that route.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2101835

Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any other information.

Thank you for the quick reply!

Whats your opinion on Mole NP? I currently plan on staying there for 2 days (arriving early morning day one, leaving late evening day 2). Are there minibuses/STC from Larabanga to Wa frequently or will I have to travel by tro-tro?

Yes 9 months. Two years of saving should make it happen for me though you never know what might happen. I plan on staying in Ghana for about a month and then 3 weeks for Togo/Benin. Afterwards; Nigeria, Cameroon etc. Is Nigeria actually part of ECOWAS?

And if your still in Accra next month I'm always up for a beer!

You welcome.

2 days is enough to see you through the Mole NP and the surrounding towns. It's one of the best places to visit when around the Northern Regions.

There are endless tro-tros going to Wa from Larabanga. I understand there's a bus leaves very early.

A month in Ghana, you gonna enjoy it. Plan on visiting Cape Coast? Takoradi?

Yes Nigeria is part of ECOWAS. You can easily go to Nigeria from Accra.

Do you have any plan when in Accra?

Yes I should still be here next month. Keep in touch.

RE: Mole

I'm more interested in culture than game parks, so I don't have the most extensive gauge when it comes to these things, but I think Mole is unimpressive and not worth visiting, especially if you can make it over to NW Benin and go to Pendjari, which I strongly recommend. That said, Northern Ghana is incredible and Bolgatanga is one of my favorite places to visit. Check out Godwin Yidana and Gayle Pescud's G-lish foundation when you're there: http://g-lishfoundation.org/

9-10 days for the North loop should be fine. 2 Days in Mole should be fine aswell, I spent two days and feel like I got to see what I wanted to. Big game lovers may not be too impressed by Mole but it is one of the last walking safari's that you can do in Africa and it is not too developed so it would be worth checking out. On the side of the park is a great Ecotourism project called Magnori Eco-village which you should check out if you are into culture and Ecotourism. They have canoe safari's into the park, village tours, home stays and dancing and drumming.

I am not sure how easy transportation will be ( I had my own transportation on my last trip), just be prepared for waiting places. The road from Larabonga to the main Wa road is really rough, I have heard that from Wa to Bolgatonga can be a rough long trip also. If you are planning on traveling during the rainy season I would get word of if that is even possible between Wa and Bolga, I have heard that bridges can be an issue. Bawku should be fine, just keep an ear to the ground as you get closer you will probably have more of an issue at that remote border crossing with offecials then you will have in the actual town.

Send me an email if you need anything greenbugafrica@gmail.com

Hi everyone,

Sorry to jump on your thread but figure if you guys are knowledgeable enough to answer RDK's queries you might be able to help me to. I am going to be in Ho then need to be in Buipe then Sawla. My questions are...
1) do I have to go all the way back to Accra to get to Buipe from Ho

2) Will I be able to get from Buipe to Sawla via Damongo in October
3) Can you recommend any places to stay in any of these places?

Thanks for your time.
Lucy x

There is no easy answer to the question above. Especially since you will be there in October during the rainy season.

Typically it is possible to go up through the Volta region to the north and continue up past Hohoe between the lake and Togo all the way to Yendi and then over to Tamale and then Buipe and Sawla. But between Hohoe and Yendi is a long stretch of very rough un-paved road that can easily take 6 hours with private transport on a good day during the dry season. During the rainy season it could be a nightmare, and it is recomended if you are taking public transport to split the Hohoe to Tamale into a 2 or 3 day trip. The highlight of this trip is getting very much off the beaten path in areas of Ghana where tourist rarely visit. Kyabobo national park is along this route also which is a great place to visit.

From Ho it should be possible to find transportation to Buipe without having to go all the way back to Accra, you would probably look for a Tro going from Ho to Korforidua and then from there to Kumasi. At kumasi you will want to get transportation to Tamale and hope off at Buipe if you have business there. Otherwise you should continue all the way to Tamale. From Tamale you can get a metro bus to Wa where you can jump of at Sawla.

The road from Domongo to Sawla is a very long washboard gravel road, and large parts of the north have a tendancy to flood in the rainy season, so I am not sure how easy it is to do.

Your best bet for the trip you are talking about is getting yoru own 4 x 4 transportion, if you share it with others it can become more affordable. PM me if you would like some help with this.

Also I would not suggest spending much time at the places you listed as there is really not much there unless you have business there, neither place is going to have much in the way of accomadations.

www.greenbugadventures.com