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All Ghana West Gonja Mole National Park

Mole National Park

At Ghana's largest wildlife refuge you feel like you're right in the animals' backyard.

West Gonja, Ghana

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Tao Tao Holmes
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Mole National Park   Stug Nygaard
Mole National Park   Stug Nygaard
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Warthogs roam around the park property.   Monocletophat123
  taotaoholmes / Atlas Obscura User
  Dieu-Donné Gameli
  taotaoholmes / Atlas Obscura User
  taotaoholmes / Atlas Obscura User
  massimiliano20097 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

As you walk around the restaurant and visitor’s center at Mole National Park, you’ll pass by warthogs wandering along on their way, possibly even an elephant that has strayed from the group. At Ghana’s largest wildlife refuge, life is relaxed and no one is in a rush to get anywhere.

Mole National Park (pronounced Moh-lay) is located in northwest Ghana, about 90 miles from the major city of Tamale. The grounds are still fairly undeveloped and untouristed due to the park’s remote location, which makes it feel like you are truly wandering around the animals' backyard. 

The park was established in 1964, though the land was first set aside as a game reserve in 1958, a year after Ghana’s independence from Britain. The park spans about 3,000 square miles, fed by the seasonal Lovi and Mole rivers. On the grounds there is a motel and pool that look from a cliffside out across the savanna woodland, from which you can watch herds of elephants meandering by the water holes below.

The park is home to 90 mammalian species (including five types of primates), 734 species of flower plants, 56 butterfly species, and enough bird species to attract avid birders—at least 300 species, including the white-backed vulture and Senegal parrot.

However, because of the few dozen villages located near the park boundaries, subsistence hunting continues to pose a problem for preserving the wildlife. What's more, the elephants’ former migration route into southern Burkina Faso has been obstructed by human settlement, and seemingly less frequented as a result.

You can take jeep safari tours around the park’s rust red dirt roads, and are often able to get right up close to the elephants (there are around 500 total) and possibly pass by antelopes, hippos, hartebeests, buffalo and monkeys. The poor maintenance of the roads—which access only a small fraction of the park—is a loss to visitors, but a gain for the wildlife.

Related Tags

Animals Wildlife Sanctuaries National Parks

Know Before You Go

The park is 146km (90 miles) southeast of the major city of Tamale. The best way to get there is a bus, shared car, or van, through which you can likely arrange transport both ways.

Community Contributors

Added By

taotaoholmes

Edited By

massimiliano20097

  • massimiliano20097

Published

June 6, 2016

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Sources
  • http://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/africa/ghana/mole-national-park.html
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ghana/the-north/mole-national-park
  • http://www.ghana.travel/touring_ghana/eco_tourism/nature_wildlife/mole_national_park/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_National_Park
  • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g479203-d478910-Reviews-Mole_Hotel-Mole_National_Park_Northern_Region.html
Mole National Park
Damongo-Sawla Road
West Gonja
Ghana
9.7, -1.833333
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Larabanga Mosque

Larabanga, Ghana

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ghana

Ghana

Africa

Places 11
Stories 9

Nearby Places

Larabanga Mosque

Larabanga, Ghana

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ghana

Ghana

Africa

Places 11
Stories 9

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