The Tallest waterfall in West Africa

Wli Falls in Ghana is said to be the tallest and the highest waterfall in West Africa. It has both an upper and lower falls. It is located about 20km from Hohoe in the Volta Region of Ghana. This is very close to the Togo border.

Wli falls locally is called Agumanse which means let me flow.

The day that I visited started in the village of Wli. It is surrounded by mountains that you can see in the distance.

There is just one dusty road that runs through town.

After checking in with the community tourism office we are assigned a guide and start walking into the Wli reserve which is a forested area leading up to the base of the lower falls.

I visited in the dry season but there was still a lot of greenery around but you can see on the higher mountains around most of the grass is yellow and dry.

The walk to the lower falls is actually quite casual and only takes about 30 to 40 minutes there is not a huge elevation change and it is quite flat. But during the walk you cross this stream about 17 times. As you wind your way up it.

Some nicely producing pawpaw trees spotted along the walk.

Some pineapple plants yet to produce a large pineapple but you can see a small one forming on the one to the left.

Occasionally there is enough break in the vegetation to get some views of some of the surrounding mountains.

My dad an our driver kwame on one of the many crossings of the stream. I love to see flowing clean cold water.

Eventually our end destination can be seen and heard through the trees.

Keep in mind that this is the dry season so the flow can be a lot more substantial than this. In most of West Africa it is not advisable to swim and bath in stagnant fresh water because of some diseases and parasites you can get that use fresh water snails as a vector. But when water is flowing and in areas like the base of a water fall it is considered safe. So taking a dip in the pool here is a refreshing treat after the walk to get there.

This is the lower falls there is a very steep hike around to the upper falls from here. There are also longer hikes that take a more round about way too the upper falls but I did not have time for that on this trip.

Here are some photos of my dad and I at the base of the falls. This last one give a good perspective as to the size and scale of the falls. This is one area where I would like to come back to and spend some more time hiking around. There are trails that go into the mountains and connect to villages that have no roads and some that do not have any roads into Ghana but connect to Togo rather. The trails wind though coffee farms and green hills.

Thank you for going on another adventure with me.

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