Bawku West District: Nature and Culture

Nature destinations and cultural events stand side by side in Bawku West District. When planning your trip, it is worth considering each theme separately: wildlife and plant life, different types of landscapes, and festivals each offer a different focus.

Nature and landscapes in Bawku West District

The forest reserve along the Red Volta is one of the tourist attractions of Bawku West District. It is home to wildlife, including elephants, and a variety of rare tree species. The combination of wildlife and rare trees gives the reserve a different focus from the hills and water destinations.

The Teshie Hills and Soogo Hills are also counted among the district’s tourist attractions. Water-related destinations include the confluence of the Red and White Volta and the waterfalls near Zongoire. The range of landscapes therefore extends from hills to a confluence and waterfalls.

The Widnaba Eco-tourist Site and Apotdabogo Eco-tourist Site are also named as tourist attractions. If you are planning a specific visit, check in advance whether the destination can be visited.

Festivals and cultural events

Yourg is a festival associated with the district’s cultural practices; Yong and Zintas are also named as festivals in Bawku West District. If you would like to plan your trip around one of these festivals, check the specific dates in advance.

More topics in the wider destination of Upper East

The wider destination of Upper East offers further landscape and cultural themes. Between December and February, the Harmattan wind can produce a whistling sound as it blows through the rocks of the Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape. The Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral in Navrongo is made entirely of mud bricks plastered with mud mortar. Its architecture combines European forms with local building techniques. These examples highlight different features: a natural sound that may occur seasonally and a building shaped by its materials and architecture.

The Upper East Regional Museum in Bolgatanga displays local pottery, paintings, musical instruments, jewelry, weapons, and chiefs’ possessions. The collection also includes carved stools made of dark wood and bronze ancestral pots. The Ba’ar Tonna’ab Ya’nee is considered the best-known shrine in the Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape. Asante traditionalists call it Nana Tongo and visit it frequently. The collection objects and a culturally significant shrine thus represent different themes within Upper East.

Around 1911, the local chief sought refuge in the Hiding Caves during British attempts at colonization and commanded his troops from there. The chief and other leaders met in the Hyena Caves during their fight against the British. The Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga served as a stopover for enslaved people who were taken from the north southward to the slave market in Salaga and onward to the coast. These historical sites represent different aspects of regional history, from resistance to British attempts at colonization to the history of enslaved people being taken south.

Discover more destinations: Teshie.

Return to the wider travel overview: Upper East.