Canopy Walk, Kakum National Park, Ghana

Ghana is fast becoming West Africa’s most exciting and accessible wildlife destination. In the south exist some of the most expansive remaining tracts of the unique Upper Guinea rainforests, while the northern savannahs are home to the region’s largest mammal herds. These habitats support some of the world’s most exciting and sought-after creatures, from pangolins and Pottos to Egyptian Plover and the near-mythical Yellow-headed Picathartes. In November last year, I spent two weeks travelling around the country, visiting many of its most breathtaking reserves and enjoying extraordinary wildlife encounters.

Perhaps Ghana’s most famous reserve is Kakum National Park, which protects around 40,000 hectares of mixed primary and secondary rainforest. The focus here is Africa’s highest, and best, canopy walkway; this spectacular structure provides eye-level views of a variety of forest birds, most of which are nearly impossible to see well from the ground. On my visit, these included gems such as Violet-backed Hyliota and Blue Cuckooshrike, alongside the superb White-crested Hornbill. Deeper into the forest, we enjoyed close views of a displaying Rufous-sided Broadbill, while a dusk return to the walkway presented us with the remarkable sight of a colony of Pel’s Anomalures heading out for the night. These strikingly patterned (and surprisingly large) flying squirrels soared past, just metres above our heads, before disappearing into the darkness. Later that same night, a somnolent ball of fur in a low bush turned out to be a West African Potto, one of the strangest (and most lethargic) of all primates, and a rarely seen Akun Eagle-Owl allowed excellent scope views.

Most exciting of all, however, was a creature we would stumble across on a walk the next morning. Reaching a fork deep in the forest, one of our guides turned left, while we continued with the other to the right. For half an hour or so we meandered slowly down the track, then our guide’s phone rang, and after a few brief words he suddenly began marching us rapidly back through the jungle. Eventually, we arrived at a small clearing where, perched motionless on an exposed branch above the track, was an impossible creature – a Long-tailed Pangolin. Its amber scales shone brilliantly against jet-black fur, and its elongated fifth limb was coiled ornately around a narrow tree. While these bizarre ‘scaly anteaters’ are famously the world’s most trafficked animal (besides humans), Ghana remains one of their greatest strongholds. It was a rare privilege to encounter one.

Just a few hours north of Kakum is the remote Nyamebe Forest, home to Ghana’s undisputed birding highlight. After negotiating increasingly bumpy dirt roads, we eventually arrived at the village of Bonkro, above which towered rocky and rainforest-clad hills. We set off on foot towards these peaks, reaching them via a winding path through thick vegetation. As we took our last steps, a vast cave loomed over us out of the gloom, its walls covered in a number of great mud nests. In the shadow of this natural cathedral, we settled in to await the arrival of West Africa’s most sought-after bird. Before long, a flash of movement passed over a sunset-dappled boulder. Pausing for an instant, it revealed a naked golden head, slate-grey back and bill, inkwell-black eye and snowy-white breast. Soon, no fewer than eight primeval Yellow-headed Picathartes were bounding around the rock face, occasionally coming within a few metres of where we sat, awestruck. This extraordinary species was only confirmed breeding in Ghana in 2005, after a century of rumours and isolated records, but the country is now the best place in the world to see it.

Long-tailed Pangolin (Ben Chapple)

I also visited two other reserves. Ankasa, in the south-west, is Ghana’s largest pristine wet rainforest and home to Hartlaub’s Duck, White-bellied Kingfisher and the huge Black-casqued Hornbill. In the north, the savannahs of Mole National Park produced herds of Elephant, Kob and Bushbuck. The birding was equally enjoyable, with the more open habitats making a refreshing change from the dense rainforests of the south. Highlights included Oriole Warbler, Standard-winged Nightjar, Forbes’s Plover and the enormous Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. Finally, close to Mole is a reliable sight for another of Africa’s star birds, the striking Egyptian Plover.

Ghana is a beautiful and diverse country, with friendly people and some of Africa’s most exciting and rarely seen wildlife.