WELCOME TO LIATI WOTE

Home of Afadjato & Tagbo Falls

Away from the hassle and bustle of urban life, tucked away in the quietness of the mountains that form part of the Akwapim-Togo ranges is nestled under the foot of Afadjato, the highest mountain in Ghana, the beautiful touristic village of Liati Wote. Wote is a haven for a getaway any time all year round. Hike up the mountains, take a nature walk, immerse yourself in an authentic African village life or just relaxing at a serene waterfall to enjoy the peace of nature. The warm and friendly people of Liati Wote would make your visit a memorable one. Woezor! You are welcome!

The Afadjato Tagbo Ecotourism Center

The people of Liati Wote, led by the chief Togbe Kodadza V, started a community-based ecotourism project in the 1980s. This is aimed at protecting the environment and conserving our natural resources, preserving and promoting our rich cultural heritage and thus ensuring employment and security for future generations. The Liati Wote Afadjato-Tagbo Ecotourism Center is under the direction of a constitution enforced in 2011. It is run by a Board in charge of policy direction, and a Management & Staff unit responsible for the day to day activities.

Location

Liati Wote is located in the Afadzato South District in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is about 250km away from Accra and 18km South-east of Hohoe the nearest commercial town.

DIRECTIONS

Getting there by public transport from Accra:

1. Take a Hohoe-bound bus. You may decide to alight at Golokwati (short form is Kwati) at the police barrier. You can either charter a taxi or take a motorbike from there to Liati Wote.
2. The other option is to go to Hohoe. Ask of the Fodome station at the Post Office square in Hohoe. Take the Wote bound taxi or mini bus from there.

Getting there by driving from Accra:

1. From Accra get unto the Tema motorway and drive towards Akosombo. Cross the Adomi Bridge at Atimpoku and drive on through Juapong and get to Asikuma Junction. Take the left turn at Asikuma Junction and drive on through Peki, Kpeve and Have. From Have drive on straight without turning (a left turn takes you to Kpando) through Avatime Fume, the Logba and Tafi towns till you reach Logba Wuinta. Take the right turn and drive to Leklebi Dafor where you turn left. This turn brings you to Liati Agbonyra. From Agbonyra turn right onto the untarred (dirt) road and drive to is Liati Soba where you do the last turn on the right to reach Liati Wote. (see the sketch →)

2. You can also drive on straight at Asikuma Junction (without turning left to Peki) and drive through Tsito and Anyramase Junction to Ho (the capital of the Volta region). At Ho drive past the OLA Girls Secondary School up the hills to Taviefe, Dzolo towns and Avatime till you get to Avatime Fume. This road is through the mountains, but the road is better than the road through Peki. From Avatime you drive through the Logba and Tafi towns till you reach Logba Wuinta. Take the right turn and drive to Leklebi Dafor where you turn left. This turn brings you to Liati Agbonyra. From Agbonyra turn right onto the untarred (dirt) road and drive to is Liati Soba where you do the last turn on the right to reach Liati Wote.

Tourist Attractions

In Liati Wote: (These highlights could be hidden and pop up with the curser hovering over tourist attractions. Detailed information provided after an introduction)

– Hiking tour to Mount Afadjato (highest mountain of Ghana)

– Hiking tour to the Twin Mountains

– Hiking tour to the Tagbo Falls

– Cultural Tour in the village

– Palm Wine tapping and local gin distilling

– Farming Day

– Music and dancing

 Near Liati Wote:

To get the best out of your visit, why not make Liati Wote your base? Like this, you can tour other interesting sites around:

– Hiking tour to the Wli waterfalls

– Hiking tour to the Aflabo Falls

– Visit Monkey Sanctuary in Tafi Atome

– Visit the kente-weaving village Tafi Abuife

– Visit to Amedzofe, the highest village in Ghana, and Mount Gemi.

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The main nature attractions, Mt. Afadjato (885 meters) and the Tagbo Falls are covered with luxuriant tropical forests and a bit of savanna vegetation around the mountain tops. Unknown to many, Wote offers much more than these two attractions to keep the adventurous tourist busy for days. Behind Afadjato is the Aduadu mountain which is easily accessible. As if these were not enough, the Afadjato-Tagbo-Twin Mountains enclave contains three other smaller waterfalls, the Vunate, Torglo and Gobali Falls. With over 300 species of butterflies, Liati Wote’s forest is home to one of the largest butterflies count in Ghana. Researchers have recorded about 33 species of mammals and a wide variety of birds in the catchment area.

Beginning of the adventure

Hikes to tourist sites start from the tourist reception office in Liati Wote. First of all, you have to register at the Tourist Reception Office where you will be assigned a mandatory guide. Please check the price list to pay the correct entrance fee. This does not include the mandatory guide tip you give to your tour guide at the end of the tour depending on the quality of his services.

Requirements

– comfortable shoes  ( no flip flops or sandals)

– bottle of water ( not sachet water to avoid littering around)

– walking stick  ( optional)

Conquer Afadjato

On a clear day, Afadjato offers a scenic view of the Akwapim-Togo ranges, the surrounding towns, the Tagbo Falls and parts of the Volta lake. Make yourself proud by coming to conquer the highest mountain in Ghana at Liati Wote.

Afadjato at Liati Wote

Hiking Tour to Afadjato

Length of hike: Between 45 minutes to 1-hour walking (to the top). It is best to do the hike early in the morning to avoid too much of the heat from the sun rays as there is not much shade on top of the mountain. And also, it will be dark by 18.00GMT and so we advise tourists not to start their walk after 15.00GMT.

Precautions

The climb is not easy and rather steep at some points. Therefore, you must have a reasonable walking condition( shoe  and a walking stick). For the very fit, there is a possibility to hike a little further to the next mountain right behind Afadjato called Aduadu.

The Twin Mountains

Further to the south is the beautiful Twin Mountains. New hiking trails have recently been constructed to the two peaks. It takes between an hour and 50 minutes to 2hours to climb both peaks of the Twin Mountains. The Twin mountains offer ideal hiking for adventurous mountaineers who wish to avoid Afadjato that is more over crowded with tourists. The Twin Mountains is almost as high as Afadjato and offers a magnificent view on a clear day of Lake Volta. One can also see Afadjato and Mount Aduadu in the background. Trekking on a hunter’s trail in the mountains is a great experience! Make sure you get one of the specially trained guides for this particular hike.

The Twin Mountains

Hiking Tour to the Twin Mountains

Length:   an hour and 30 minutes walking (one way to the twin peaks)

Time of day: As stated earlier the best time is early in the morning to hike. As it will be dark at 18:00GMT.

Difficulty: The climb to the second peak is for the fit and real adventurers as there is no clear path but only a hunter’s trail. This is intentional and meant for adventure.   

View from the Twin Mountains with Afadjato (left) and Aduadu (right) in the background

TAGBO FALLS

South to Afadjato, within 45 minutes’ walk through the cool forest, cocoa and coffee farms is the beautiful and perennial Tagbo Fall set in a lush forested amphitheatre. The waterfall has its own climate as it is set in a semi-circular rock formation with two small caves at its base. As it cascades down the mountains the whirling breeze gives a good and refreshing splash of the cool waters as if to say welcome. Truly, a good welcome awaits you at the refreshing hidden paradise of the Tagbo Falls.

The perennial Tagbo Falls

 Hiking Tour to the Tagbo Falls

Length: 45 to 60 minutes walking (one way).

On your way to the beautiful falls, you will discover the wonderful nature, trees, leaves and butterflies of the Volta Region.

Difficulty: Easy walking, not too much climbing, shady, and easily done with children. Please bring along comfortable walking shoes and drinking water.

You can take a refreshing dip in the cool water, so do not forget your bathing suit.

ATTENTION: For good swimmers only. The water is rather deep at some places and can be cooler than expected.

Cultural tour through the village of Liati Wote

For the urban and city dwellers, getting to know village life in a traditional African village is a life changing experience and Liati Wote is perfect for this.

At the tourist reception offce, you can ask for a guide, who will not only walk you up the main street but take you through the compounds and alleys to see how the people live. See how the women prepare their food e.g. fufu, akple or banku, how the seamstresses and tailors make and repair clothes. How the artisans do their wood carving. How the farmers dry the cacao beans, see how the women wash clothes in the river, learn about traditional medicine, have a look at the school and check out the health clinic.

You can have a refreshing drink in one of the bars.

Palm wine tapping and gin distillery

Tapping the palm trees for their sweet frothing wine is one of the commercial activities engaged in by the locals. The palm wine is drunk either fresh or distilled into a local gin called akpeteshie.

The best time to see the locals do their palm wine tapping is early in the morning or late in the afternoon. For the early morning visits, you are required to book this tour at the tourist reception office, at least a day in advance.

After a short walk through the farms, you will arrive at the place where they tap the wine and distil the gin. The guide will explain how all this is done.  If you want to buy some gin, bring an empty bottle with you.

The length of this tour depends on the location of the available tapping place at the time of your visit. 30 Ghc (entrance fee) and a tip for the guide that will accompany you.

Music and dancing in Liati Wote

Music and dancing is an important aspect of life in traditional African villages. There is a variety to choose from such as choral music, intricate fast-paced traditional Gbolo dance or the ever popular Borborbor dance performed widely by the people of the Volta region.

Have a musical evening in the village square or at the place you stay for the night. Normal hours for a Borborbor night are 20.00GMT till 23.00GMT but you can ask for another time of the day.

You can ask for a musical/dance performance at the tourist reception office and the local musicians are more than willing to mesmerize you with their music on their traditional instruments.

Churches:  Why not visit one of the several churches in Liati Wote on a Sunday morning? If you are a fun of choral music, then make time to visit any of these two orthodox churches.

1)  Liati Wote has a Catholic church located not far from the community guesthouse, on the right-hand side, when you walk towards the village. On Sunday morning there is mass (which starts around 9.00am but starting time is flexible) where you can experience the drumming and singing, in between prayers. You can just walk in, even when mass has started, and you can walk out if you have seen and heard enough but choose carefully the right moment to leave.

2). Just behind the tourist reception office, in the direction of the mountains and waterfall, you can find the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Mass on Sunday starts at 9.00GMT but 9.30GMT is a perfect time to enter.

ACCOMMODATION

Community Guesthouse

The community also runs a low cost six-bedroom guesthouse. A small forest has been preserved between the main road and the guesthouse that gives a nice sense of privacy and natural settings. However, the washrooms are detached from the main building.

Tagbo Falls Lodge

A private tour operator, Jolinaiko Eco Tours has also put up the Tagbo Falls Lodge. It has five-bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms plus warm shower. It is a good base to stay for a few nights and undertake different excursions in and outside Liati Wote, such as climb Afadjato or visit the Tagbo Falls.

Price List

Since there are different attractions in Wote, it is natural that tourists may have their own reasons for visiting. The price list shows the fees to only ONE attraction. This means for example a Ghanaian adult who wants to conquer Afadjato and relax at the Tagbo Falls pays GHC20.00.

SANITATION

You are kindly requested, to take your litter back to the village. If you want to help to keep Liati Wote a clean village, please bring a bin liner and collect litter that you find along the path. There is a waste bin next to the Tourist Reception Center. The locals and the tourists will be grateful.