Mole National Park, Ghana

2019-06-29: Safari walk to the elephants and more. Mole NP: East African touch in West Africa. Larabanga Mosque, the oldest mosque in Ghana.

Arriving at the park.

The Mole National Park is certainly the most interesting park in Ghana. It was created in 1958 to protect the flora and fauna of this region. The human populations were completely removed from the park in 1971. It is home to 93 different animal species and about 300 species of birds. The major attraction is the few elephants it is common to observe even in the immediate vicinity of the buildings.

Entrance of the park

We arrive at the end of the afternoon. We are pleasantly welcomed, the rangers ask me to register in a book before paying 115 cedis of entry fee: 40 cedis per person plus 35 cedis for the vehicle.
2 km further we stop at the information center which leads us immediately to the campsite accessible in 150 m by a narrow track which leaves just in front of the center.

Gandalf at the camp site

The sanitary facilities of the campsite are in a deplorable state but there is water and showers work, it is for us the essential. For the rest the site is really idyllic in the countryside, on a terrace with a beautiful view of the vast expanse of the park and its forest.
A ranger followed us there, he opens the toilets and explains the few excursions proposed by the park. We are very interested in the two-hour safari hike which is scheduled to start at seven tomorrow morning.
He leaves us, recommending that we close all the windows and leave nothing behind when leaving the premises. This because of countless baboons who roam around, always on the lookout for the least pilfering.

Safari hike the next day.

We start after the briefing. Our guide is Albert. We begin to reach the small hamlet where Albert will get his rifle before guiding us to the edge of the village.

Briefing at the information center

 

Are we really so lucky? We need very little time before falling on a group of a dozen elephants to barely 200 m from houses. Albert explains that these elephants are so used to humans that it is not uncommon to see them circulating between the buildings of the hamlet.

Elephants at Mole National Park

Albert remains very vigilant to watch for the slightest signs indicating a possible change of direction of the animals. It makes us move back or move around as soon as the risk increases a little. We stay a long time to observe the flock without ever getting too close. 70m seems to be the minimum distance to keep.

Albert is very vigilant

 

This is a group of males. They are usually much smaller than female groups and also much less aggressive, as females are desperate to protect their children.

The hike will then lead us into the depression at the foot of the escarpment. We meet a small group of baboons with some females carrying their babies, offering us interesting photographic motifs.

Baboons with baby

Elephants passing under a beautiful flamboyant tree

Once in the depression Albert shows us a small hole of moist clay with traces of recent animal presence. He explains that animals feed on small balls of this clay rich in minerals.

Hole with clay

The water point that we are going through now is dry. Albert explains some plants and shrubs before arriving at the big pond at the foot of the escarpment at the top of which is the hotel. We had hoped to see buffaloes, but the pond is deserted, and with the exception of some Senegal thick-knees, which we had already observed in the Gambia, there is not much to see.

Pictures hunter

Senegal thick-knees

After having gone around this small pond we join the small hotel complex at the top of the escarpment. We take leave of Albert and other participants to spend a moment on the terrace with a beautiful view of the depression and the pond.
This is an excellent idea because after a few minutes we see appear below us the small herd of elephants that enter the pond to cool off. A fantastic show that we will have all the time to observe from our platform.

More impressions from the park:

The Larabanga Mosque

Close to the park it is worth to stopp at Larabanga in order to visit the old mosque.
A young man presents himself as official guide of the village, which we do not doubt. We pay twice 20 cedis visit fees, guide included. He begins by explaining at length the history of the foundation of this mosque by Ibrahim. This is one of the versions. There are others. But in fact nobody knows the actual date of the construction of this mosque. The estimates range from the 13th to the 16th century, although according to legend it was built in 1421. This is the date we will remember!

The mosque of Larabanga

In any case, it is the oldest mosque in Ghana and one of the oldest in West Africa. It is Sudanese style and built in clay. It is not very big with its 8 meters side. It has pyramidal towers all around its perimeter with horizontal beams that protrude. Four doors give access (non-Muslims are not allowed to enter). On the right is the door to the village chief, behind, that of the muezzin, on the left, the women's door and the main entrance on the front.

The founder of the mosque, Ibrahim, had apparently asked to be buried near it. A baobab tree was planted on his grave. It still exists and of course has extraordinary properties

Holy baobab on Ibrahim's grave