The Kakum canopy walk

What the canopy walk actually is

The Kakum canopy walk is a chain of narrow suspension bridges, made of rope, netting and wooden planks, hung between the crowns of tall trees inside Kakum National Park. You walk across them one at a time, resting on small platforms built around the tree trunks in between.

The widely cited figure is seven bridges. At the highest point you are around forty metres above the forest floor, which is high enough that the ground below reads as a green surface rather than as ground.

Kakum itself is a protected block of tropical rainforest in the Central Region, a short drive inland from Cape Coast. The walkway is the reason most visitors come, but it is a small part of the park — the forest around it is the actual attraction, and the walkway is a way of seeing a layer of it you could not otherwise reach.

It is worth saying plainly what it is not. It is not a viewing platform you stand on for an hour, not a wildlife hide, and not a long walk. The crossing itself is over faster than most people expect.

The climb to the first platform surprises people

The hardest physical part of the visit is the uphill walk from the visitor centre to the first platform, not the bridges. It is a steady climb on an earth path with steps and roots, and in the heat and humidity it is enough to leave most people breathing hard.

Allow fifteen to twenty minutes at an unhurried pace, more if you stop. There is shade the whole way, which helps, but the air is heavy and there is no breeze under the canopy.

Two things make this easier. Carry water and actually drink it on the way up rather than at the top. And go slowly from the start — people who march the first stretch tend to arrive at the platform too winded to enjoy the first bridge, which is the one they will remember most.

If someone in your group has a heart or breathing condition, this climb, not the height, is the thing to weigh up. Ask a guide at the visitor centre about the path before you commit.

What the bridges feel like to cross

They sway. That is the honest answer, and it is the part no photograph prepares you for. The movement comes from your own steps more than from wind, so it builds as you walk and settles when you stand still.

You cross single file, one person per span, which is both a safety rule and the reason the walk feels solitary even on a busy day. The planks are narrow and the sides are high mesh, so you are enclosed rather than exposed, but you can see straight down through the gaps.

Hold the side ropes, not the rails, and keep your hands moving along them as you go. Walk at a steady pace in the middle of the planks. Looking a few metres ahead rather than down at your feet makes the sway much easier to absorb.

The bridges move because you move. Slow down and the forest steadies.

The other thing to understand before you step on: you cannot easily stop and turn back. The spans are one-way and single file, with people behind you on the platform waiting to start. Once you are on a bridge, the practical option is to keep going to the next platform. Decide on the ground, not halfway across.

Most people find it exhilarating rather than frightening. A minority find it genuinely unpleasant, and there is no shame in that — it is a reasonable reaction to standing on rope forty metres up.

Who should skip the walkway

Skip it if you have serious vertigo, significant mobility problems, are travelling with very young children, or have had recent surgery. Those four groups account for almost every bad experience on the walkway, and all of them are foreseeable before you leave the visitor centre.

• Serious fear of heights. Mild nerves usually pass after the first span. True vertigo does not, and freezing mid-bridge is distressing for you and for everyone waiting.
• Mobility or balance limitations. The climb up is uneven, and the walkway needs you to be steady on your feet without support. There is no step-free route and no way to be carried out.
• Very young children. Small children have to be able to walk a span on their own; carrying a child across is not workable. Older children who can follow instructions generally love it.
• Recent surgery, injury or pregnancy concerns. The climb and the constant small corrections in balance ask more of your body than a flat walk does. Take medical advice rather than ours.

If part of your group sits this out, they are not stuck waiting in a car park. The visitor centre area has shade and seating, and a ground-level guided walk is an alternative that covers a lot of the same forest.

What you will and will not see from up there

From the walkway you will mostly see birds, butterflies and the forest itself. Mammals are shy, largely active at dawn and dusk, and rarely seen in the middle of the day when most visitors cross.

Kakum's forest holds forest elephants, bongo, several monkey species and a long bird list, but holding them and showing them are different things. Dense rainforest hides animals extremely well, and the walkway is not quiet — it is a line of people moving through the canopy.

What you do get is the view along the top of the forest: layers of crowns running to the horizon, epiphytes and vines at eye level, and the scale of trees you normally only see the base of. Early mornings bring mist sitting in the valleys, and birdsong is loudest then.

Set your expectations accordingly. The reward at Kakum is the forest and the vantage point, not a safari. Travellers who come wanting animals should read our note on when to visit Ghana and plan a northern trip as well, rather than expecting Kakum to do that job.

Early mornings and ground-level walks

If wildlife matters to you, go as early as the park allows and take a guided walk at ground level rather than relying on the canopy. That combination gives you a far better chance than a late-morning crossing.

Early has three advantages. Animals and birds are active, the air is cooler for the climb, and you may have the bridges nearly to yourself, which changes the experience completely — no queue on the platforms, no one waiting behind you.

Ground-level guided walks are the underrated part of Kakum. A guide who knows the trails will show you tracks, feeding signs, medicinal plants, ant columns and birds you would never pick out alone. The pace is slow and the forest is close around you, which is a different pleasure from the canopy.

Arrange guiding at the park. Opening times, the earliest available slots and which trails are open vary, so confirm current details with the park or the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission before you set off rather than relying on a schedule you read online.

Rain, mud and what to wear

Wear closed shoes with grip and assume the path will be wet. This is rainforest, and it rains here in every month, most heavily around May and June and again in October.

Rain does not usually close the walk, but it makes the climb slippery and the planks damp, and the mesh sides do not keep you dry. A downpour tends to pass within an hour, so the usual move is to wait it out at the visitor centre rather than to cancel.

• Closed shoes or trainers with tread. Sandals and smooth soles are a bad idea on the climb.
• Light long sleeves and insect repellent, especially early and late.
• A thin rain layer that packs small, from roughly May to October in particular.
• Water, and a secure way to carry your phone — you want both hands on the ropes.

Leave anything loose in the vehicle. Dropping a phone or a hat from a bridge means it is gone into forty metres of forest, and no one is going down after it.

Pairing Kakum with Cape Coast and Elmina

Kakum, Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle fit into one day if you start early and accept that it will be a full day. Kakum is roughly forty minutes inland from Cape Coast on tarred road, and the two castles are about fifteen minutes apart on the coast.

The order that works best is Kakum first, in the cool of the morning, then the coast in the afternoon. That gets the climb done before the heat and leaves the castles, which are indoors and emotionally heavy, for later in the day.

Be honest with yourself about the pace. Doing all three from Accra and returning the same night makes for a very long day on the road in each direction, and the castle tours deserve more attention than a rushed hour. An overnight in Cape Coast or Elmina turns it into a comfortable trip, and our guide to the Cape Coast and Elmina castles explains why those visits need time.

For a longer route, this stretch of coast usually sits on days two and three of a week in Ghana; our realistic seven-day Ghana itinerary shows how it links to Kumasi and back to Accra. Getting there is simplest with a car and driver, because the day involves three stops, a park road and no useful public transport between them.

Entry arrangements are made at the park on the day, and there is no need to buy anything in advance from a third party. Check current opening hours and any closures with the park or the Wildlife Division before you travel.

How we arrange Kakum days

Ghana Travel & Tour is based in Kasoa, which sits on the road between Accra and Cape Coast, so this is a route our drivers run constantly. We put together day trips and multi-day tours that take in Kakum, Cape Coast and Elmina at a pace that suits your group, including early starts for anyone who wants the walkway before the crowds.

We will tell you honestly if someone in your party should skip the canopy and what they can do instead. Quotes are itemised, so you can see what each part costs, and they come from a named trip manager who stays with your booking.

Questions people ask