TOURISM PACKAGE FROM TAFI ATOME MONKEY SANCTUARY

The Tafi-Atome Monkey Sanctuary in the Afadjato South of the Volta region is not only one of most favorite tourism spots in the region but in the country at large. The facility offers a rare opportunity for mankind to interact with nature by playing with the monkeys and spending interesting and fascinating time in wildlife in the Volta region. Yours truly has visited the site and brings you up to date on what to expect for an entire touring package to the Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary.
The Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary located in the Afdjato South of the Volta region is one of Ghana’s most fascinating tourist sites one can visit. The sanctuary offers tourists a great touring experience which would let you have a feel of what nature has to offer. It is one of Ghana's most famous examples of traditional African conservation. The Tafi Atome community is surrounded by the sanctuary forest. It is located in the Afadjato south district of the Volta region. The sanctuary is home to over 800 Mona monkeys. The Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary is a sacred grove or a traditional conservation area backed by statutory enforcement in co-operation with the local community. For over centuries, the people of Tafi Atome have considered the monkeys as sacred. History has it that When the people of the village first migrated to the area, they carried with them their fetish beliefs that revolved around a tortoise, a python and the monkey.
The traditional beliefs of the people of Tafi Atome therefore prohibit any physical harm to either the forest and or more especially to the monkeys. A visit to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary will leave tourists with lasting impressions. A visit to the facility is expected to take about three hour drive from the national capital, Accra to the Volta capital Ho. From Ho, one is expected to additionally embark on about an hour and a half drive to the community. Tourists are given a brief history about the community and the facility upon arrival. In the evening, tourists who intend staying for more days within the community are treated to some folklores.
Then comes the visit to the monkeys itself. Led by a tour guide, visitors can walk through the trails in the 387 acre square lush forest watching for monkeys on the ground and in the canopy of the trees above. One is also likely to see a variety of butterflies, birds, and over 90 species of trees. Ideally, visitors are supposed to carry some fingers of banana. With this, be sure that you will have good friendship in and with the monkeys as they will come around to unwrap and eat the bananas while resting on your shoulders or arms. The monkeys normally move in different troops. I gathered that there are over seven troops in the sanctuary with each troop consisting of over 110 monkeys. The Mona monkeys at the Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary are different from the ones at Baobeng Fiema in the Nkoranza North district of the Bono Ahafo region. By the white ring of coloring around their waists, they are said to be “True Monas”, and the ones at Baobeng Fiema are an off shoot of the true Monas.
In addition to the Monkeys as the primary attraction, tourists are also treated to some local cultural tourism including taking some drumming lessons, experiencing drumming and dancing demonstrations by the community in the evening as the last package to ones touring experience. Make it a point to pay a visit to this wonderful community in the Volta region to behold it’s fascinating, ecological and interesting as well as its uniqueness buried in strong traditional beliefs.