Waterfall Lodge may not be notable in its own right, but it is the best accommodation option in Wli, a Volta Region town famous for the forest waterfall that thunders down from the mountains separating Ghana from neighbouring Togo. A Peace Corps-founded but locally managed tourism project takes visitors to the falls, and is one of several similar initiatives in the area, forming a loose triangle with Tagbo Falls and the Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary.
Accessed down a thin, muddy track, the lodge occupies a beautiful garden on the fringe of the forest, with wild cocoyam, papaya and pineapples growing at the bottom of the lawn. There’s a volleyball (or badminton) net for energetic guests, but if you plan to walk to the top of the falls you may want to conserve some energy – it is quite a climb, and demands sure-footedness. The flat and easy trek to the foot, through forest perfumed with coffee flowers and hung with mangoes, is still hugely enjoyable, and cooling off in the pool beneath the falls is positively encouraged.
Waterfall Lodge’s friendly German owners are passionate about their adopted area – they chatted freely, peppered us with questions about our travel plans and even drew us maps. In fact, so keen were they to get us visiting local attractions that we began to feel a little guilty whenever we just relaxed in the garden.
Accommodation is in clean, spacious thatched huts, with fan and en-suite shower and toilet. Food, served in an open-sided area in the middle of the garden, features an average, stomach-filling range of Ghanaian staples and continental dishes – the star, naturally, is fresh fruit, which comes from the garden or the local market, and will leave you shaking your head at the tasteless supermarket produce at home.
The Waterfall Lodge kitchen closes on Tuesdays, but guests can decamp to the Water Heights hotel, within easy walking distance.
Expert Review
Waterfall Lodge may not be notable in its own right, but it is the best accommodation option in Wli, a...
Waterfall Lodge may not be notable in its own right, but it is the best accommodation option in Wli, a Volta Region town famous for the forest waterfall that thunders down from the mountains separating Ghana from neighbouring Togo. A Peace Corps-founded but locally managed tourism project takes visitors to the falls, and is one of several similar initiatives in the area, forming a loose triangle with Tagbo Falls and the Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary.
Accessed down a thin, muddy track, the lodge occupies a beautiful garden on the fringe of the forest, with wild cocoyam, papaya and pineapples growing at the bottom of the lawn. There’s a volleyball (or badminton) net for energetic guests, but if you plan to walk to the top of the falls you may want to conserve some energy – it is quite a climb, and demands sure-footedness. The flat and easy trek to the foot, through forest perfumed with coffee flowers and hung with mangoes, is still hugely enjoyable, and cooling off in the pool beneath the falls is positively encouraged.
Waterfall Lodge’s friendly German owners are passionate about their adopted area – they chatted freely, peppered us with questions about our travel plans and even drew us maps. In fact, so keen were they to get us visiting local attractions that we began to feel a little guilty whenever we just relaxed in the garden.
Accommodation is in clean, spacious thatched huts, with fan and en-suite shower and toilet. Food, served in an open-sided area in the middle of the garden, features an average, stomach-filling range of Ghanaian staples and continental dishes – the star, naturally, is fresh fruit, which comes from the garden or the local market, and will leave you shaking your head at the tasteless supermarket produce at home.
The Waterfall Lodge kitchen closes on Tuesdays, but guests can decamp to the Water Heights hotel, within easy walking distance.