Located in the Agumatsa Range near the villages of Liati Wote and Gbledi, in the Volta Region of Ghana shares border with Togo is the highest mountain in Ghana – MT. AFADJATO, standing at 885 meters above sea level, and altitude of 2,905 feet for daring climbers as a challenge. Trust me, climbing Afadjato is not the easiest of things to do. The nearby Aduadu is in fact the highest point in Ghana, but because of a small relative height (height difference between the base and the peak) is not considered a mountain. From the peak, courageous mountain climbers are rewarded with a panoramic view of the country.
History of Mt. Afadjato
The mountain was said to have been discovered by the 5th battalion of the adventure club of the Ghanaian Army on the 7th of August 1961. This might be an official date of discovery but it must be noted that the initial settlers were already aware of its existence long before the Army came around. The actual name was “Aʋadjato” and it has been corrupted into “Afadjato” for an obvious reason.
The name Afadjato comes from Avadzeto which means “to go to war against the bush”. The mountain owes this name to the fact that it is covered by a certain plant which causes severe skin irritations. Hence, whenever farmers or hunters climbed the mountain, they were “at war” with the plants. The Ewes, however, did not have a written language for most of their history, so that the European colonisers called the mountain in the way they heard its name pronounced, namely Afadjato. The syllable “to” in Ewe language means “mountain”, so that the correct name is not Mount Afadjato, but simply Afadjato.
‘Afadja’ is the name of the mountain whereas ‘to’ in the Ewe dialect means mountain therefore it is called ‘Afadjato’ by the indigenes.
Climbing the mountain
On average, it is said that one can climb up the mountain in 45 minutes and down it in the same amount of time. This of course depends on your respective stamina and endurance. There are tales of people who made it only half way up the mountain and started heading back down because they lack the energy and determination required to reach the apex. The highest mountain in Ghana standing at 2,905 feet and is spread over rocky and steep terrain. The road to Gbledi is littered with lots of mountains, hills and ranges.
Reason to climb Afajato
Climbing this wonderful mountain helps you to embrace an active lifestyle, encourage domestic tourism and create platform for networking and team building, opportunity to burn some calories
A look at Afadjato
Afadjato is shaped like a traditional yarn mound and covered with luxuriant tropical forest. Its area is well-known for its biodiversity richness. Researchers have recorded over 300 species of butterflies and 33 species of mammals. Mona and Spot-nosed monkeys are regular sights.
Tourism
Ghana has also begun to realize the immense contributions that the tourism industry can make to its socio-economic development. This notwithstanding, most local communities in Ghana have also targeted the Afajato area as a social rallying point, for undertaking local development initiatives.
Tourist from different parts of the world, patron the climbing of the mountain, which increase the national purse with of foreign exchange.
Category of Visitors
Student at all levels are not left in this exciting climbing fun. Student from the primary, Junior High, Senior High, colleges and Tertiary Institutions visit this place on weekends or public holidays.
Workers both public and private sectors and churches from all over Ghana trip to Afadjato to climb this wonderful mountain.
By Sheila Williams
