Tafi Atome is a small idyllic village, surrounded by a sacred grove of approximately 28 ha, the semi-deciduous forest grove lies within the forest-savannah transitional zone, with over 1,000 residents living in this place, and they speak mainly Ewe.
Migrating to their present place the people of Tafi-Atome, carried along with them their deity gods, which revolved around tortoise, and monkey this took place about 200 years ago. The monkeys are considered gods and are revered by the local community and protected by tradition.
The community-based ecotourism is helping to return the village to its roots with a unique business model that blends environmental conservation with community development and cross-cultural exchange, and generate revenue for community management.
As a result of the efforts to protect their forest and monkeys, tourist interest has also increased. The playful monkeys are wild but often come down very close to visitors. Indeed, one of the wonderful things of this sanctuary is how close up you get to the monkeys. In addition the forest has many species of birds and butterflies, which have been preserved.
This monkey sanctuary is surrounded with other very interesting tourist site, which includes Afadjato, Liati-Wote, Amedzofe and Wli Waterfall which is less than an hour’s drive away.
The monkey sanctuary lies about 2 km from the main road and easy to reach even if you are travelling by public transport because there are taxis and motorbikes waiting at the junction to give ride to tourists.
The Monkey Sanctuary experience
Having arrived in town the night before, I woke up to a village atmosphere of bird songs and goodwill greetings from everyone.
Immediately, I set off towards my monkey business. At the visitor centre my guide promptly joins me, and we were ready to start the tour.
But first I was asked to buy bananas from a local seller. I could see local folks busy with their daily activities.
Evening Life at Tafi-Atome
One can arrange for an evening of entertainment including drumming, dancing or story telling around a bonfire, such a nice and unforgettable experience in a life time.
Revenue from the Sanctuary
The Monkey Sanctuary revenue from tourism has brought electricity to this village. The profits from tourists have been used to build major edifies in the community such as, junior high school, guest house, clinic, street lights and toilet facilities for the community.
The village folks I interacted with were happy whenever visitors come around, because, this create a source of revenue and job creation, in the likes of food joints, transportation, tour guide, etc. The place is a must and worth visiting, with little hassle lifestyle, visitors are allow to take photographs and walk around at ease, to enjoy fresh atmosphere of nature.
At the Sanctuary with the monkeys
We walk through the beautifully green rainforest, carrying bananas along, my tour guide and I entered the forest with the hope to see the monkeys. This monkeys differs from the one at Baobeng Fiema monkey sanctuary, is by the white ring of colouring around their waists. The monkey species at Tafi Atome are the Monas and Patas. There is a specially created monkey cemetery exclusively for the monkeys when they die.
Suddenly my tour guide started making prolonged, kissing noises. Then there they were! Emerging from the forest and sitting on the trees above us where dozens of monkeys. You have heard that monkeys play by sizes. It is true. Here the monkeys move in family groups.
The troop leader known as the “Commando” made the first advancement. He leads the whole monkeys in every step they take. By the time I could say jack, the branch of bananas, I was holding was taken away from me by another senior monkey, and out vanishes into the forest, this little naughty guy climbs up a tree, carefully unwraps the loot, makes eyes at you and teasingly eats your banana….. very funny you see hmm
I now understood why the tour guide was making me hold half a banana to feed the monkeys. The trick here is not to hold the fruits full length. “Be sure to hold on tight for them to eat it, otherwise they’ll pull hard and run up the tree to hoard it to themselves.”….said my tour guide. Another fun is that these guys were not afraid to steal banana bits from other monkeys as well!
The Creation of the sanctuary
In the 1990’s the USAID, Peace Corps, SNV and the then Ghana Tourist Board got involved with ecotourism. This spread across 14 tourism attractions which included Tafi Atome.
Since that time Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary has become one of the top destinations in terms of revenue and community management.
In 1993 the land around the village of Tafi Atome was set aside as a sanctuary for the Mona Monkey population that lived in the forest that are seen as sacred.
