I Walked The Famous Kakum Canopy Walkway In Ghana, And Here's How Frightening It Was
The Kakum Canopy Walkway in Ghana is an experience at Kakum National Park where visitors can walk rope-style bridges that are suspended more than 130 feet above ground.
On a recent trip to Ghana with my parents and a travel group, we visited the park and walked the canopy bridges ourselves. Beforehand, I didn't feel nervous or scared whatsoever. I love doing stuff that involves heights, so I was really looking forward to this.
First, we entered Kakum National Park and did a little bit of hiking before reaching this little shed that was the entryway to the first suspension bridge.
Ajani Bazile-Dutes
After climbing the stairs to go into the shed, we saw an exit that connected to the canopy bridge. The bridge was made up of wire rope, wooden planks, and safety netting to keep people from falling to the ground. It was so high up that the ground was barely visible because it was covered by the trees.
Before stepping on the bridge, park guides shared some rules for how to walk on it without making it shake too much. First, don't walk too close to the person in front of you. Second, hold onto the ropes on both sides while walking. And finally, don't walk too fast.
When I started walking the bridge, it felt pretty sturdy, but there were a few times when I accidentally started walking too fast, and it got a little shaky. I won't lie, those few moments made me a little nervous, especially when I looked down from the bridge, but for the most part, it was absolutely thrilling to walk.
Here's a bigger picture that kinda gives an idea of how high these bridges are suspended.
You can see why looking down might make some people a little frightened.
But the views were UNBELIEVABLY stunning.
There are seven bridges that make up the over 1,000-foot-long canopy walkway. Each bridge is connected to a tree top that has a platform connecting to the next bridge. The platform is where visitors stop and wait before stepping onto the next bridge. The first bridge starts from a shed, and the final bridge leads you to a different shed.
Though there are seven bridges, you don't have to walk them all. You can take a shortcut and just walk two: the first bridge from the shed to the first treetop platform, and then a bridge from there connects to the shed where people exit the canopy walkway.
My mom, who has a fear of heights, decided to do the shortcut and just walk the two bridges. She said she had to "muster up the courage" to even walk those two and that the whole time, she just focused on not looking down so she wouldn't get anxious. She also stated that she found the views spectacular and that it gave her "internal peace to look at all this greenery and beauty."
My dad and I were having a grand ol' time so we walked all seven bridges. He also appreciated the scenery and said he didn't experience even an ounce of fear on the bridge because he was confident that it was built safely (which is not surprising given how many jokes he made about cutting the ropes as we walked the bridge!).
Ajani Bazile-Dutes
Walking all seven bridges took less than a half hour, and after completing them, we walked back down to leave the park and were met with an "I Survived The Kakum Canopy Walkway" sign at the exit.
All in all, I would give this experience a 1000/10, and honestly, when I was there, I wished there were more than just seven bridges to walk.
