Beautiful structures, amazing sites but same old events
Before I left Accra for Kwahu for this year’s Easter festivities, I was one of the people who had issues with the level of media hype given to the event. I wondered what at all made the Kwahu Easter the best experience to the extent of attracting international attention and patronage.
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Believe me, I was entirely blown away by the things I saw and experienced.
Accra is a beautiful place by all standards. Living and working here is the dream of many young people from across the country. I have spent the last seven years of my life schooling and working and will never trade Accra for any other place, not even Sekondi in the Western Region, where I was born and raised. But my four days experience in Kwahu has given me a reason to rethink my decision.
Beautiful structures
To begin with, the equivalent of many of the beautiful sites in Accra can also be spotted in Kwahu. Talk about the giant buildings at East Legon, Cantonments and Airport residential areas in Accra; Kwahu has similar, if not more of such places. These buildings are found throughout the towns of Kwahu, especially Obo, Obomeng, Mpreaso and Tafo.
One unique thing about the buildings in Kwahu, compared to those in Accra, is that the former has huge structures. The buildings in Kwahu have no equal in Accra. These buildings are sited on acres of land with remarkable architectural designs.
For instance, two of such buildings belong to a Ghanaian entrepreneur and owner of Sikkens and Alisa Hotel, Mr Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, and his brother.
The two houses, situated close to the Obomeng chief’s palace, are so beautifully designed that one might be tempted to think they are hotels. It is difficult to pass by those houses without looking back to take another look.
Most of the buildings at Kwahu have enough spaces to cater for public events such as weddings. The unfortunate thing about these buildings is that, I learnt to my amazement, they have virtually no one living in them.
The owners of such buildings, expecially those at Obo, I was told, are businessmen who don’t reside in Kwahu. They only visit the place during occasions such as the Easter festivities and funerals.
Amazing tourist sites
Undoubtedly, Kwahu has more tourist sites than the Greater Accra Region. Apart from the Odweanoma Mountains, which host the annual paragliding event organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), there are other amazing tourist sites spread across the entire 50 communities within Kwahu.
At Obo, for instance, there is a beautiful tourist site called the Air Jay, which has a shelter for guests, a 15km long flight of more than 877 wooden stairs to the apex of the Kwahu Mountain, a 200 metre-long zip line and a 75 metre canopy walkway. The site is so amazing that one can spend the entire month there and still not get bored. The only unfortunate thing is that the site is not heavily patronised because of the lack of publicity.
Another tourist site is the “Twenedurasi” mystical cave which is believed to be one of the oldest caves in the country. Situated in the Kwahu Twenedurasi forest, the cave receives tourists only during Easter festivities. The cave is such that one has to crawl in order to continue the tour of the inner recesses.
The cave has unique exhibits that show the wonders of nature, and myth has it that they used to serve as a hideout for indigenes of the area during war.
Same old event
When it comes to the Easter festivities at Kwahu, it is easy to be thrilled by the various activities put together on the streets of Obomeng. This year’s event witnessed hundreds of people attending various events, including a street jam that saw dance-hall heavy weight, Stonebwoy, thrilling revellers.
The entire streets of Obomeng witnessed various displays of artworks and fanfare. People were dressed in all manner of attire, with some displaying their amazing physique.
My information is that the entire event has been the same since the Kwahu festivities gained that massive hype. Many people who attended this year’s event complained of boredom, saying that although they enjoyed the display of activities on the streets, it was time to properly plan events to sustain the interest.
“I love to be in Kwahu during the Easter holidays but my problem is that nothing new has been added to the entire celebration. Apart from the paragliding event and the tourist sites, the events have always been the same. It seems there is no particular organisation to coordinate the activities,” Erica Brian, a Kwahu regular tourist, said.
Judging by what Erica and a number of tourists said, there could be a drop in attendance of the Kwahu festivities during Easter in the near future unless new ideas are brought in to bring variety to the excitement of revellers.
Almost all the tourists and revellers of the Kwahu Easter festivities are left to think about how to get themselves engaged without any assistance and that appears to be a major worry for them.
A pilot paragliding on the Odweanoma Mountain
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A view of one of the beautiful buildings in Kwahu
Some revellers walking on the 877 wooden stairs at the Air Jay tourist site at Obo