Kintampo
©
Kintampo

Kintampo

Central Ghanaian town near the country's geographic centre, known for waterfalls between forest and savanna.

Kintampo is a town in the Bono East Region of central Ghana, roughly halfway between Accra and Tamale and positioned near the geographic centre of the country. It sits at a transitional zone between the forest belt to the south and the drier savanna to the north, and this in-between character shapes the landscape around it.

The main draw for visitors is the Kintampo Waterfalls, a series of falls on the Pumpum River set within a gorge of mossy rocks and forest. The falls are accessible by a short walk from the road and popular with Ghanaian day-trippers at weekends. There is also a smaller, less-visited set of falls at the nearby Fuller Falls, and a scenic viewpoint above the town.

Kintampo functions as a practical stop on the road north — a place to break the journey, eat, and refuel — as much as a dedicated destination.

Guide

Eating Out

Eating in Kintampo is straightforward Ghanaian fare: fufu with light or groundnut soup, banku with okra stew, fried tilapia from the river, rice with vegetable sauce, kelewele (fried plantain). Chop bars along the main road and around the lorry park serve generous portions at low prices. The market town vibe means food is fresh, plentiful, and cheap; menus rarely appear, so ask what's available and order from there.

A handful of slightly more formal guesthouses serve continental and Chinese-style dishes for those who want a break from local food, but the local food is the better experience.

Guide

Getting There

Kintampo sits on the main paved highway between Accra and Tamale, around eight to nine hours by road north of the capital and four hours south of Tamale. STC and other inter-city bus companies stop at the lorry park in the town centre; share taxis and tro-tros run constantly along the route. There is no airport in town — the nearest are at Kumasi (about four hours south) and Tamale.

Roads to the waterfalls and to nearby villages are passable but rough in places. A 4x4 is not essential in the dry season but helps in the wet.

Guide

Things to Do

Kintampo is a small town and the things to do here are correspondingly modest, but two natural sights make it worth a stop: the Kintampo Waterfalls on the Pumpum River and the Fuller Falls a short drive west. The neolithic Kintampo Complex, although mostly of interest to archaeologists, gives the town a deeper history than first appearances suggest. For most travellers, it is a useful break on the road between Accra and Tamale.

Guide

When to Go

Kintampo lies in a transitional climate zone between the wetter forest belt to the south and the drier savanna to the north. There are two distinct seasons: the dry season from November to March, and the wet season from April to October, with the heaviest rains in June and September.

The waterfalls are most spectacular at the end of the wet season (September–October) when the Pumpum is in full flow, but the easiest road conditions are in the dry season. December and January bring the dusty Harmattan winds off the Sahara and noticeably cool nights; the air can be hazy for weeks at a time.