Mole National Park is Ghana's largest and oldest wildlife reserve — about 4,840 square kilometres of savannah woodland in the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region, roughly 150 km west of Tamale and near the town of Damongo. It was gazetted as a game reserve in 1958 (some records say the protection order dates to 1956 under the colonial administration) and upgraded to national park status in 1971, making it the flagship of Ghana's protected-area system. The park sits on a high, rolling plateau of reddish laterite soil, drained by the Mole River and its tributaries. That Guinea-savannah mosaic — short grass, shea, dawadawa, baobab, silk cotton and terminalia trees — is what draws the animals. Mole's signature attraction is its elephants: one of the densest and most easily observed populations in West Africa, largely because the vegetation is open and the animals have grown tolerant of vehicles and walking safaris. Alongside them you'll find buffalo, roan and kob antelope, waterbuck, hartebeest, bushbuck, warthog, baboon, green monkey, patas monkey, and occasional lion, leopard and spotted hyena. The birdlife is exceptional — over 300 recorded species, including the violet turaco, Senegal parrot, various hornbills, kingfishers, herons and the striking red-throated bee-eater. The best time to visit is the dry season, roughly November to April, when the grass is short, water is scarce and animals concentrate around the few remaining pools — especially the two main waterholes near the motel, where elephants often come to drink in full view of the viewing platform. The rainy season (May–October) turns the park lush and green but scatters the wildlife and makes some tracks difficult. Facilities are run by the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission. There's the Mole Motel perched on the escarpment with a famous swimming pool overlooking an elephant waterhole, plus airstrip access (flights from Accra and Tamale in season), guided walking safaris, game drives and a tree-canopy walkway. The park also has real cultural depth: it borders Gonja and Brifo (Brifo/Banda) communities, and nearby is the Larabanga Mosque, a 15th-century Sudanese-style mud-and-stick mosque — one of Ghana's oldest and a national monument — plus the mysterious Larabanga Stone, which legend says no one can move. A word of practical advice: go with a licensed guide, carry water and binocs, wear neutral colours, and don't expect the dense big-five viewing of an East African park — Mole rewards patience and quiet. As the Akan say, *"Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a, yenkyi"* — there's no shame in going back for what you left behind; many visitors return to Mole a second time once they've tasted its stillness. If you're planning a trip, tell me your starting point and I'll sketch a route — Mole pairs beautifully with a Larabanga mosque stop and a night in Tamale.