Wli Waterfalls — known in Ewe as **Agumatsa Falls** — is the highest waterfall in Ghana and one of the most beautiful sights in West Africa. It sits in the **Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary** near the village of **Wli (Wli Todzi area)**, in the **Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region**, roughly 20 km from Ho, the regional capital, and about 45 km from Hohoe town itself. The drive from Accra is around 3–4 hours via the Eastern/Volta corridor. The falls actually come in two tiers. The **lower falls** are the famous ones — a broad, powerful curtain of water dropping about **80 metres** off a sheer cliff into a plunge pool you can swim in. The **upper falls**, reached by a steeper hike of roughly 45 minutes to an hour beyond the lower falls, are smaller but wilder and far less visited. The lower falls are an easy, shaded 45-minute walk from the visitor gate along a flat forest path, crossing the Agumatsa River on wooden bridges several times. What makes Wli special beyond the water is the **colony of fruit bats** — thousands of straw-coloured fruit bats roosting in the cliffside trees around the falls. They stream out at dusk in a spectacular exodus. The sanctuary is also rich in butterflies (over 400 species recorded), monkeys, and birds, which is why it was gazetted as a protected wildlife sanctuary in 1973. Practical notes for a visit: there's an entrance fee for Ghanaian and foreign visitors (rates change, so confirm at the gate), the best time to go is the **dry season (November–March)** when the path is firm and the water is clearest — though the falls are most dramatic in the rainy season (May–July), when the spray soaks you from metres away. Wear shoes with grip, carry water, and go early in the day. Local guides are available and worth hiring; the communities around Wli run the site and the fees support them. The name "Agumatsa" itself carries meaning — in Ewe it relates to the river and the ancestral spirits the local people associate with the gorge, which is why the falls are treated with respect and some traditional protocols apply at certain spots. It's a place where nature and culture sit side by side, the way they do across the Volta Region. If you're planning a trip from Ho, Wli pairs naturally with **Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary** and **Mount Afadjato** (Ghana's highest peak) — all within an hour of each other, making a perfect Volta weekend. As the Akan say, *"Aboa a onni dua no, onni nea ote so"* — a creature without a tree has nowhere to perch; Wli is one of Ghana's great perches, and worth the journey.