Paragliding festival brings visitors, revenue to Kwahu

Kwahuland in the Eastern Region was a focal point for celebrations over the Easter weekend, with thousands of Ghanaians descending on the towns around Nkowkow to join in with the traditional street parties and carnivals for which the area is famed.

400 metres above the town, off Kwahu Ridge at Atibie, is the area’s latest attraction: paragliding.

The Pepsi-Ferdinand Ayim Hang and Paragliding Festival is now in its third year, attracting some of the world’s most experienced flying professionals from South Africa, the UK, the US, France and Switzerland, as well as spectators and amateur participants from across Ghana and around the world.

Beginning Friday, visitors were offered the chance to take to the skies with the qualified pilots, flying in tandem with an expert paraglider pulling the strings. Flights lasted for up to one hour before the passengers were dropped 2.4km in the stadium of Nkowkow, to the delight of local children. By the end of Monday, over 55 people were expected to have flown – up from 48 last year. Meanwhile, solo paragliders entertained the crowds around the cliff-top runway – spinning, plunging and bouncing through the sky in a way which was stomach-churning just to watch.

It is hoped that the annual paragliding festival will contribute to the area’s already booming seasonal tourism industry, attracting a new group of adventure travellers to the area.

“Tourism thrives on events,” explained Martin Wereko, the Director of the Ghana Tourist Board, in an interview at the site on Saturday morning. “We had found that the Kwahu Ridge is an ideal spot for paragliding, and we wanted to introduce it as an addition to what already goes on here every Easter, to open up the already existing tourist sites we have at Kwahu.”

These include ----

For many Ghanaians, the idea of paragliding is still very “foreign,” says Mr Wereko, but the level of interest is growing in the activity, and last year the GTB Director even took to the skies himself.

Doris Dansomah Danquah of Scorpion Travels, who has been charge of the flight schedules for the past three years, agrees that the sport is gaining in popularity. “In the first year, it was very new for everybody; last year there was more publicity and we were still raising awareness; this year, we are expecting even more Ghanaians,” she said.

Doris claims to the first West African woman ever to have paraglided – at the age of 27, she was the first female to take part in the sport when it began in Ghana with the festival two years ago.

On Friday, the majority of those flying were foreign visitors to Ghana, mostly volunteers and workers who were already in the country and had heard about the Easter event. Some were even returning from previous years, as the event already begins to establish a following amongst flying enthusiasts.

was Robinson Sarabia, 30, a VSO volunteer from the Philippines who is working as Managing Officer of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled. He arrived in Ghana just several weeks before the paragliding festival in 2006; he flew then, and now he is back for his second go.

“It was brilliant,” he said. “I was surprised to find that I could do something like this in Ghana, but it’s such a fantastic experience because this is such a beautiful area, with the forests and the mountains. I think there is a lot more that could be done to develop the event though; with better promotion and marketing I think at lot more people might travel from overseas to take part.” However, Doris explained that the number of Ghanaians has always increased over the course of the weekend, as people see others paragliding on television and decide to have a go. The reduction in price for Monday flights, from ¢500,000 to ¢200,000, is also a factor.

“It is expensive, but sometimes people want to try something new, and some people come with their families just to watch.”

Samuel Dakurah, 24, was amongst the passengers on the first day. He works for the United Bank of Africa in Accra and had made the day-trip up with two work colleagues. “Last year, we saw the event on TV and decided to try it,” he said. “I think it is great that this kind of thing is being offered in Ghana. I have travelled a bit in the country – to places that interest me like Kakum National Park and to see the crocodiles at Paga – and I am happy to see something exciting like this to do.”

There had been complaints about the price, but for Samuel the cost is reasonable. “Outside the country, something like this would cost between $100 to $200. Although it is a lot, I think they have the right balance, and there are plenty of Ghanaians who can afford it.”

Other Ghanaians had visited Kwahu to enjoy the Easter festivities, and took advantage of the paragliding once they were there. Ernest Buah, 48, has lived in Brooklyn, New York for the last 18 years, running an African restaurant. Originally from Kumasi, since 2004 he has been making Kwahu his Easter-visit destination: “I love it, it is so fun, and the atmosphere is always so welcome,” he says. “The weather is beautiful and I would love to buy property here, if only it wasn’t so difficult!” Having spent the day watching the paragliders descend on the field next to his hotel in Nkowkow, he was planning on making the trip up the mountain himself the following day.

Mr Wereko spoke about the benefits to the local community of the Kwahu Easter events, and certainly those who spoke with this reporter were positive about the effects of growing tourism.

Osei Charles, 18, is one of several local youth who had come up to the mountain top to watch what is going on. He lives in Mpraeso, several kilometres away, where President John Agyekum Kufuor Saturday cut the sod for a new road through the town.

“This is the first time I have been up here, and it’s very exciting. Since it began, many people didn’t really know what was going on, they didn’t understand about paragliding, so it is good to see.”

“Something like this is not very common; people hear about it on television and radio and then they hear about Kwahu, so it helps the District be known and it helps the District generate more income. All the taxis, hotels and food places are busy this weekend.”

Transport costs from the neighbouring towns means that Charles is one of just a few spectators, however. “Many couldn’t afford to come up here,” he says, whilst the possibility of actually going paragliding is simply out of the question. “Just a few people can fly because so many people here are poor.

There is a lack of job opportunities, and it is a waste of ¢500,000. Also, it is scary!”