Every Easter Weekend in Ghana, thousands of people travel to Kwahu, Eastern Region to enjoy the annual Paragliding Festival. This year’s festival was back in full swing after a 2-year hiatus because of the covid-19 pandemic. It was five days of festivities that kicked off on April 14th and closed April 18th. Everyone was excited about the festival being back and the opportunity to partake in all the activities over the weekend. Travellers came from all over the world including the United States, Europe and other parts of Africa.

The festival was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, and the Ghana Tourism Authority in collaboration with various assemblies in Kwahu East, West and South districts. The Kwahu Tradition Authority also played a big role in supporting the event and promoting it to the local community. This festival has become a pillar in promoting domestic tourism in Ghana. Not only do people come from around the world, but Ghanaians also mark their calendars and make the journey to enjoy the activities that happen over the Easter weekend. This year an official Easter Guide was put together to let everyone know what activities were happening each day.

The Paragliding festival has been an exciting way to celebrate Easter Weekend in Ghana since the event was launched in 2005. Over the years, tandem pilots have travelled from around the world to support the event. This year there were a total of 13 pilots who came from the U.S., Peru, Switzerland, Germany and Ghana. Jonathan Quaye is the only Ghanaian paraglider certified as a tandem pilot, meaning he can carry passengers. He’s been paragliding since 2006 when he was the passenger of an American pilot and has enjoyed the sport ever since.

Paragliding is reliant on the wind direction and clear skies. Some challenges with wind minimized the number of flights that could take place over the course of the festival. A total of 194 flights were recorded which included 6 solo flights. Outside of the paragliding there were several other events happening to celebrate the Easter weekend including the Kwahu Marathon, a food bazaar, Kwahu Dwaso Street Market, pool parties, music concerts, group tours, camping activities and exhibitions.

The events were well attended and further proved how important the festival is in promoting tourism in Ghana. It’s one of the biggest that attracts both international and local communities. It puts Ghana on the map as a place for adventure tourism. During the opening ceremony, CEO of Ghana Tourism, Akwasi Agyeman, said that there are plans to make paragliding a weekly event in the future. This is great news in furthering the cause of domestic tourism while promoting the region as a place to go for adventure.

By: Ivy Prosper

After two years the Kwahu Paragliding Festival is making a return this Easter season. The event has attracted people from across the country and foreign visitors since 2005 when paragliding was introduced by the late Hon. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey to coincide with the annual Easter events in the community. Unfortunately the covid-19 pandemic forced the event to take a pause the last two years. The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) held an official media launch on March 16th at the Kwahumanhene’s Palace to announce the return of the festival in Kwahu from the 14th-18th April, 2022.

This year’s festivities promises to be even bigger than in previous years as they introduce a number of new activities and events. A local organizing committee has been formed to ensure that activities will be a success. CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman revealed that this year will include a hot air balloon, the Kwahu Marathon, a food bazaar, Kwahu Dwaso, cultural activities, concerts and a number of other social events. GTA has also partnered with local tour operators who are providing packages that will give patrons the opportunity to experience different attractions in the Kwahu area during the festivities.

The cost to paraglide is 500 GHS per flight. Concerns over the spread of the covid-19 virus means that all patrons who intend to fly are required to take a mandatory antigen test at the cost of 50 GHS immediately before flying. Adherence to covid-19 protocols will be enforced in order to control spread of the virus during the festival.

There will be a list of events available to the public, The Kwahu Easter Guide, which GTA is currently working on. It was revealed by Mr. Agyeman that plans are underway to make paragliding a weekly event before the end of 2022. Now that there’s a Ghanaian trainee pilot who has obtained his license to fly, having weekly events are more realistic. This is sure to be a great boost to tourism in the area and help the local economy as it sees more tourists patronize the Kwahu area.

More information on festivities will be posted to www.visitghana.com.

By: Ivy Prosper