By Edmund Smith-Asante
 |
| The Nkawkaw township surrounded by the Kwahu Mountain Range |
But for the rugged mountains that
jut out of low-lying Nkawkaw, the capital of the Kwahu West Municipal Assembly,
there would be no Kwahu. It is the mountains that define the famed Kwahu area
made up of several communities.
From below, the viewer is struck
with both awe and fascination at the sheer topography of the mountain range
that is inhabited by the thousands belonging to the Kwahu ethnic group.
Going up the winding and sharp
curves and steep slopes to the communities up the mountain is an even more
intimidating experience, especially for the first-timer and inexperienced
driver. Many visitors are often afraid to drive up, so they seek the assistance
of local drivers to overcome the mountain.
Apart from their sheer sizes,
steepness and winding nature, it leaves one wondering how humans were able to
climb and create settlements decades ago when there were no roads up the
massive rocks.
Paragliding scarp
The paragliding portion of the
mountain overlooks the Nkawkaw township as a flat-faced monstrous rock, as if
it was deliberately hewn by a sculptor. Yet it is one of the wonders that
nature has bequeathed to mankind.
What is seen from below is a small
opening in between a number of telecommunication masts belonging to Ghana’s
major telecommunication companies. Other mountains join to hem in Nkawkaw, the
entry point to the Kwahu Mountains, in a valley.
The road up the paragliding venue is
a winding dusty single lane from the Atibie township through a tropical forest
that also towers over Atibie and other nearby communities.
Once up on the mountain, the sky
looks closer but the view is foggy from the paragliding point. The view of
Nkawkaw from here is breathtaking and at the same time scary, because it has a
gradual slope, which drops off suddenly at the edge. Nonetheless, it is a
beautiful scene to behold, seeing everything on the ground as if one was
airborne.
By-pass market, jammed streets
Like the typical major town that it
is, Nkawkaw is always jammed with both people and vehicles at most times of the
day due to the steady influx of people from the Kwahu Ridge and Afram Plains.
It was to ease up traffic created by
vehicles that went through the town from Accra to Kumasi, and vice versa, that
a by-pass was created so that the travellers would not have to endure long
hours in traffic.
Yet the by-pass has now been turned
into a mini market with all sorts of food items and other wares such as
earthenware, tigernuts and bread, because the hawkers and traders who benefited
from the travellers suddenly lost their market.
The traders have permanently pitched
camp along the bypass where they can be encountered during anytime of the day.
They try to outdo one another to sell to passengers in big and small buses
alike.
Writer’s email: edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh
This
story was first published by the Daily Graphic on March 24, 2016
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