Comoé National Park

Comoé National Park is a national park in Côte d'Ivoire, which was initially added due to the diversity of plant life present around the Comoé River. In 2003 it was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger due to poaching, over-grazing of the park by cattle, and absence of management.

Year	Decision	Comments
2003	In Danger	Civil unrest, poaching and lack of effective management mechanisms
1983	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Iain Jackson (Scotland UK):
Comoe is said to be the biggest National Park in West Africa (at least it was when I visited in February 1995) but despite its size I did not find it easy to get to and even more difficult to travel in. I crossed the border from Ghana near Bondoukou and made my way slowly by local transport to Kakpin on the southern boundary of the park where I stayed at le campement.

Any hopes I might have had about informative tours of the park led by well informed Rangers were soon dashed but eventually I did join an expat Frenchman in his 4x4 for a quick whizz round some of the southern parts of the park.

In truth neither the landscape nor the vegetation was particularly attractive and in general, it seems, parks in West Africa do not compare well with those in East Africa as far as the number and diversity of wildlife is concerned.

I saw no lions, giraffes or elephants but there were warthogs, hippos, antelope, monkeys and birds with black and white hornbills prominent amongst them. The scenery was mostly scrubby trees and termite mounds though there were stretches of forest along the Comoe river.

I do not know if conditions in the park deteriorated further after I was there or if what I saw was already bad enough for it to be put on the WHS In Danger list.

I think it is probably a site only for the very committed wild-life fan (or the WHS completist I guess) and then it would be much easier to have your own transport. But for those who relish the challenges and surprises that travel by public transport in off-the-beaten-track West Africa brings then getting there and away is at least half the fun.

Date posted: January 2010

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