Nzulezo – the Ghanaian Village on Stilts

The magnificent Ghanaian village of Nzulezu overlooks Lake Tadane, and is entirely made up of stilts and platforms.

Nzulezo - the Ghanaian Village on Stilts
The name “Nzulezo” in the local dialect means “water surface”

The Ghanaian village of Nzulezo is located on Lake Tadane near the village of Beyin, about 90 kilometers west of Takoradi, in the Jomoro District jomoro the Western Region of Ghana.

According to local legend, the village was built in the middle of lake Tadane by a group of people from Oualata, a city in the ancient Ghana Empire and in present-day Mauritania, who were running away from slavers and attacks from militaristic tribes.

Nzulezo - the Ghanaian Village on Stilts

Fast forward to present day, the people of Nzulezo have grown accustomed to living on their stilt-supported structures and have no plans whatsoever to relocate to dry land.

The village which is home to over 500 people has within it a church, school, guest house, a bar, a saloon, convenience store and even a local chemist.

Nzulezo - the Ghanaian Village on Stilts
Image: sonder island
Nzulezo
Image: Elvis Kan-uge

The inhabitants of this village are mostly into subsistence agriculture and fishery and they work on all days of the week except on thursdays, which is a day sacred to the lake.

For being one of the few ancient settlements on stilts and platforms left in the world, the village of Nzulezo was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on January 17, 2000, in the Cultural category.

House on a lake

In recent times the village has been opened to tourism, but visitations are allowed only once a week. The village can be reached only by a canoe; and the journey takes about an hour.

the Ghanaian Village on Stilts

Uzonna Anele
Uzonna Anele
Anele is a web developer and a Pan-Africanist who believes bad leadership is the only thing keeping Africa from taking its rightful place in the modern world.

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