Lake Bosomtwe Travel Guide
Written and Photographed by: Kierra Yvonne FieldsLake Bosomtwe is a fresh lake formed over many centuries inside an ancient impact crater. The lake is said to be at least 1.07 million years old, and the crater is the best preserved impact crater on Earth.
The village legend tells that a great hunter, Akora Bompe, discovered the lake while hunting a wounded antelope. As he was chasing the animal through the thick forest, the antelope suddenly disappeared into a small (at the time) body of water. It was as if the water came out of nowhere, as if it wanted to spare the antelope’s life.
It is due to this mythology that the body of water came to be known as “Bosomtwe” meaning antelope god.
This story was told to me by a kind faced local that I befriended one morning while out early photographing. Not only was Antwi kind enough to share the legend of the lake, but he also allowed me to photograph him fishing in the traditional way.
The lake is sacred to the people who live around it, so the fisherman use humble boats known as padua to go about their work. The padua are challenging to maneuver, so the traditional method is very impressive.
After Antwi showed me how to fish the Bosomtwe way, my friend Michelle, a Ghanaian American, and I took a quick boat ride across the lake where we saw a very unique tree that stood in the midst of the lake.
Later in the day Antwi invited me and Michelle back to his home to meet his family and to take some photos of his new daughter.
