Comoe National Park is one of the largest protected areas in West Africa, more than a million hectares in the north-east corner of Cote d'Ivoire, and it is built around a river that does something unexpected. The Comoe flows through savanna country, but along its banks it supports strips of dense gallery forest, in a way that lets forest animals and plants reach far north into the grassland. The result is an unusual mix of habitats and a wide range of wildlife, and the park was added to the World Heritage list in 1983.
The animals include elephants, hippos, buffalo, many antelope species and a population of chimpanzees that is known for using tools. Lions and leopards remain, though they are seen rarely, and the birds, from fish eagles to hornbills, are abundant. The park suffered badly from poaching and instability in the 1990s and 2000s and was placed on the danger list, then recovered enough to be taken off it in 2017, but the situation can change, so it is wise to ask about conditions. The best time for wildlife is the dry season, from December to March, when the grass is low and the animals gather at the river.
The ride to Comoe passes through the old trading land of the north, and the label links it to Kong, a town that was once the centre of an important Muslim kingdom in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Kong's great mosque, built in the Sudanese style with mud walls, wooden beams projecting from the surface and tapering buttresses, is one of the finest of the region. It sits among old houses and trees, and the sense of age is strong. Roads in the north vary from good tarmac to red laterite tracks, which turn to slick mud in the rains from May to October.
The north is hot, and the harmattan wind in winter brings dust. Check the security situation in the border areas before you go, arrange permits and guides in advance, and expect to be treated with courtesy at the checkpoints.