Ghana is a nature lover destination with is wide array of fascination tourist destination cum its sunny equatorial climate with well watered environment sustaining a wide range of wildlife ranging from elephants, monkeys gorilas, crocodiles, marine turtles as well as wonderful colorful birds.
The first part of the trip will be for two days exploring the capital, Accra. Accra is a fascinating coastal city; some parts highly developed with shopping malls and hotels and other parts vastly undeveloped.
The city tour included Independence Square, the Kwame Kkrumah Memorial Park, and the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Center. The memorial park is home to a small museum and the final resting place of Dr. Nkrumah (Ghana’s first president).
W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Center
Part of the tour would be the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Center. It’s located in the house that DuBois lived in when he moved to Ghana and has a collection of books about Africa and Pan-Africanism (many of which belonged to DuBois) that would make a researcher delight. Standing in the library I imagined how many interesting topics could be found in those old volumes.
Jamestown
Historic Jamestown, the oldest part of Accra and one of the poorest. Jamestown is a fishing harbor right on the coast. It’s a hive of activity with nets being mended, boats being built, and fish being sold. From the top of the lighthouse, there is an amazing view of Accra.
Labadi Beach
From one of the poorer parts of town to one of the nicer – the next stop will be Labadi Beach, a popular hangout for tourists, expats, and locals. Attached to one of the nicest hotels in the city, it is packed with people playing soccer, selling food and trinkets, and cooling off in the ocean. From the sandy lush beach you will enjoy a tasty grilled fish while watching the waves roll past.
The third day will see us touring Kumasi. Kumasi, traditional home of the Ashanti, has a very different vibe from Accra – it’s not the capital but it has enough tourism to have made investments in museums and local handicrafts. A vibrant city with a rich history, it’s well worth a visit. Kumasi is also home to West Africa’s largest shopping street, a colorful mix of people, cars, and stalls selling every item imaginable.
On the drive inland from the coast, there is a lovely botanical garden. It is a nice place to walk around the grounds and learn about some of the native plants. you can try fresh cocoa beans – not exactly chocolate but not terrible either. The diversity of flora will be amazing.
If you are adventurouse, we can stop to try out some local palm wine – it is a sweet yet tart local drink made and served in gourds.
Kente Cloth
The time in Kumasi will be spent visiting the local museums and artisans. Tourist will learn about Kente cloth and how it is made. Kente cloth is a woven fabric that is then printed or embroidered with various symbols that represent different concepts or ideals (love, strength, royalty, etc). Traditionally it was worn by Ashanti royalty, but it has become more widespread today. Interestingly, Kente cloth is actually woven by men and then taken to the market to be sold by the women.
Manhyia Palace
A visit to the Manhyia Palace, which is the Ashanti King’s residence and is now a museum. The current king has a new palace nearby. The museum has a good selection of historic items and was well designed to tell the Ashanti story. The palace was built by the British and offered to the Ashanti King, but the King refused to take it for free and raised money to purchase the palace instead. It didn’t hurt that the Ashanti Kingdom is located in the main gold mining area of the country so they have the money to pay for their palace.
Cape Coast, traditional home of the Fanti people, is a port and fishing town, the local people are closely tied to the sea. Historically, Cape Coast is important for two reasons. Firstly, the city played a central role in the colonization of the Gold Coast. The port was founded by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, but the Portuguese, Danes, Swedes, Dutch, and Brits had a presence here at various times. As anyone who has been to Europe knows, Europeans like to build castles, and they stuck to that practice in Ghana. Among the main attractions at Cape Coast are the castles built by the Europeans during their long stay in this region.
The other significant fact about Cape Coast – and this is closely related to the first point – is that it was Ground Zero for the West African slave trade. A large portion of the approximately 12 million Africans who were forced into slavery from the 15th through the 19th Centuries came from this region. They walked their last steps in their home counties through the doors of these castles.
The first stop will be the Cape Coast Castle and we will also visit the elimina castle. A castle was first built on the grounds by the Swedes in 1653. At the time, it did not have any association with slavery; the Swedes were there to trade with the Fante for gold. The Danes took the castle around 1655, and they lost it to the Dutch in 1663. The castle fell to the British in 1664 and remained under British control until Ghana achieved its independence from the UK in 1957. At some point during all this competition, the demand for slaves in the Americas took off in a big way. The Castle evolved from a trading post to a major slave fort.
A visit to Cape Coast Castle is a moving experience to say the least. A brief stop in the courtyard for an historical overview, the tour will start by walking into the slave dungeons. Even though the dungeons are quite large, there is a darkness and feeling of claustrophobia that comes with being in the bowels of such an imposing place.
The overwhelming sense of decades of horror and human suffering permeates the rooms. These were the dungeons where people were tightly packed, crammed shoulder to shoulder on dirt floors in total darkness with minimum food and water and no sanitation. There is one dungeon for the women and children and a separate dungeon for the men. Prisoners who were unruly or difficult to control were thrown into a separate room where they were left to die of dehydration.
Day six in Cape Coast will see us visiting the Kakum National Park. Kakum is unique for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was established as a reserve by the local community, not the Ghanaian government. Secondly, it has the largest population of forest elephants in Ghana. Thirdly, it has one of the canopy walk sin Africa.
The Canopy walkway was opened in 1995 and consists of approximately 1100 feet of bridge that connect seven treetops, suspended about 1oo feet above the forest floor. You will view the forest below and right out in front as you walk from tree top to treetop was worth facing my fear.
Say seven will be rest and Journey back to Accra and depature.

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