By Philip Briggs
Ghana is refreshingly unpackaged. It’s also one of Africa’s most approachable countries, thanks to its proximity to Europe, the widespread use of English, and a buoyant, welcoming mood.
Almost identical in area to the UK, Ghana packs in a huge amount of variety. The Atlantic coast is lined with tropical beaches and historic castles, while the interior is home to the legendary Kingdom of Asante (Ashanti) and some fine Sahelian-style mud-and-stick architecture.
There are also steamy jungles rattling with birds and monkeys, wide rivers and pretty waterfalls, and free-ranging elephants and other savannah wildlife in Mole National Park. You could spend weeks exploring this fascinating country, but here are ten highlights for first-time visitors.
1. Accra
Africa past and present collide in Ghana’s vibrant capital. Accra is one of Africa’s oldest cities, and it’s worth dedicating a half day to exploring the characterful seaside quarters of Usshertown and Jamestown. Landmarks here include a trio of historic forts, the candy-striped Jamestown Lighthouse, a poignant memorial park dedicated to Kwame Nkrumah (the founding president of independent Ghana) and the chaotic Makola Market.
A more contemporary side of Accra is on display in Osu, whose bustling main drag – aptly nicknamed Oxford Street – is lined with a cosmopolitan array of boutiques, craft stalls, restaurants, bars and nightspots. For those who just want to chill out by the sea, lovely La Beach is serviced by the five-star Labadi Beach Hotel. More unusually, Accra is home to several unconventional carpentry workshops that specialise in creating colourful coffins – known locally as FAVs (Fantastic Afterlife Vehicles) – in customised shapes ranging from bottles and aeroplanes to lions and crabs.
2. Elmina and Cape Coast Castles
Situated ten kilometres apart on the coast west of Accra, the sun-soaked ports of Elmina and Cape Coast have picturesque settings that belie their dark history as hubs of the brutal trans-Atlantic slave trade. Imposing St George’s Castle, founded by the Portuguese at Elmina in 1482, is the oldest European structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Both it and the equally forbidding Cape Coast Castle are now preserved as museums whose grim dungeons pay chilling testament to the estimated 30,000 captives who passed through them annually before being shipped to the Americas.
3. Kakum National Park
A stay at Elmina or Cape Coast is easily combined with an outing to Kakum National Park, which protects part of Ghana’s largest rainforest and supports at least 100 mammal, 320 bird and 600 butterfly species. The main focus here is West Africa’s only canopy walkway, a giddying 350-metre-long, 40-metre-high series of suspensions and platforms that offer monkey’s-eye views over the forest floor and into the canopy. Guided bird walks offer an opportunity to look for rarities such as Congo serpent-eagle, black bee-eater and Nkulengu rail; if you’re very lucky, you might even come across the long-tailed pangolin, a localised diurnal species that lives in trees.
4. Bonkro
Bonkro is the best place in Ghana – possibly anywhere – to look for the white-necked picathartes, a peculiar and very localised bird that breeds in rocky areas in rainforest interiors. A community project here operates a modest but agreeable guesthouse from where it’s a 30-45 minutes’ walk uphill to a rock overhang where the birds nest. Here, there’s a bench where you can sit quietly as dusk approaches and listen out for the clipped, hissing alarm calls that signal the arrival of the picathartes. Other attractions at Bonkro include night walks to look for the enigmatic tree pangolin and cultural excursions to a traditional healer or a cacao smallholding.
5. Kumasi
Ghana’s second-largest city, Kumasi is the long-serving capital of Asante. It’s worth timing your visit to coincide with the Akwasidae, a colourful festival held every sixth Sunday at the palace of the incumbent King Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II. Other historic sites evoking the city’s storied past include the Okomfo Anokye Sword, a rather Arthurian relict that’s been rooted in the ground for more than 300 years at the very spot where the golden stool (an important symbol of Asante unity) descended from the sky into the lap of the kingdom’s first ruler.
Allocate time to make a few day trips out of Kumasi. Popular options include a gorgeous crater lake called Bosomtwe, the beautifully decorated Abosomfie shrines at Besease and Bodwease (which form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the opportunity to watch traditional Adinkra cloth dyers and Kente-weavers at work in the royally appointed craft villages of Bonwire, Ntonso and Adanwomase.
6. Mole National Park
The remote Mole National Park is Ghana’s closest answer to the big-name savannah reserves of southern and eastern Africa. Approached with realistic expectations, it provides a thoroughly worthwhile – and relatively affordable – opportunity to track wildlife on foot. Of the so-called ‘Big Five’, elephants are seen regularly, and lions and leopards are also reputedly present. Mole is excellent for savanna birds, while the Larabanga Mosque, just outside the main park entrance, is Ghana’s most celebrated representative of the curvaceous mud-and-stick architecture associated with the Sahelian region.
7. Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary
Ghana’s oldest community-run ecotourism project, Boabeng-Fiema is named after a pair of villages where monkeys are held sacred. The most common are Lowe’s mona monkey and Geoffroy’s black-and-white colobus, and the local taboo protecting these species is taken so seriously that a funeral is held when an individual dies. The monkeys are very habituated and usually easy to locate if you drop in quickly en route between Kumasi and Mole National Park. There’s also a low-key resthouse for overnight stays.
8. Paga
Situated on the border with Burkina Faso, Paga is best known for its sacred crocodile pools, whose inhabitants are lured to shore by dangling a live chicken over the water, and can then be held by their scaly saurian tail before they scamper back into the murk. An ecotourism project also offers visits to a centuries-old chief’s palace constructed in the traditional Sahelian manner and to an abandoned slave camp set among the rocks at nearby Pikworo.
9. Ankasa Conservation Area
One of the most exciting recent developments in Ghana is the opening of a quality ecolodge in Ankasa Conservation Area. This 500-sq-km tract of rainforest is the country’s most biodiverse protected area. Guided walks and drives offer the opportunity to see rare nocturnal mammals such as potto, hammerhead bat and the outsized Pel’s flying squirrel (anomalure), while a mouth-watering list of avian specials includes great blue turaco, Hartlaub’s duck and white-crested tiger heron. The lodge stands on the Ankasa River and the nighttime chorus – a white noise of frogs and insects punctuated by the unearthly calls of Nkulengu rails and various other mysterious nocturnal creatures – can be mind-blowing.
10. Eastern Ghana
Few places in Ghana could be described as over-touristed, but the far east is particularly recommended to those who want to head completely off the beaten track. A great base for exploring is Akosombo, which lies on the Volta River below the vast Lake Volta. Alternatively, you head into the hilly country around the cheerfully named town of Ho or its jollier northern counterpart Hohoe. Regional highlights include West Africa’s tallest waterfall at Wli, the stunning beach on the Volta mouth at Ada Foah, and a community-run monkey sanctuary at Tafi Atome.
Ready to Discover Ghana with Rainbow?
If these highlights have sparked your imagination, our specialists can help you experience them in comfort and depth. Speak to our Africa experts to start planning a tailor-made journey through Ghana’s remarkable landscapes, cultures and history.
){kind=icon}