Overview

Cost/Person: USD 1550

Minimum number: 2

The individual tour can also be arranged

DURATION: 8 day

IDEAL AGE: 6 to 80-year-olds

STYLE : In-depth Cultural and History

OPERATOR:  Destination Afrique

TOUR CODE: #D42020

       Book with extra flexibility

• Change date
• Choose a different tour package
• Get credit for a future tour if you need more time to decide
• 24/7 support via email and WhatsApp

Itinerary

Enjoy 8 day Culture & History Tour of Ghana, includes accommodation in a hotel as well as an expert guide, transport, and breakfast.

Introduction

This is a unique tour of Ghana, visiting the capital city of Accra, markets, beaches, the Ashanti kingdom, the former slave castle at Cape Coast, and West Africa's highest rain forest canopy walkway at Kakum National Park.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL

Upon arrival in Ghana, you would be met at the airport by representatives of Destination Afrique Ghana.    A short orientation would be given after you have been checked in into your hotel about the tour and the country Ghana in general. Relax in your hotel for the next day activities.

DAY 2: ACCRA CITY TOUR

Your first full day in Ghana, after a sumptuous breakfast at your hotel, we set off for the tour of Accra and vicinity, passing through the economic and administrative districts.

VISIT MAKORLA MARKET and experience open negotiation mostly done by women in the biggest market in the heart of the capital.

• INDEPENDENCE SQUARE where you will see the enclosed flame of African liberation, which was lit by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961.

• THE KWAME NKRUMAH MEMORIAL PARK, final resting place of Ghana’s first president. Set in attractive gardens, there is an adjoining museum, which contains photos, artifacts, and insight into Dr. Nkrumah’s life. Adjoining the park is the National cultural center, which is Ghana’s largest outdoor arts and crafts market selling traditional crafts from all over West Africa.

• JAMES TOWN—one of Accra’s most historic neighborhoods, where history resides on every corner.  Best known for its lighthouses (the first of which was constructed in 1875 by the British) as a navigational aid for trading vessels sailing through the Gulf of Guinea. The original structure was ruined but a larger and more improved lighthouse completed in 1921 is still functioning today.

• You may visit “Brazil House” and learn about the seven Afro-Brazilians families who returned to settle in Ghana in 1836. Familiar Brazilian/Portuguese last names such as De Souza, Palmares, Azumah, Amorin, Da Costa, Santos, De Medeiros, and Olympio are abundant in this section of Accra.

. ART CENTER – the biggest art, craft and souvenir market in Accra provide you with a variety of wood carvings, colorful Ghanaian beads, and kente cloths, ready-made African and Ghanaian dresses and footwear, adinkra symbols souvenirs, and many other interesting items and gift shops.

• END THE DAY WITH            A VISIT TO TESHIE NUNGUA. We will visit a local casket making shop to see a collection of caskets carved in the shape of different objects, depicting traditional beliefs in life after death. The “Fantasy Coffins” of Teshie Nungua has been featured in National Geographic and can be found in museums and galleries worldwide.

DAY 3: ACCRA  CAPE COAST

W.E.B. DU BOIS MEMORIAL CENTER: After breakfast,  visit W.E.B. Du Bois memorial center for Panafrican culture. 

KAKUM NATIONAL PARK. Drive to cape coast. On arrival, visit Kakum National Park. Kakum is one of Ghana’s most famous parks. Take a brief walking tour on the forest floor; see birds, butterflies and perhaps catch a glimpse of the forests over 40 species of mammals including monkeys and the reclusive forest elephant. Proceed to the canopy walk. Kakum is home to Africa’s only aerial walkway through the tree canopy, a 1000-foot-long and seven-bridge walkway with viewing platforms that reach heights of over 150 feet above the ground and proceed to the hotel.

DAY 4: CAPE COAST

CAPE COAST CASTLE: the morning, drive to Elmina for about 20 mins and do early morning fishing with local people and do a community walk. visit cape coast castle. The castles infamously played an important role in West Africa's dark slave trade history, used as dungeons for 'storing' slaves before they were shipped abroad. Built on the profits of the then lucrative gold and the slave trade, these fortifications became important symbols of European power in the region. With the eventual abolition of the slave trade emphasis changed to the more accepted forms of commerce coffee, wood, and spices, then visit the baobab shop where you can purchase various products.

In the afternoon, relax at the beach and swim.

DAY 5: CAPE COAST  - KUMASI

ASSIN MANSO SLAVE TRAIL: After breakfast, drive to assin Manso slave trail, the burial site of two former slaves from the U.S. and Jamaica whose remains were re-interred in August 1998 during Ghana’s first Emancipation Day celebration. You will see the ‘Slave River’ where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slave Castles to await shipment to the Americas and the Caribbean.

MANHYIA PALACE: We visit Manhyia Palace, official residence of Ashanti Kings (Asantehene) until 1974, now a museum containing treasured items relating to the Ashanti Kingdom. The Ashanti forms the biggest population group in Ghana. For centuries they were the rulers in this region because of their well-organized society. At Manhyia Palace, disputes are still settled following centuries-old customs where the King has the final say.

DAY 6: KUMASI

Visit 3 craft villages:  Ahwiaa, Ntonso, and Bonwire

After breakfast, you will visit the 3 craft villages of the surrounding lush countryside of Kumasi.

•  BONWIRE will be our first craft village where we’ll see how the famous Kente cloth is handmade on looms in a time-honored tradition passed down through generations. See the Kente styles and the opportunity to make purchases.

Optional: We may pay a courtesy call to the paramount chief of this community.

• NTONSO We will continue to the village of Ntonso where Artisans hand-stamp patterns on a cotton cloth to make Adinkra textiles. Black-on-Black and Black-on-Red Adinkra Cloth is worn for funerals and other solemn occasions; learn how the Black Dye is made in the village from the bark of trees and creates your own Adinkra sash to take home. You may also purchase large pieces of the Adinkra Cloth handmade in the village.

• AHWIAA: We proceed to the woodcarving Village of Ahwiaa, known for the talented craftsmen who fashion royal stools, walking sticks, and Fertility Dolls from wood; with the opportunity to purchase hand-carved items of all kinds.

•  End the day’s visit at the National Cultural Center, which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters

DAY 7 KUMASI – ASHANTI  TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS at BESEASE

•  we will visit Besease where the UNESCO World Heritage traditional Ashanti shrines; the last remaining testimony of the great Ashanti civilization. The Besease site has been restored allowing us the opportunity to see the traditional Ashanti architecture at the same spot that Queen Mother Yaa Ashantiwaa visited to consult the gods before going into battle with the British. After time to explore the shrines, we will continue on the long drive back to the city center to visit the Okomfo Anokye Sword Site.

•  Okomfo Anokye Sword Site.

We shall visit the Okomfo Anokye Sword site, an important symbol of Ashanti unity that marks the spot where the Golden Stool “descended from the sky” and has been in place for 300 years. Legend says the Ashanti Kingdom would collapse should the sword ever be removed.

•  Kejetia market

Time permitting; continue to Kumasi Central Market, the largest open market in West Africa where more than 10,000 vendors sell their wares, from food to herbs, to beauty products and crafts.

DAY 8: KUMASI-LAKE BOSOMTWE-ACCRA

• Lake Bosomtwe

visit Lake Bosomtwe, the largest body of freshwater in Ghana. You will be delighted with the peace and serenity of the Lake. A walk on the banks provides the opportunity to meet and interact with the local fishing folks giving an insight into their way of life. enjoy a 30 minutes boat ride to explore the picturesque view of the Lake.

Continue to Accra, arriving early evening to the airport for your onward flight