16 Day Ghana Tour

Ghana, West Africa

16 Day Ghana Tour

per person

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Tour Highlights
• City tour of Accra (Kwame Nkrumah Park & W.E.B. Du Bois Centre)
• Tours of the slave castles (Cape Coast Castles & Elmina Castles)
• Canopy Walkway at Kakum National Park
• Culinary and Batik Making Experience
• Fishing village tours
• Visit to the Assin Manso Slave River
• City tour of the Ashanti Empire
• Tour of the craft villages
• Boat Cruise on the Volta Lake
• Hike the Adaklu Mountain
• Visit the Wli Waterfalls
• Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary
• Tour Bunso Arboretum
• Visit the Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary
• Visit Lake Bosumtwi
• Boat Ride to Nzuezu (village on stilts)

  • Destination
  • Included
    5 Star Accommodation
    Airport Transfers
    Breakfast
    Entry Fees
    Personal Guide
1
AKWAABA – WELCOME!

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from the airport to your hotel. Check into your hotel. Overnight at a hotel in Accra.

2
ACCRA CITY TOUR – VISIT A TRADITIONAL AFRICAN MARKET

After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra, the Capital of Ghana. Experience the city’s highlights during this Accra orientation. The capital of Ghana since 1877, Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region. In addition, it’s the country’s most populous city. Travel through the administrative and economic districts of Accra.

Also, see the Artiste Alliance Gallery, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan African Culture, the University of Ghana, the Independence/Black Star Square, and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Learn about important events in Ghana’s history and the country’s first president who helped lead Ghana to independence. End the day’s tour at the Arts Center, where participants can sharpen their bargaining skills to shop for goods from Ghana and West Africa in an open-air market.

Overnight at a hotel in Accra. Meals Included: Breakfast.

3
LIVING HERITAGE CEREMONY (TORGORME VILLAGE)

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart Accra to a beautiful village located on the lower course of the splendid Volta River. You will pay a courtesy call on the chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers.

The group will participate in a naming ceremony of recognition, where a Ghanaian name is given to participants, and a gift presented as part of celebrating a new identity as a Ghanaian and a member of the local community. After lunch on your own, return to Accra and relax.

Overnight at a hotel in Akosombo. Meals Included: Breakfast.

4
DODI PRINCESS CRUISE (SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ONLY)

Join an early morning departure for a scenic drive to Akosombo. The only cruise ship in the entire country traverses Lake Volta and, despite the name, predates the famously doomed relationship between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.

Built at the Tema Shipyard in 1977 and originally intended to haul cargo, it was converted into a passenger ship in 1991. It has three decks, with the lower one air conditioned, a cocktail bar, an area for barbecuing and even a sick bay. On a good day out, expect photo-worthy views, barbecue lunches and live music on deck. Just 5 km from the shores of Lake Volta is the popular stop, Dodi Island.

Overnight at a hotel in Akosombo. Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch on cruise.

5
MOUNTAIN ADAKLU

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and take a scenic drive to Mountain Adaklu, one of the highest in Ghana at about 600 m above sea level and is venerated by the inhabitants of nearby villages of the Ewe ethnic group.

The mountain is surrounded by nine villages, some of which are Helekpe, Avanyaviwofe, Goefe, Sikama, Abuadi, and Kordiabe. Kordiabe is located about a quarter way up the mountain, and is a convenient resting place when climbing the mountain from the Helekpe path. A three-hour hike to the summit is a good opportunity to see colorful birds and butterflies.

Adaklu is noted for its wild bees, palm wine and local gin, better known as akpeteshie.

Overnight at a hotel in Biakpa. Meals Included: Breakfast.

6
WLI WATERFALLS – TAFI ATOME MONKEY SANCTUARY

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and visit the Wli Waterfalls where you will enjoy a hike through lush greenery of the Agumatsa Forest Reserve where you will cross the same river nine times to reach the breathtaking falls.

After lunch on your own, depart to Tafi Atome, a village that has practiced conservation as a culture by keeping their monkeys sacred. You will have the rare and exciting experience of witnessing these endangered animals in large numbers as they live in the wild. Return to Akosombo afterwards.

Overnight at a hotel in Akosombo. Meals Included: Breakfast.

7
AKOSOMBO – BUNSO ARBORETUM – BOBIRI BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY – KUMASI

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and visit Bunso Arboretum, an Eco Tourism site and an ideal place for adventure, picnics and relaxation located in the Abuakwa south municipality of the Eastern region of Ghana. The site has over 600 species of trees used for various medicinal purposes, 110 species of birds, 30 species of butterflies and a herb garden with over 40 species. Tour the arboretum with a guide to learn about the native and exotic plants, including their medicinal properties for traditional healing, or go on an indigenous food tour to learn the many ways in which local people harvest food from local plants. Activities you can participate in are tree-top canopy walkway, horse riding and zip lining. All activities are at your expense.

After lunch on your own, proceed to visit the Bobiri Forest Reserve. Marvel at the flower gardens designed to attract a variety of butterflies. Enjoy a hike through the semi deciduous rain forest that acts like a shelter to the butterfly habitat. Your guide will point out and provide insight about the socio-economic and medicinal importance of these tropical trees as you hike through the forest. Continue your drive to Kumasi and check into your hotel upon arrival and relax.

Overnight at a hotel in Kumasi. Meals Included: Breakfast.

8
KUMASI CITY TOUR

After breakfast, visit the Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain firsthand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artifacts. Enjoy a drive through the city with monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people. Your city tour on this day will also include a visit to the famous Kejetia market, the National Cultural Centre which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers.

Overnight at a hotel in Kumasi. Meals Included: Breakfast.

9
ASHANTI CRAFT VILLAGES

After breakfast, depart your hotel and devote this day to visiting the three famous Ashanti craft villages. After breakfast, depart for Ahwiaa, the wood carvers’ village, Ntonso, the home of Adinkra cloth, and Bonwire, the Kente weaving village. You will have an opportunity to see how African crafts are made and to buy directly from the artisans who make them.

Overnight at a hotel in Kumasi. Meals Included: Breakfast.

10
LAKE BOSOMTWI

After breakfast, depart your hotel and visit Lake bosomtwi, the only true inland lake in the country located in the Ashanti region. It is an awesome place to relax and enjoy nature. The lake has no surface outlet and was formed in a meteorite impact crater with an area of 19 square miles (49 km) and a depth of 230–240 feet (70–73 metres),

The lake is surrounded by lush mountains and fed by small streams that tumble down the crater’s steep sides (500–1,400 feet [150–425 metres] above water level). Situated in the Ashanti region of Ghana, Lake Bosomtwe is one of six UNESCO designated biosphere reserve sites. It is one of three of such internationally recognized sites in the country – Bia in the Western, and Songhor in the Greater Accra Region. Return to your hotel afterwards.

Overnight at a hotel in Kumasi. Meals Included: Breakfast.

11
KUMASI – ASSIN MANSO – ELMINA

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and drive through the forest zone to Elmina, the seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashantis, whose legacies are still evident today. En route, stop at Assin Manso. Visit the site of “Donkor Nsuo”, the former Slave River and market, the final transit point for a large number of enslaved Africans. This is the final resting place for two ancestors whose mortal remains were returned from the USA and Jamaica and re-interred there.

Overnight at a hotel in Elmina / Cape Coast. Meals Included: Breakfast.

12
SLAVE DUNGEON EXPERIENCE (CAPE COAST CASTLE), CANOPY WALK WAY AND KAKUM RAIN FOREST

After breakfast, drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through the rain forest to discover the wide variety of exotic flora and fauna species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway hanging 40 meters above the forest ground.

After lunch on your own, embark on a tour of the infamous Forts, Castles, and Slave Dungeons of Ghana. History will unfold the story of the slave trade which the impact is still felt beyond the shores of Africa today. Visit the Cape Coast Castle built by the Swedes in 1653 and was later taken over by the British. Here, you would learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible.

It is an opportunity to be up and close with history – to stand in the dark and stuffy dungeons, imagining the experience and conditions that millions of Africans endured. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum.

Overnight at a hotel in Elmina / Cape Coast. Meals Included: Breakfast.

13
SLAVE DUNGEON (ELMINA CASTLE) – AXIM

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and visit Elmina Castle, also known as St. George’s Castle, which was built by the Portuguese in 1482. Here, learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here participants will witness the dark and stuffy dungeons local people were forced to endure before being sent on a long and perilous passage across the Atlantic. To see the truth of these conditions in person is a powerful reminder of the inhumanity of the slave trade.

Overnight at a hotel in Axim. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

14
NZULEZU

After breakfast, depart your hotel and make a scenic drive to Nzulezu, a unique village built on water. Nzulezu is built entirely on stilts over an open lake fed by two rivers. Ancestors of the village believe that villagers were led to this secure place by a snail.

Nzulezu is an Nzema word meaning “built on water.” After an hour’s drive through a rubber plantation, enjoy a five-kilometer ride on the lake in a local dugout canoe (life jackets are provided). Upon arrival in the village, interact with the locals and explore the adjacent area. Notice the solid wood construction of the houses and the raffia walkways.

Overnight at a hotel in Axim. Meals Included: Breakfast.

15
AXIM – ACCRA

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Accra. Overnight at a hotel in Accra. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

16
FAREWELL/DEPARTURE

After breakfast, spend the remainder of the day packing and doing last minute shopping. Transfer to airport for check-in and final departure back home.