9 Day Akwasidae Royal Tour

Ghana, West Africa

9 Day Akwasidae Royal Tour

per person

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Tour Highlights
• Accra City Tour
• Kakum and Cape Coast Castle
• Cape Coast – Assin Manso – Kumasi City
• Special Akwasidae 20th Anniversary of the Enstoolment of Otomuo Osei Tutu, Asantehene
• Craft Villages – Akosombo
• Volta River Boat Cruise – Village Experience with Naming Ceremony – Accra
• Jamestown Exploration

  • Destination
  • Included
    5 Star Accommodation
    Airport Transfers
    Breakfast
    Entry Fees
    Personal Guide
1
AKWAABA - WELCOME - 17TH APRIL

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from airport to your hotel. Check into your hotel. Welcome drink and orientation.

Overnight at Coconut Grove Regency (Meals Included: N/A)

2
ACCRA CITY TOUR - 18TH APRIL

After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra. You will drive through the administrative and economic districts of Accra, the capital of Ghana. This 139-year-old city has a blend of colonial and modern architecture that summarize her history. This refers us to the Christianborg Castle in Osu, which originally belonged to the Danish before being sold to the Dutch.

You will visit the W. E. B. Dubois Centre for Pan African Culture, Independence/ Black Star Square and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Continue the tour to the Arts Centre where you will have an opportunity to use your bargaining skills to shop from an open-air market for artefacts from Ghana and West Africa. After your tour, drive back to the hotel and relax.

Overnight at Coconut Grove Regency. Meals Included: Breakfast

3
KAKUM AND CAPE COAST CASTLE - 19TH APRIL

After breakfast, check out of your hotel in Accra and depart for a drive to Cape Coast to tour the Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Extending over 360sq km, Kakum is the home to over 40 large mammals and 400 bird species as well as many species of butterflies, flora and fauna. The most popular attraction is the Canopy walkway which is made up of seven bridges extending 330m, hanging 100 feet above the forest floor. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through this forest to discover the wide variety of exotic floral species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway.

After lunch 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.

This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum established by the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the Ghanaian Government in 1994. After dinner participate in KASA (TALK TIME) - An opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian culture or simply talk to each other and share information about the experiences you are having on the tour. (This activity will be led by the tour guide).

Overnight at Coconut Grove Resort. Meals Included: Breakfast.

4
CAPE COAST - ASSIN MANSO - KUMASI CITY - 20TH APRIL

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and drive to Kumasi. Enroute visit Assin Manso, visit the site of “Donkor Nsuo”, the former Slave River and market, as well as 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 stop for lunch at a local restaurant on your own. Then drive through the forest zone to Kumasi. After
lunch, depart for a tour of Kumasi.

You will visit Manhyia Palace Museum, to obtain first-hand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artefacts. Enjoy a drive through the city with monuments
dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people. End the day’s tour at the National Cultural Center which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers.

Overnight at Miklin Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast.

5
SPECIAL AKWASIDAE 20TH ANNINVERSARY OF THE ENSTOOLMENT OF THE OTOMFUO OSEI TUTU III, ASANTEHENE - 21ST APRIL

Today we will have the privilege to witness the 20th anniversary of the enstoolment of Otomfuo Osei Tutu III, one of the most powerful Kings in Africa. Akwasidae Festival in the Ashanti Kingdom. Akwasidae rituals and events are held in Ghana by the Akans every six weeks, honoring the ancestors and the Ashanti king. Akwasidae, according to the Ashanti cultural archive records is an ornate ceremony, commemorating the date that the Ashanti Golden Stool was magically brought down from heaven.

The festival therefore features a golden stool alongside the central feature of attention, the Ashanti King, who is carried on a palanquin through the procession of people who have come to pay homage to him. A visit to Kumasi during an Akwasidae celebration is an invitation for spectacle. A celebration which parades colourful canopies and umbrellas amongst fontonfrom, kete and mpintsin drummers, dancers, horn blowers and singers who perform in honour of their ancestral spirits.

Overnight at Miklin Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast

6
CRAFT VILLAGES - AKOSOMBO - 22ND APRIL

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart for Akosombo. En route, stop on the way to visit the three famous Ashanti craft villages: 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. Continue the drive to Akosombo.

After dinner, participate in KASA (TALK TIME) - An opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian culture or simply talk to each other and share information about your experiences during the tour. (This activity will be led by the tour guide).

Overnight at Volta Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast

7
VOLTA RIVER BOAT CRUISE - VILLAGE EXPERIENCE WITH NAMING CEREMONY - ACCRA - 23RD APRIL

After breakfast, spend the rest of the morning boat cruising. Embark on a 30 to 45 minute (round trip) boat cruise tour.

After lunch, depart for a scenic drive to a beautiful village located on the lower course of the splendid Volta River. You will have the opportunity to pay a courtesy call on the paramount chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villages and also participate in a naming ceremony, where you will be given a traditional African name. Interact and engage with the locals by participating in some of the main occupations, reading to elementary school students or playing soccer with the villagers. Afterwards, begin your return trip to Accra.

Overnight stay at Coconut Grove Regency. Meals Included: Breakfast

 

**The village experience is available for group sizes above 4. Group sizes below 4 will participate in a volunteer work at the village. Observe the daily routines of the people living in the village and interact with them**

8
JAMESTOWN EXPLORATION - 24TH APRIL

After breakfast, enjoy an amazing tour of Jamestown, the historic centre of British Accra. You’ll love the bright colors, authentic tastes and rich history of this charming district.

Explore Jamestown’s architecture which has a unique blend of Eurocentric and Ghanaian influences, a reminder of the district’s history as the seat of British Colonial rule before Ghana’s independence. This day will include a driving tour through downtown Jamestown, the centre of British Accra.

Before you leave, remember to take a picture of one of Ghana’s most famous buildings, Jamestown’s red and white lighthouse that overlooks the Gulf of Guinea. Later in the evening, prepare for a farewell dinner with a cultural performance.

Overnight stay at La Palm Beach Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast

9
DEPARTURE - 25TH APRIL

Spend this day relaxing and doing some last-minute shopping. Later on, check out of your hotel and transfer to the airport for check-in and final departure back home.