Panafest 2025 – Ghana, Togo and Benin 13 Days

Ghana, West Africa

Panafest 2025 – Ghana, Togo and Benin 13 Days

per person

Experience PANAFEST in 2025 with Landtours. This package takes you on a special journey for 13 days where you will explore Ghana, Togo and Benin and experience a private Voodoo ceremony.

­Experience Panafest in 2025 for 13 days with Landtours! The tour package includes the biennial Pan-African festival of Arts and Culture in Ghana which brings together Africans and the African diaspora from around the world to reflect on the past, present and future of the Africa, trips to Togo where you will learn about the deep culture and history about the once French colony and Benin where you will experience a private Voodoo ceremony, explore Ouidah and witness the amazing Ganvie lake village. This is certainly an experience of a lifetime.
  • Destination
  • Included
    Airport Transfers
    Breakfast
    Entry Fees
    Personal Guide
  • Not Included
    5 Star Accommodation
1
July 28, 2025 - AKWAABA – WELCOME

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. You will be met at the airport by Landtours representatives who will assist you with your transfer from the airport to your hotel. Enjoy a welcome drink at the hotel and participate in an orientation session. Dressmakers will take measurements and sew cloths for interested participants.

Overnight at Lancaster Accra Hotel

Meals included: Dinner at the Hotel.

2
July 29, 2025 - ACCRA CITY TOUR

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 W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan African Culture and the Independence/Black Star Square. Learn about important events in Ghana’s history and the country’s first president who helped lead Ghana to independence.

Continue your tour to The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, dedicated to the legacy of Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and his role in African independence. The tour includes visits to Nkrumah's mausoleum, a museum showcasing his life, his personal residence, the eternal Flame of African Liberation, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Learn about Nkrumah's early life, political career, and Pan-African vision. 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. On display, you will see fabrics of different materials, designs, colors and textures to purchase from.

Overnight at Lancaster Accra Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Group Lunch at a Restaurant.

3
July 30, 2025 - SLAVE DUNGEON EXPERIENCE (ELMINA CASTLE & CAPE COAST CASTLE)

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Cape Coast, embark on a tour of the infamous Forts, Castles, and Slave Dungeons of Ghana.

After lunch, 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.

Afterwards, 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 Ridge Royal Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Group Lunch.

4
July 31, 2025 - ELMINA FISHING VILLAGE TOUR – REVERENTIAL NIGHT

After breakfast, explore Elmina, a fishing village that’s both picturesque and gritty, charming and though-provoking. What better way to appreciate it than to immerse oneself in its main industry – fishing! Meet with local fishermen to learn the intricacies of their trade and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Next, meet the fish mongers in the village who will demonstrate the various stages of smoking the fish in earthenware ovens. This is a unique way to experience one of Ghana’s oldest and important trades.

After dinner, you will have the opportunity to participate in “Reverential Night.” There will be candle light processions and a vigil to commemorate the Africans who died in the slave trade.  There will also be a moving ceremony and re-enactment of the slave passage through the “Door of No Return,” followed by a midnight declaration of Emancipation Day. This is the highlight of the Panafest celebration.

Overnight at Ridge Royal Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner at the Hotel.

5
Aug 1, 2025 - EMANCIPATION DURBAR AT ASSIN MANSO – KUMASI

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and for a drive through the former slave route to Assin Manso. This was the final transit point for enslaved Africans before being shipped off to the new world. You will have the opportunity to visit the slave dungeons as well as the final resting place for two ancestors whose mortal remains were returned from the USA and Jamaica and re-interred in Ghana.

The Emancipation Day Celebration is opened with a Grand Durbar of Traditional Chiefs and people of the Central Region. Witness this grand, colorful and spectacular event that showcases the pomp and pageantry of Ghana's traditional rulers, dressed in rich Kente and adorned in glittering gold jewelry. Discover the African rhythm in you as you dance to the beat of the 'Fontomfrom' drums. Continue your drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashanti people, whose legacies are still evident today.

Overnight at Lancaster Kumasi Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Packed Lunch.

6
Aug 2, 2025 - KUMASI CITY TOUR – ASHANTI CRAFT VILLAGES

After breakfast, you will visit the 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.  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.

Visit the three famous Ashanti craft villages; Ahwiaa, the wood carvers’ village, Ntonso, the home of Adinkra cloth, and Adanwomase, 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 Lancaster Kumasi Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Group Lunch.

 

7
Aug 3, 2025 - KUMASI – BESEASE SHRINE – ACCRA

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart for Accra. En route to Accra, stop on the way at Besease shrine, a world heritage site. The Besease Shrine is a traditional fetish shrine near the town of Ejisu.  Each of these shrines is a home for a particular spirit, called obosom that mediates between mortals and the supreme god Nyame. Observe the unique architecture and experience the mode of ancestral worship to the ancient gods.  Upon arrival, check into your hotel.

Overnight at Lancaster Accra Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast.

8
Aug 4, 2025 - LIVING HERITAGE CEREMONY (TORGORME VILLAGE) – CEDI BEADS

After breakfast, 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, you will visit cedi beads factory and market. Beads play a very important role in the life and culture of the Krobo people of Ghana. Beads are used to mark family status, special occasions, and the important rite of passage of girls into puberty, called the Dipo. Participants will be shown around the factory and observe the making of beads in a traditional manner. The beads come in every imaginable color, shape, and size and are made from recycled glass, beer and wine bottles, and broken windows.  They are pounded and crushed with a mortar and pestle and then poured into molds and heated individually in ovens. These ovens are made from termite soils, which are able to withstand high temperatures. After sizzling in a special oven for about 45 minutes, the beads are smoothed while still warm. A cassava stick is put in the center of the bead while it melts into shape. The beads are cooled and hand polished with sand and water and then strung. Participants will even have the opportunity to make their own beads to take home!.

Overnight at Lancaster Accra Hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Group Lunch.

 

9
Aug 5, 2025 - ACCRA – LOME CITY TOUR

After breakfast, check out of your hotel for Togo. Upon arrival, head straight for a city tour of Lome. Drive by the Musée National (National Museum), as well as the Place de I’ Independence (Place of Independence, where the Independence Monument is situated). Visit Grand Marche (Grand Market) and Marche des Feticheurs (Fetish Market).

Overnight at Hotel Sarakawa or similar.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

10
Aug 6, 2025 - LOME – OUIDAH

After breakfast, check out and depart for a visit to Ouidah, the cradle of African Traditional Religion, en-route to Cotonou. Tour the temple dedicated to the sacred Python, which is believed to give vitality and protection; you will also pay a visit to the sacred forest which houses many shrines dedicated to various deities.

Afterwards, visit the Port of No Return; a monument built by the Benin Government to commemorate the Africans that were taken from the Dahomey Empire during the Slave Trade. Continue the journey northwards to Cotonou. Check in at hotel and relax.

Overnight at Casa Del Papa or similar.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch.

11
Aug 7, 2025 GANVIE – VOODOO FESTIVAL

After breakfast, depart your hotel and embark on a sensational visit to Ganvie (the village on water), commonly referred to as the Venice of West Africa. Witness first hand, the people of Ganvie carrying out their daily routine as vendors in dugout canoes pile high with wares, transacting commerce with one another and with tourists. You will enjoy shopping on the floating market and taking a relaxing canoe ride on the waterways of this exotic 300-year-old village.

After lunch, return to Ouidah and experience a vibrant and mystical private Voodoo Festival. This offers you a unique opportunity to witness traditional Voodoo rituals, dances, and music, deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of Benin. During this immersive tour, you'll engage with local communities and gain a deeper understanding of the Voodoo religion and its significance.

Overnight at Casa Del Papa.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch.

12
Aug 8, 2025 OUIDAH – ACCRA

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Accra. En route, stop in Lome, and enjoy lunch on your own at a beach side restaurant. Continue to Accra afterwards.

Overnight at Lancaster Accra Hotel or Similar.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Farewell Dinner.

13
Aug 9, 2025 FAREWELL DEPARTURE

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and transfer to airport for check-in and final departure back