HIGHLIGHTS:

W.E.B Dubois Centre
The Independence/Black Square
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park
Jamestown Fishing Community
Experience the bustling city of Accra today which is a blend of modern building and old structures that exited during the colonial times. This 120 years old city has a number of historical things to offer as you set off after a sumptuous breakfast at your hotel, passing through the economic and administrative districts.

The first visit will be to W.E.B Du Bois Centre honoring the life of the prominent Pan-Africanist who chose to live and work in Ghana. We continue to 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 an insight into Dr. Nkrumah’s life. Adjoining the park is the National Cultural Centre, which is Ghana’s largest outdoor arts and crafts market selling traditional crafts from all over West Africa.

Our day’s visit ends at Jamestown Community-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) 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-Brazilian 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.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Accra City Hotel

HIGHLIGHTS:

Teshie Fancy Coffin Shop
Aburi Botanical Gardens
Koforidua Beads and Wood Carving Market
After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and head further East to Akosombo. Enroute we will the Teshie Casket/Coffin Shop where uniquely designed caskets are made and this reflects the people’s belief in life after death. The shop was started by Seth Kane Kwei in the 1950s, almost by accident. He made palanquins, also known as Litters or Sedan Chairs that are used to carry tribal chiefs at traditional festivals. One chief, who had ordered a palanquin shaped as a cocoa pod, died unexpectedly before the festival, so he was buried in the palanquin. Soon after that his grandmother who had planned her first overseas trip by flight died before the trip and she too was buried in a coffin shaped like an airplane. “The third fancy coffin was for a chief fisherman who was buried in a canoe. Thus the fancy coffin industry was started.

We continue to Aburi Mountains where we visit the Botanical Gardens which has both aesthetic and educational experience. Look out for Rita Marley’s compound when coming up the Mountain.

How about trying your bargaining skills at the Koforidua Bead-making Market. Visit the Woodcarving Village before continuing to Akosombo. Upon arrival, check in to your hotel.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Volta Hotel

HIGHLIGHTS:

Cedi Beads Factory
Akosombo Dam-the Cradle of electricity production
After a refreshing night along the splendid Volta River, we will have a scenic drive to the village of Krobo Odumase to witness firsthand experience of beads making from specially crafted glasses- Cedi Beads Factory. We will have the opportunity to design our own beads using the traditional Krobo technique.

The bead-making craft has a long history in Ghana. Beads have been used in ceremonies of birth, coming of age, marriage, or death for the past 400 years. You will watch and participate in the whole bead-making process from beginning to end.

Enjoy a tour of the Akosombo hydroelectric dam. This is the cradle of electricity production in Ghana, a national land mark set in the midst of naturally beautiful surroundings. The rest of the evening is free.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Volta Hotel

HIGHLIGHTS:

3 craft villages of the Ashanti kingdom
We will drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashantis, whose legacies are still evident today.

Upon reaching Ejisu, we will visit three craft villages of the surrounding lush countryside which is a sharp contrast to the modern-day Kumasi city.

Adanwomase will be our first craft village where we’ll see how the famous Kente cloth is handmade on looms in a time-honoured tradition passed down through generations. See the Kente styles and the opportunity to make purchases. We may pay a courtesy call to the paramount chief of this community amidst drumming and dancing or see their cocoa farms.

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.

Our final village will be 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.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Golden Bean Hotel

HIGHLIGHTS:

Manhyia Palace Museum
Akwasidae Festival
After a good breakfast at the hotel, we swill l further explore the Kingdom which is rich in culture and traditions. Today will mark a well celebrated Festival of the Ashanti Empire.

First, we shall visit Manhyia Palace, the official residence of Ashanti kings (Asantehene) until 1974, now a museum containing treasured items relating to the Ashanti Kingdom. This is where we obtain firsthand information on the legacies of this unified monarchy.

Join the celebration of Akwasidae Festival; the pomp and pageantry of the Ashanti Kingdom. The King riding in a palanquin and adorned with all his gold ornaments comes out to receive the homage of his sub-chiefs and people, it is a spectacular sight to watch the colorful canopies and umbrellas, the skilful drummers, dancers, horn-blowers and praise-singers at these regular festivals, held in honor of their ancestral spirits.

This evening we will have the opportunity to visit the ancient Ejisu Ashanti Shrine, a World Heritage Site where people visit for healing, consultations, problems relating to spiritual beliefs. Witness some of the traditional practices of the Ashanti people.



Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Golden Bean Hotel

Kumasi has quite a collection of British colonial buildings and it is the heart of the Ashanti culture. We enjoy a drive through the city with monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people on our way to 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.

We will also visit the village of Sokoban Krofrom where traditional brass casting has been the main source of income for generations. Wide selections of items ranging from beads and jewelry to traditional statues are made here. The methods used to produce these intricate brass works have not changed in centuries and during our time here we will see a demonstration of the skilled process. Return to Kumasi where dinner will be at your hotel.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Golden Bean Hotel

HIGHLIGHTS:

Lake Bosomtwe
Assin Manso Slave River
Today, we depart for yet another adventure of Coastal lands of Ghana- Elmina & Cape Coast. Enroute, we will visit Lake Bosomtwe, the largest Natural fresh water body in Ghana.

Here you will enjoy peace and serenity and an encounter with nature. A walk on the beach gives you the opportunity to meet and interact closely with the local fishing folks and get an insight into their way of life. Considered sacred by the Ashanti, Lake Bosumtwi is an economic and popular resort area with Ashanti people due to the opportunities for fishing, swimming and water sports.

After the relaxing activities and lunch we continue to Elmina with a stop at Assin Manso, the burial site of two former slaves from the USA and Jamaica whose remains were re-interred in August 1998 during Ghana’s first Emancipation Day Celebration. A visit to “the Slave River or “Donkor Nsuo” offers the chance to see the place where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slaves Castles to await shipment to the Americas and Caribbean. Arrive in Elmina late evening and check in your hotel.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Coconut Grove Beach Resort

HIGHLIGHTS:

Guided Tour of Kotokoraba Market
Guided tour of Elmina township
“Kotokoraba” the cradle of Cape Coast. The Kotokoraba “market “is the economic hub of the region, with vibrant trading stores located around it. The market has existed for many decades, and was an important trading site during pre-independence era. It serves as a central point for all trade in the region and it is hotspot for economic activity as most major activities in the city takes place in and around the area.

This afternoon enjoy the sights of the many colorful fishing boats bringing their daily catch into the harbor and take the opportunity to mix with the locals at the nearby market. A short distance from the market we visit the boat builders, still building colorful fishing boats using traditional tools and methods spanning centuries.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Coconut Grove Beach Resort

HIGHLIGHTS:

Cape Coast Castle
Elmina or St. George’s Castle
Today we will visit Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO world heritage site. The castle is a thought-provoking monument to a harrowing period in the region’s history. You will take an emotional journey through the castle which held more enslaved Africans than any other in the region, viewing the dungeons and the infamous “Door of no return”. There is a significant historical museum inside, which explains the history of the castle and of Cape Coast itself. You can purchase literature on Ghana’s forts and castles, as well as the cultural history and traditions of Ghana.

Next, we visit Elmina Castle another World Heritage site. Late afternoon you will go through the “Fihankra” Fiankra is a ceremony which seeks to reconnect people of African descent, who have been lost due to the transatlantic slave trade, to the motherland. This ceremony reconnects returnees with the cultural and spiritual ties that had been denied them for centuries. The final part of Fihankra includes a naming ceremony.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Coconut Grove Beach Resort

HIGHLIGHTS:

Kakum National Park
Abandze Village/Global Mamas Tye & Dye Workshop
After breakfast, you will check out of your hotel for a visit to the Kakum National Park, Ghana’s most famous parks. Take a brief walking tour on the forest floor where you will learn how our ancestors lived in the forest. 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, 1000 foot long and even-bridge walkway with viewing platforms that reach heights over 150 feet above the ground. You will stop briefly at Abandze, the ancestral home of Louis Armstrong, the famous American Jazz Musician.

OR

Visit ‘Global Mama’s’ –an inspiring non-profit and Fair-trade organization, assisting women in Ghana to become economically independent. During this visit you can learn about the challenges and rewards of operating these economic uplifting projects. Here you can get also Crafty and participate in the traditional West African art of Batik making.

Continue to Accra arriving early evening.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Accra City Hotel















Thursday – Day 12: Accra/Depart
Today is at leisure but with the assistance of your driver and guide, decide on your excursions and activities. Time permitting you can visit the sites in Accra and vicinity that you have not yet seen.

Places to consider include:

The famous Oxford Street in Osu where you can shop for unique, colorful and beautiful African wear, handcrafted jewelry and accessories.
OR

The always bustling Makola Market, the biggest open market in Accra. This fascinating market has been compartmentalized into various sections to make bargain hunting easier. You will have the chance to walk through this unusually bustling market and even get the chance to sharpen your bargaining skills.
This evening you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight home.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast

ARRIVE HOME WITH PLEASANT MEMORIES