Ghana Culture and Nature Tour

Our representative will expect you upon your arrival at Accra airport. He will welcome you to Ghana and transfer you to your hotel. Hotel check-in is from 3:00 pm to ensure your room is ready. This evening just before dinner, we invite you to meet tailors and dressmakers featuring casual wear and formal garments made from local fabric and textiles. This meeting will take place at your hotel. You may purchase ready-made clothes or place an order for a custom-made outfit. Hair braiders will also be available to showcase a wide range of hairstyles in case you wish to immerse yourself in Ghanaian culture immediately. After this cultural introduction, you will be served dinner. D

You will wake for a sumptuous breakfast; Your tour leader will brief you on your tour to Ghana later. We will then take off to explore the historical and cultural highlights of Accra City. Depart for a full-day city tour of Accra, visiting the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for Pan-Africanism; this is the final burial place and home of the prominent American Pan-Africanist Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, who led the Pan-African congress between 1919 and 1927. It is currently a Pan African Center for Culture. It has a research library and gallery full of manuscripts, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and Park, the final resting place of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana. Many world dignitaries have visited the Mausoleum.

After breakfast, We will get ready to check out the hotel and start our overland expedition to Kumasi, the hub of the Ashanti ancient kingdom. We will take the road by some breathtaking villages and charming towns through the dense tropical forests. We will, of course, make a few stops at the famous village to pay a courtesy visit to the Chief and his council of elders and also to have the opportunity to interact with the community, observe and learn about the traditions of the village. Our lunch will be served at a local restaurant. After lunch, we will o visit the Besease, birthplace of Yaa Asantewa, the Ejisu queen mother who fought the British in 1900. Pay a courtesy call on the Beseasehene (town chief) and the traditional elders. Visit the town's traditional religious shrine, which is UNESCO Heritage site, and the mausoleum of Yaa Asantewa. Our overland tour will proceed to reach Kumasi in the evening. We will check in at our hotel and prepare for dinner and a good night's sleep. B.D

After breakfast, take a scenic drive to participate in a Naming Ceremony. You will be led in a procession to the Paramount Chief’s Palace grounds, where the whole village has already assembled with the Paramount Chief ready to perform the special naming ceremony, which begins after a round of hearty welcome and speeches. Participating in the naming ceremony is no less than a few hundred locals. You will be given an African clan name. The Naming Ceremony, a spiritual and memorable experience, begins with the beating of the “Fontomfrom Drums” and dancing performed by the local-village dancers, who will also invite the group to participate in this unique cultural dance. After the wonderful encounter with the Ashanti culture of drumming and dancing ceremony, visit the three famous craft villages in Ashanti. Ahwiaa, the woodcarvers’ village; Ntonso, the home of Adinkra and Bonwire, the Kente weaving village.

Later, we will visit Adanwomase village, famous for the traditional Kente cloth weaving. Observe weavers exhibit their skills in producing the clothes adorned, some of which is a preserved for the Ashanti Kings; Ntonso - noted for its indigenous artisans whose expertise lies in Adinkra textile printing using traditional symbols that express the spiritual, moral, political, and socio-cultural philosophies of the Akan people. In the Ntonso Adinkra village, you can try your hand at creating your designs, and Ahwiaa – the woodcarver’s village specializing in woodcarvings such as the Ashanti stools, fertility dolls, and walking sticks street Representation. We will take a break for lunch in a local restaurant, then continue to Kumasi for a city tour visiting the Manhyia Palace and the Palace Museum, which provides a good insight into Ashanti culture and traditions. The Ashanti history is beyond time itself. An empire that has dominated the ancient history of the Cost of Gold “West Africa today.” The kingdom reigning today is over 300 years. It provides a good glimpse into the powerful ancient Ashanti Empire and its past kings. Our dinner and accommodation will be at the hotel. B.D

We will wake up for a good breakfast at the hotel, then travel overland from Kumasi to Elmina today. Our expedition will cruise through the central regions of Ghana, driving past scenic villages and charming towns through the evergreen forests, banana and cocoa plantations, and gin distilleries where palm wine is distilled into an excellent national drink with an alcohol percentage of about 90%. Stop en route to visit Assin Manso, the burial site of the remains of two formerly enslaved persons. We will make a few stops to visit the “Slave River,” the last rest stop for enslaved people on their “one-way” trek to the Coast to be embarked on ships to the New World. This a moment of Contemplation in memory of our ancestors on our Heritage tour to Ghana.

We will take off an hour for lunch, then continue our discovery tour to Elmina. Once we arrive at Elmina, we will meet our local guide, taking us on a historic city visit. Start the tour with a visit to Elmina Castle, the first and oldest European structure built of any substance on African soil. The Portuguese built this in 1482 and later used it as an auction market for a comprehensive guided tour. See the slave dungeons and condemn cells where enslaved people who attempted to escape were incarcerated. View its utterly distinct architecture. We will check into our hotel in the evening for dinner and accommodation. B.D

Our breakfast will be served at the hotel. After checkout, we will be traveling to Accra, visiting Kakum National Park first. Go on a morning walk of the “Kuntan Trail” to explore countless trees with medicinal plants with a specialist in botanical matters. For the curious traveler and young at heart, we will hike up to experience the “Canopy Walkway,” suspended 100 feet from the forest ground, for a panoramic view of flora and fauna of the remaining vestiges of Ghana’s tropical rainforest. Continue to visit the Cape Coast Castle, originally started by the Swedes in 1652. It served as the headquarters and control tower of the British colonial government until 1877. Go on a comprehensive tour of the Castle, the slave dungeons and the West African Heritage Museum, and the Negotiation Hall, where our ancestors were bargained for and sold at an auction. Participate in a re-enactment of the Slave Trade at the Cape Coast Castle in solemn homage to our ancestors.

After lunch, we will take off on our overland adventure from Elmina to Accra. Drive past several fishing villages and coconut-lined beaches in a pure African setting from the best of Nature productions. We will reach Accra in the evening and check in to our hotel for dinner and a good night’s sleep. B.D.

You will be served breakfast at the hotel then we will give you a ride to Accra Airport to be on time to catch your flight back home. Goodbye for now, We wish you a safe trip and hope you will come back and revisit us on another Ghana cultural or adventure overland expedition. B.D.