Outline Itinerary

 

13 Days/12 Nights

 

Day 1:

You arrive at Kotoka International Airport, Accra, which is situated on the Gold Coast of Western Africa. This is the start of what will be an amazing journey of discovery that will live with you forever. After passing through immigration, you proceed to the conveyor to collect your baggage before heading to customs. We will meet you on the other side, just look out for the Ashanti African Tours sign as you come out of the terminal building.  Make yourself known to us and we will take care of you from here, and for the duration of your pilgrimage. We will board our air-conditioned bus, your mode of transport for the duration of your pilgrimage, before setting off. Our first stop, the Dutch hotel, is 20 minutes outside of Accra.  Located in a quiet area on the coast, the Dutch hotel is our accommodation during our time in Accra. Once we have checked you in, our expert guides who will be accompanying you for the duration of your tour will offer you Akwaaba (Welcome). We will brief you on all aspects of your holiday during complementary drinks (first evening only) at the hotel bar. In the evening you can relax on the hotel terrace overlooking the Gold Coast.

 

Day 2:

Your first full day in Ghana.  After a leisurely breakfast on the terrace of your hotel overlooking the ocean, we will set off for the start of our pilgrimage to Kumasi home of the Asantehene; King of the Ashanti’s stopping at Adawomasi and Ntonso en route to learn about traditional Ashanti fabrics. We will make a brief stop over for lunch before continuing our journey to the Golden Kingdom.  On arrival, we will head to Jofel restaurant for dinner before checking into our cozy hotel.

 

Day 3:

We will depart Kumasi after breakfast for Techiman stopping en route at Dymns hotel for lunch.  Our journey will take us around the Bono historical sites, the memorial parks of Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X.  From here we will visit the Bono Manso cave and the Tono Sacred Grove, where our forefathers hid from slave raiders.  Our accommodation will be at Techiman. 

 

Day 4:

Our pilgrimage takes us to the Upper East and Bolgatanga, stopping for lunch in Tamale.  After our relaxing lunch we continue our journey visiting the Tango Shrine Hills and Chief’s palace to learn about the history and traditions of the locals.  We will continue our journey to Sands Garden hotel to enjoy our evening meal and relax.

 

Day 5:

We will set off for Paga crocodile ponds this morning after breakfast.  Paga is a busy town on the Burkina Faso border.  Here we will find interesting traditional homestead designs very similar to the Dogon homesteads in Mali.  The roofs of these homesteads are flat and can be used for drying crops or for sleeping on in hot weather. After a fascinating tour around the town, we will precede to one of the crocodile ponds.  It is customary to feed a chicken to the sacred crocodiles upon arrival at the pond.  During our interactions with the locals, we will learn the history behind the crocodiles and why they are so symbolic.  We depart Paga and head for Nania camp and Navorongo historical gravesites.  We retrace our tracks back to Bolgatanga via Sirigu.  You will marvel at the beautifully painted traditional homesteads as we approach the village.  It’s a tradition, which spans centuries but unfortunately is dying out in many parts of Western Africa.  We will tour the village interacting with locals and learning about their history and traditions, a highlight of our time at Sirigu would be a tour of the local markets and Chief’s Palace.  The people are very warm and wonderfully welcoming.  The women of Sirigu are also famous for their beautiful pottery and art.  I am sure we will find some bargain souvenirs during our tour of the markets to mark this part of our journey.

 

Day 6:

We head off to Salaga to retrace the steps our enslaved ancestors were forced to make not so long ago.  This would be an opportunity to visit the famous Salaga enslaved Ancestors market and hear the history of Salaga during the slave trade era.  We shall return to Tamale in the evening for dinner and relaxation at Garib.

 

Day 7:

We set off for Mole National Park, Ghana’s oldest, largest and best game viewing park.  We arrive in the afternoon to check into the Mole Hotel, which is the only accommodation in the area.  Situated on a 250 metre high escarpment, overlooking this 4840km² park, it offers simply breathtaking views.  It is an amazing feeling to be sitting around the pool on the hotel terrace, watching African Savannah elephants bathing in the two nearby watering holes inhabited by crocodiles.  We shall spend the rest our afternoon taking a foot safari tour round the park to view some of the animals.  After our evening meal, we shall relax and enjoy the beautiful sun setting over the savannah woodlands and gallery forest surrounding the hotel.  This is a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

 

Day 8:

After an early morning foot safari, we bid a sad farewell to Mole National park and retrace our steps back to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Kingdom.  En route we will stop at the beautiful Kintampo waterfalls.  We continue our journey to Kumasi stopping for Lunch in Techiman.

 

Day 9:

The day starts with excitement as we prepare for Akwasidae Festival where Subservient Chiefs pay homage to the Ashanti King.  We will get remarkably close to the Asantehene and be surrounded by rich colourful culture and tradition, which has not changed for centuries.  We will be at the Palace ahead of the scheduled time for the festival in order to embark on an informative tour through the history of this powerful tribe, once the most powerful in West Africa.   After lunch, at Jofel restaurant we will   have an afternoon tour of Central Market.  Found in the heart of the city, it is the largest outdoor market in the whole of West Africa.  This is a wonderful opportunity to experience everyday life for the people in this great city.  The market is a labyrinth of stalls nestled closely together, and a hive of activity.  Some stallholders sleep here in the evenings as trade rarely stops.  I am sure you will pick up some bargain souvenirs during our time here.  We shall relax in our hotel for a well-deserved rest in the evening.

 

Day 10:

We set off for Elmina after breakfast, stopping in Cape Coast to visit the castle.  This wonderfully preserved colonial fortification is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is steeped in history, which includes a major role in Ghana’s tragic slave trade era.  We will tour this castle and embark on a fascinating and thought provoking journey.  The castle has an excellent museum and information centre.   After a wonderful bur emotional day, we check into our beach front hotel in Elmina.  During our evening meal we reflect on our day’s emotional journey before retiring for the evening.

 

Day 11:

This morning we visit Elmina castle for an emotional journey through the history of this monument.  Elmina castle is also known as the Castle of St George.  This wonderfully preserved monument is also the oldest extant colonial building in sub Saharan Africa.  Also recognised as a UNSECO world heritage sight there is a very informative museum and information centre inside.  We shall return to our hotel for lunch and prayers of remembrance.  We will then be participating in the reverential programme and Emancipation day vigil to the ancestors.  There will be a candle light street procession to Cape Coast Castle and Dungeons.  After the procession, we witness a local performance which will be taking place at the castle before returning to our hotel.

 

Day 12:

Today marks the official celebration of Emancipation Day Programme.  There will be a Grand Durbar of regional traditional chiefs portraying the rich colourful culture of Ghana.  We will make an emotional journey to Assin Manso, an important town along the enslaved African trade routes.  The town surrounds the Ndonkor Nsuo (Slave River).  This river is where enslaved Africans were checked for fitness and bathed before being transported to Cape Coast for shipment to the Americas.  In 1998 a symbolic gesture was made when the bodies of two people who were enslaved Africans from Ghana, Samuel Carson from the USA and Crystal from Jamaica were brought to Cape Coast castle and symbolically passed back through the “Door of no Return” and transported to Assin Manso for reburial.   Libation will be poured, spiritual bathing in the Slave River and wreath laying for these two ancestors.  We will dine at our hotel and reflect on the memorable and emotional day’s activities.

 

Day 13:

Sadly your final day with us in Ghana, we will set off for Kakum National park, Africa’s only rainforest canopy walkway.  This is a truly beautiful, tropical guinea rainforest and the canopy walkway is sure to be one of the highlights of your time in Ghana.  The canopy walkway consists of a series of 7 bridges attached to 7 emerging trees, 40 metres above the rainforest floor.  Prepare to take a deep breath as you walk the suspended bridges.  You will marvel at the outstanding views that stretch for miles across this breathtaking rainforest, as you rest on the tree platforms between the bridges.  We are sure you would agree that this is an exciting excursion never to be forgotten.  We return to the park headquarters where we find an excellent information centre that offers a very informative overview of the parks flora and fauna.  Over 40 different mammal species have been recorded within the park, which includes forest elephants, leopards and 6 primate species to mention just a few.  We visit Hans Cottage for lunch. Hans is built over a lake containing Nile crocodiles and set in a beautiful location surrounded by tropical guinea rainforest.  Hans is an original and comfortable establishment, which is teeming with bird life.   After lunch we board our bus and set off for the capital city. Depending on your flight departure time, we will visit Country Kitchen to relax and enjoy an early evening meal before your sad departure and flight home after an unforgettable 13 days tour of Ghana.