Last updated: 2009-04-02

Itinerary

Day 1

This is the day of arrival and gathering. Upon arrival it may take about one hour to pass customs and immigration. It is possible to change money at the airport but the rate is better in town, so change only a smaller amount. When checking in at the hotel, you shall report to the reception as a traveler with 'Study and Travel'. The tour leader Robert has made reservation and given you shared rooms, even for those of you coming in advance, if we have been informed. When all are at place there will be a gathering where you all will have time to come to know one another and have the first introduction to your adventures in Ghana.

Transport from the airport. Outside the airport you will find taxis. Agree with one of them to take you to the hotel. They should not charge you more than around 20 cedis (20 US dollar). Beware! In January 2008 Ghana changed their money system. Before January 2008 10 US dollar was around 100 000 cedis. From old prices you should therefore exclude 4 zeros. You shall also check that the driver has an Airport Taxi badge with his name on. I case the driver doesn’t know the place explain by using the given address and map.

Day 2

Accra is a modern and busy city with closer to two million inhabitants. On Sunday Robert will teach you the “skill” of finding your way in Accra. It’s not difficult when you have understood the procedures. Robert will tell you all about the “tro-tro’s” or “dropping taxis”. Remember Kaneshi market, everybody knows this market place. While teaching you Robert will take you on a sightseeing tour in Accra. (The cost for the transportation this first day in Accra is cowered by "Läs och Res".) You will be taken to James town, old colonial part of the town, the town centre with the Nkrumah Mausoleum, National Cultural Centre and the Independence Square. From there you visit a small carpentry in Teshi-Nungua where you will be shown around. Here coffins with very special designs are made, for example in the shape of a cacao bean. The tradition making designed coffins for the dead is about 40 years old and started with the positive economic development in Ghana in the 1960's. Since then the country’s economy has been going down but the demand on the coffins is still high. The shape of a coffin reflects the interests of the dead, occupation and so on. A fisherman may be buried in a coffin shaped like a tuna fish, a taxi driver in a Mercedes, a great hunter in a lion shaped coffin. But golden eagles are exclusively for headmen.

Day 3 to 4

You will go by bus to Akosombo by the Lake Volta, a huge hydroelectric dam. If you have started in time in the morning you will have time for the market in Akosombo. If you are interested you can pay a visit to the dam (the cost is not included). From Akosombo you will cross the artificial lake by boat (ferry) on an overnight (24 hours) trip going north to Yeiji. The boat leaves once a week on Mondays around 4 p.m. and is probably rather crowded. You'll have many fellow passengers whom you share a big hall with. You should be prepared that you will not have many hours sleep this night. The trip will rather be a good opportunity to get in contact with other passengers. Why not use the time to read about the country, ask your fellow passengers questions, teach the children a Swedish song, practise some phrases of Twi etc. Some food is served on the ferry but it is also good to buy some food items and water before you go on board.

Day 5

Ferry from Yeiji across Lake Volta to Makango. The trip takes about 40 minutes, then by tro-tro to Tamale (160 km) where you will stay over night. Now you realise that you have come to the northern part of Ghana with less facilities regarding means of transportation so be prepare that this trip can take time. On the way you will pass Salaga, where once slaves were traded at a big slave market. Tamale is the biggest town in northern Ghana. It is also a cultural centre and a melting pot of languages, religions and cultures. People here in the north are mainly Moslems but there is also a strong Christian minority.

Day 6 to 7

By hired bus to Achubunyor, a typical northern village where you will spend two days. You will be the guest of the headman and the assemblyman who are responsible for your security and welfare. On arrival you might be greeted in a traditional way at a libation ceremony. They have selected the families you will stay with and share the meals with. In this way you will get an idea what village life is like. The people here belong to different ethnic groups like fra-fra, gonja and dagomba. During your stay you will have access to an interpreter. Accommodation and food will be very simple. As people here in the north are mainly Muslims it means you have to dress decently. Houses in this area are usually round, made of clay with straw roofs. Each family occupies a collection of houses surrounded by a clay wall. If a man has several wives, each wife has a house of her own. Here in northern Ghana a special kind of oil is made from the Shea tree that grows everywhere. You will see how Shea butter and an alcoholic drink called pito are produced. Friday afternoon you continue to Mole National Park to join the late afternoon walk in the park once you arrive.

Day 8 to 9

Mole National Park covers an area larger than Gotland. Here you will have an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the African savannah. The park is well maintained and you will be able to stroll around freely with guides. The animal life is rich and you will most likely see deer, antelopes, wild boar, crocodile, monkeys and small groups of elephants. Monkeys might come to your doorway. There are also many kinds of birds here. In this part of the park there are no lions. To see animals you have to spend as much time as possible in the forest. Included in the price is two walks in Mole, one afternoon and one morning walk. All together ther is time for four walks. It is also possible to make a longer walk (extended tour) – ask the guide, we don’t recommend that you go alone. You have to pay an additional fee if you want to make longer walks. The best time to experience nature is early mornings and late afternoons. You will stay in the park. The hotel here has a good restaurant and a swimming pool. Day 9 you can make a last morning walk and then in the afternoon  you go back to Tamale to spend the night there. You will visit Larabanga Mosque on the way.

Day 10 to 13

You will now go by a modern air-condition bus to the south to Kumasi. It is a distance of about 400 kilometres but in this bus that will not be a problem even if it will take almost the whole day. Kumasi is an economical centre and the second biggest city in Ghana with some 800 000 inhabitants. Until 1874 Kumasi was the capital of the mighty Ashanti kingdom and the present king, Asanthene II lives here in a palace. In the Museum of Ashanti History the sacred chair of the Ashanti kings is on display. It is so sacred that not even kings may sit on it and it mustn’t touch the ground. In Kumasi there is one of the biggest markets in western Africa, the Kejatia Market. Almost everything you can imagine is for sale here. You will have three days in this interesting town. During these days you stay at a Guesthouse located in a typical new suburb not far from Kumasi University. The first day you will have the possibility to see the town and all the interesting sights in the town. In the evening you will be invited to families living in the suburb of Ayeduase where the guesthouse is located. Optionals in Kumasi area: During the second and third day you might want to find a transport to visit an Ashanti shrine outside of Kumasi. About 1,5 km outside Ejisu, a small junction town 20 km from Kumasi and along the Accra road, you will find an Ashanti abasomfie that is easy to get to. An abasomfie is a fetish temple dedicated to a local deity or Abasom. This temple, called Besease, has a 300-year-old tradition. The caretaker priestess lives nearby. You can also go to see the famous kente-weavers in Bonwire or go to Owabi National Park to see the beautiful butterflies. Or you go to Lake Bosumtwi. You can read more about these places and others in your Guidebook: Bradt page 273… Since the activities during these days will vary from person to person the cost is not included except the family visit.

Day 14

Now you turn south by bus to Tarkwa. Tarkwa is in the rain forest belt where gold has been mined, formally since 1877. Today gold is Ghana’s number one source of foreign revenue and Ghana is Africa’s largest gold exporter after South Africa. You will visit a gold mining area and see different ways of mining manually. The plans for your visit are as follows: Visit a big gold mine and see how they work. Visit the galamsay where the workers are ‘chipping’ gold. The word galamsay comes from “gather and sell”. It’s a very hard work but they earn more than an average worker. Maybe you can try some gold panning yourself.

Day 15 to 17

You continue to the south and the cost. You will spend the weekend on the beach at Butre. You will stay at a nice place close to the small fishing village located where the River Butre flows out in to the Atlantic Ocean.  Here you can relax on the beach, watch the fishermen working on their boats, made out of one piece of tree, or make small trips to interesting places: It is very nice to walk along the beach. You have kilometres after kilometres of beach to walk on, on the east side of Butre River. If you cross the river and walk to the west you can walk to the neighbouring villages: Busua a place with many tourist resorts. This beach is known as the best in Ghana (but that is because they don’t know Butre.) Further to Dixcove, a bigger fishing village/town with a famous fort – Fort Metal Cross. An early morning you can go on a canoe trip on the river. If you are lucky you might see some crocodiles. The Butre village itself with it’s old fort Batenstein (in ruins) is interesting. Here you can take drum lessons. It’s possible to make a day trip to Mzuleza, a small village on poles. (Cost connected to these suggestions is not included in the tour).

Day 18 to 19

By bus to Cape Coast where you will stay for a night. During this stay it will be possible to visit Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle. (Not included). Visiting these castles is a mowing experience. Especially Cape Coast Castle is interesting for us Scandinavians. During the guided tour around the castle you will see the dungeons where slaves were kept before being shipped overseas. The castle has Swedish connections. In 1653 Swedish engineers using slaves as workers constructed the Cape Coast Castle. It was named Carlosbourg. After the short Swedish period, the fort was Danish and Dutch before it finally got into the hands of the English. In the 18th century thousands of slaves from the interior of the continent were kept in the fort under horrible conditions before they were shipped overseas. The economy of Cape Coast was based on the slave trade until 1807 when the British parliament abolished trade in slaves. Today both Elmina and Cape Coast Castle are on UNESCO's world heritage list. Cape Coast is called the Oxford of Ghana. The UN secretary Kofi Annan went to school here, the Mfantsipim School. It's over 100 years old and the oldest secondary school in Ghana. You will also visit a palm oil factory belonging to a female businesswoman. Palm oil is the cheapest oil used for cooking. Here it is produced in a traditional way. For most low-income earners fish is the staple food and the fish is mostly fried in this kind of oil. In the afternoon on Wednesday you will go to Hans Cottage where you will stay for the last days on this your tour Ghana. But there are still many things to experience.

Day 20 to 21

By tro-tro to Kakum National Park (about 35 km north from Cape Coast). On the way you make a stop in Abrafo-Odumasi close to the park to visit a farm where cacao is produced. Until 1992 cacao was the most important export item of Ghana. The national park is set aside to protect the rain forest that is one of the best ones preserved in western Africa. You will make an early morning tour, the best time to see birds and monkeys. If you want to, it's possible to take a walk on a bridge suspended between the trees, 40 meter above ground, which means you can look into the rain forest canopy where the vegetation is dense. (The price for the walk is not included.) You will also one evening take a guided tour and by spotlight see animals and insects, active at night. Kakum is a very good place to see forest birds. You are in the rain forest so it might rain, especially between May and December, but the rain is warm. The humidity is about 90 %.

Day 22

From Hans Cottage you return by bus to Accra where you stay at the same hotel as during the first days. You now have the chance to spend another whole day i Accra and do all the thing you missed when you arrived. Not to mention some last shopping too. Now when you are familiar to the town you can move by your self. Accra is a very safe place. And the people you meet on the streets are so kind and helpful. Best of all, they speak English so it is easy to communicate with them. Even two persons from Ghana start to communicate with one another in English if they don’t know one another from before. During this day you can chose different activities. (The cost is at your own expense.) You might like to see more of Accra. Visit one of the many churches and experience a lively service with song and dance. Or you prefer to leave the town and visit the Aburi Botanical garden north from Accra. If you like Robert might arrange drum or dance lessons.

Day 23

Unfortunately this is the end and the last day on the tour. It is the day of departure for most of you.