Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Coast to Savanna
Rainforest and lagoon in the south, transitional woodland through the middle, savanna at Mole.
West Africa · Afrinkong
Ghana
The forts, the forest and the highlife.
The most straightforward country in West Africa to travel, with the Atlantic slave forts of the coast, the Ashanti kingdom at Kumasi, Mole's elephants in the north, and a music scene worth planning around.
Where it is
Africa · West Africa · Ghana
The land in brief
- Spans
- 470 km E–W, 720 km N–S
- Latitude
- 11°N to 5°N
- Borders
- 3 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- The dry season, and the harmattan haze that comes with it in January.
Also in West Africa
BeninWhere vodun comes from, and the palaces of DahomeyBurkina FasoThe best cinema and the best masks in West AfricaCôte d'IvoireLagoons, forest and the AtlanticThe GambiaA river with a country around itGuinea-BissauThe Bijagos, and eighty-eight islands
Compare Ghana with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The dry season, and the harmattan haze that comes with it in January.
01Highlights
What Ghana is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Mole and Ankasa
Elephants that walk into the camp waterhole at Mole, and forest elephants at Ankasa.
Mountains
The Akwapim and Afadja
Afadjato is 885 metres and the highest point, walkable in a morning from Liati Wote.
Busua and Cape Three Points
Surf at Busua, and the point where the country runs out into the Gulf of Guinea.
Forests & Rainforest
Kakum
Rainforest with a canopy walkway thirty metres up, strung between seven emergent trees.
Culture
Ashanti
A kingdom that fought the British to a standstill, and still keeps its own court at Kumasi.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Ghana with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Coast to SavannaRainforest and lagoon in the south, transitional woodland through the middle, savanna at Mole.
- The Akwapim and AfadjaAfadjato is 885 metres and the highest point, walkable in a morning from Liati Wote.
- WliThe highest falls in West Africa, dropping out of forest on the Togo border, with bats overhead.
- Lake VoltaThe largest reservoir on earth by surface area, with ferries that take a full day to cross it.
- Busua and Cape Three PointsSurf at Busua, and the point where the country runs out into the Gulf of Guinea.
- KakumRainforest with a canopy walkway thirty metres up, strung between seven emergent trees.
Wildlife
- Mole and AnkasaElephants that walk into the camp waterhole at Mole, and forest elephants at Ankasa.
- Walking Safari at MoleOne of the few parks in West Africa where the game drive is done on foot, with an armed ranger.
- Community ForestThe Wechiau hippo sanctuary and the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary, both village-run.
- Surf, Hike, PaddleBusua's breaks, the Volta hills, and canoes on the lake at Dodi.
People and culture
- AshantiA kingdom that fought the British to a standstill, and still keeps its own court at Kumasi.
- The Ewe and the DagombaKente weaving in Volta and Ashanti, and the Dagbon drumming traditions of the north.
- Homowo and Chale WoteHomowo in Accra in August, and the Chale Wote street art festival in Jamestown.
- Kente and AdinkraKente woven in strips at Bonwire, and adinkra symbols stamped by hand at Ntonso.
- Jollof, Banku and Grilled TilapiaThe jollof argument is unwinnable; the tilapia off the grill with banku settles it.
- Easy First AfricaEnglish-speaking, short distances, and about as gentle an introduction as the continent offers.
- Chop Bars and TrotrosThe country runs on shared minibuses and roadside kitchens, and both are worth using.
Places
- Accra and KumasiAccra on the Atlantic, and Kumasi's Kejetia — one of the largest markets in West Africa.
- Posuban and Colonial CoastThe Fante posuban shrines, and the trading architecture strung along the coast road.
- The Slave FortsCape Coast and Elmina — the doors of no return, kept as they were and not softened.
- The Year of ReturnGhana asked the diaspora to come back, and a great many people did.
Ways to travel
- Canopy, Surf and LakeThe Kakum walkway, Busua's beach breaks, and hiking the Volta hills to the Togo border.
- Lodges on the WaterSmall lodges above the beach at Busua and Axim, and the Mole escarpment rooms over the waterhole.
- Colour EverywhereKente, market cloth and painted trotros — nothing here is any colour by accident.
- NzulezoA village built entirely on stilts over Lake Tandane, reached only by canoe.
03Why go
The case for Ghana.
Why Visit This Country
The Gentle Introduction
English, good roads, a short flight from Europe, and everything within a day's drive.
Hidden Gems
Nzulezo
A village built entirely on stilts over Lake Tandane, reached only by canoe.
Eco Tourism
Community Forest
The Wechiau hippo sanctuary and the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary, both village-run.
Heritage
The Year of Return
Ghana asked the diaspora to come back, and a great many people did.
04Go deeper
All of Ghana, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Ghana starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.