10D9N Deep Ghana Immersion

Upon landing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, situated on the beautiful gold coast of Western Africa, look out for the Ashanti African Tours sign as you exit the main terminal building after passing through customs. Make yourself known to your expert local guides, who will handle your luggage and accompany you for the full duration of your time in Ghana. Board your private air-conditioned vehicle to transfer directly to your Accra accommodation. After check-in, your guide will offer a warm Akwaaba (welcome) and conduct a comprehensive trip briefing. You can enjoy an evening meal at the hotel restaurant while acclimatizing to the vibrant rhythms of West Africa.

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Enjoy a relaxed morning to let the local rush-hour traffic pass before setting off to explore Accra. We skip or have a light breakfast at the hotel to experience authentic street food at the bustling Makola Market, where locals trade everything from herbal remedies, fabrics, beads, and jewelry to electronics. Next, we visit the beachside Artist Alliance Gallery to appreciate traditional and contemporary African art, paintings, and fabrics. We then tour the “Fantasy Coffins” workshop in Teshie Nungua to see master carvers sculpt elaborate coffins shaped like cars, cocoa pods, or airplanes, celebrating the local belief that the departed move dynamically into another world. In the afternoon, we pass Black Star Square to reach Independence Square and view the eternal flame of African liberation lit by Kwame Nkrumah in 1961. We visit the marble Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum, before heading to downtown Jamestown—one of Accra’s oldest suburbs—for a community walking tour. We take in the 1871 British lighthouse, Fort James, and Brazilian stone houses built by returned free enslaved Africans. We dedicate our evening to meeting locals using boxing to uplift the youth, viewing a training session or a sponsored beachside boxing show, followed by a meal and music at a neighborhood street bar.

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Following breakfast, check out of your hotel and travel north toward the Ashanti Region, stopping first in Krobo. The Krobo people are globally renowned for traditional bead jewelry, and we will spend a few hours inside a family compound learning the ancient process of crushing, molding, and firing glass to create custom designs. Our overland journey then ascends into the beautiful Akuapem hills to tour the historic 1890 Aburi Botanical Gardens, where your guide will point out indigenous flora and rare butterflies. We visit the relaxed Aburi craft village to watch generational woodcarvers sculpt traditional African drums and stools while explaining their geometric symbolic meanings. After a local lunch in Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Region, we explore its famous traditional bead market to see antique and modern designs. We complete our drive to Kumasi, home of the powerful Ashanti Empire, checking into our hotel with free leisure time to unwind.

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Today features a journey back in time through Ashanti history, visiting ancestral communities famous for cloth design before meeting young modern fashion designers. Our first stop is Adanwomasie, the birthplace of rich, colorful Kente cloth, where we walk the community to interact with generational weaving families. We view their traditional wooden looms—unchanged for centuries—and join a hands-on workshop to try weaving Kente fabric ourselves. Next, we visit Ntonso, the historic home of Adinkra cloth, where traditional symbols are carved from calabash shells and stamped onto fabric using natural dyes made from tree bark. We learn the meanings behind these symbols and stamp our own custom strip of Adinkra cloth. For lunch, we visit Jofel, a highly successful restaurant owned by a local female entrepreneur. In the afternoon, we explore Adum, the commercial center of Kumasi, before walking through the labyrinth of closely nestled stalls at Kejetia Market—the largest outdoor market in West Africa—to experience true local commerce. Spend the evening resting or heading into town for local music.

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We set off early after breakfast to visit the Manhyia Palace Museum, the historic official home of the Asantehene (King of the Ashanti). This tour offers a fascinating firsthand look at the legacy, laws, and culture of the powerful Asanteman Kingdom. From there, we drive south to the remote rainforest villages of Bonkro and Breku, where our local chef will prepare an authentic village lunch. Our company is deeply bonded to these communities, working together to protect their surrounding Upper Guinea Rainforest, home to endangered birds and mammals like the Long-tailed Pangolin. We visit the school built by our ethical tourism fund, which provides daily education to nearly 300 children who previously had no access to schooling. We meet representatives of the Kuapa Kokoo Fair-Trade Cooperative—cocoa farmers who own 44% of the famous Divine Chocolate brand. We walk out into a local cocoa farm with a farming family to see the harvesting process, taste raw cocoa fruit, and learn how the pods are recycled into soap. We conclude the afternoon by planting 3 native trees per participant to directly offset your travel carbon footprint, before enjoying a peaceful evening experiencing authentic village life.

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Wake up to a peaceful morning in the village and sit down for a relaxed breakfast to plan your day’s culinary program. Today is dedicated entirely to community immersion, beginning with an active local cooking lesson. Our chef will give you a list of ingredients and budget money, guiding you through the local market to practice bartering and select fresh produce for dinner. We head back to the village to learn how to prepare your favorite Ghanaian dishes. If you prefer alternative activities, you can assist locals in producing Gari (a local staple delicacy), which involves harvesting cassava from the farms, hauling it to the community mill, and prepping it for sale. Alternatively, you can help plant native saplings for our reforestation initiative, paint local school facilities, or assist at the community palm oil refinery to see how oil is extracted. Our evening is spent gathering around an open bonfire, listening to traditional folklore, sharing stories, and mixing with the villagers.

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We bid farewell to our friends in the village after breakfast and travel south toward Elmina, a coastal town originally named by the Portuguese due to the abundance of gold. En route, we stop at Assin Manso, a profound transit hub along the enslaved African trade routes. Here, we visit the Ndonkor Nsuo (Enslaved African River), where captured ancestors were physically assessed and forced to take their final bath after walking hundreds of kilometers in chains before being marched to coastal dungeons. We see the re-internment graves of returned ancestors before continuing to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Cape Coast Castle. We spend the afternoon on an emotional guided historical journey through the dark stone dungeons that held thousands captive, walking through the infamous “Door of No Return”. We break for lunch at the Baobab Children Foundation, a non-formal vocational school that empowers marginalized youth and children with disabilities. Enjoy health-conscious meals prepared by catering students and browse their workshop store for organic items, before checking into your beachfront resort in Elmina to relax.

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Wake up early to catch a spectacular sunrise and enjoy breakfast on the beachfront before heading to Kakum National Park, a protected semi-deciduous Upper Guinea Rainforest. The highlight of the morning is walking across the world-famous canopy walkway, consisting of 7 suspended rope bridges slung 40 meters (120 feet) above the forest floor. Marvel at the panoramic views stretching across the jungle canopy from the platforms attached to giant emerging trees. After browsing the wildlife information center, we visit the adjacent International Stingless Bee Project to see native hives, taste medicinal honey, and walk the butterfly garden. We then tour a local farm to observe traditional uses of the palm tree. You will see how palm trees are tapped to create low-alcohol palm wine (3% proof) and watch distillers process it into Akpeteshi—a hard local gin averaging 70% proof. We enjoy lunch at Han’s Cottage Botel, uniquely built over a tropical lake filled with Nile crocodiles, before returning to your beachfront hotel for a restful afternoon and an evening in town.

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Spend a relaxing morning enjoying the beach front and hotel facilities. After lunch, we venture into the bustling fishing town of Elmina to explore the local fish market and meet traditional wooden boat builders. These artisans continue to build large ocean-going vessels using methods and hand tools unchanged for centuries. Watch hundreds of colorful pirogues return to the harbor with their daily catch, soaking up the atmosphere of a West African fishing port. We then take a historical tour of Elmina Castle (Castle of St. George), a UNESCO World Heritage site built by the Portuguese in 1482, making it the oldest colonial building in sub-Saharan Africa. In the evening, we head to the pristine sands of Brenu Akyinim for an open beachfront bonfire dinner. We are joined on the sand by a traditional Ghanaian drumming and dance troupe for a live performance. Learn the ancestral stories behind the dances, try your hand at the drums, and enjoy your final night overlooking the Gold Coast.

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Enjoy a final morning at your beachfront resort to swim or walk the shoreline. Before lunch, your guide will help collect and load your luggage into the vehicle. Enjoy a farewell lunch overlooking the ocean before driving back toward Accra. Along the coastal road, we stop in the town of Abandze to tour Fort Amsterdam, the first fort constructed by the British between 1631 and 1638, which later housed the first slave prison on the Gold Coast. Learn about its bloody capture by the Dutch in 1665 and its eventual restoration in 1951. Upon arriving in Accra, we make a brief stop at the modern Accra Mall for last-minute souvenir shopping. We enjoy an early evening meal at a locally owned restaurant to reflect on our journey together, before our team transfers you directly to Kotoka International Airport for your departure flight.

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