Top Destinations To Visit in Ghana

Ready to know all about the top destinations to visit in Ghana? Lets go! Once called the Gold Coast, Ghana is considered one of the real success stories of Africa. Its capital city is Accra, the hub of entertainment and fun. This country proves that great things come in tiny packages. Ghana offers you quiet, gorgeous sandy beaches, rich cultures, vibrant towns, friendly people and a very detailed history. In this article, we’re going to let you in, on all the cool picturesque places you can visit in Ghana.

Where To Go

Labadi beach: Do you love to get away from it all sometimes? Labadi beach will feel like home to you. Accra is home to Labadi beach; a top choice for tourists and locals as they get to frolic in the heat here, party hard, go horseback riding on the beach and do just about everything.

Cape Coast Castle: The powerful, whitewashed castle is located at the Cape Coast, overlooking the harbor. With a museum on the first floor, a tour guide tells stories of the history of slave trade in Ghana and West Africa. The Cape Coast castle and its sibling, Elmina castle are located about 13kms apart. They were once one of the most important slave-holding locations in the world. 30,000 slaves are said to have passed through Elmina castle. Explore the dim, dusty dungeons, where slaves had to wait for weeks to know their fate.

Kejetia Market: Kente materials, Ashanti sandals, food, jewelry, arts, crafts and more are available at the Kumasi Central Market. An impressive open-air market in the city of Kumasi, the capital of Ashanti. From afar, Kejetia Market appears like an alien mothership crashed in Kumasi’s center. This vast market’s rusting tin roofs has 11,000 stalls and at least four times as many people working here. It is perfectly fine to walk around the market by yourself: few visitors come here and shopkeepers will be very delighted to attend to you. If you feel the need to, you can get a guide to help you negotiate with vendors.

Independence square : also known as black star square is the place where Ghana holds its national celebrations. The monument has a five-pointed star that represents Africa in general particularly Ghana. “Freedom and justice” is also inscribed on the monument.

Aburi Botanical Gardens: If you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy nature and the beauty it offers, Aburi gardens is the place to be. This garden houses the very fascinating tree of life: a tree carved into forms of multiple people. You should see it for yourself!

Jamestown: one of the oldest districts of Accra, Ghana. Situated directly east of the Korle Lagoon, Jamestown and Usshertown. For a clear view of the city and the busy, vibrant fishing port, get to the top of the lighthouse as Jamestown has a lot of elegant colonial homes, clapboard houses and corrugated iron shacks . In Jamestown, you will also find the outstanding Jamestown Café and accompanying gallery for entertainment.

Other places to visit are Wli waterfalls in the Volta region, which is the highest waterfalls in West Africa. It has the most mesmerizing view so its definitely a must-see. However, you can also visit the Akosombo dam and Lake Volta to sail on one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.

Foods To Try

Waakye: pronounced as wah-chay, this is a popular food choice for both locals and tourists. Waakye is a mixture of rice and beans (usually black eyed peas or cow beans). Eaten with stew, waakye is a true reflection of Ghanaians’ love for variety.

Banku and Tilapia : Banku is a traditional Ghanaian food that is very popular around the country. Made of corn flour and cassava flour and usually eaten with various stews and soups.

Jollof rice: This meal is very popular across West Africa. It originated from Senegal. Its basically rice boiled in tomato sauce. Every West African country has created a twist to theirs and Ghana is no exception. Enjoy a plate of Ghana Jollof to tickle your taste bud with a bunch of flavors.

Kelewele: its a popular street food made of fried plantain seasoned with spices: ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper etc. Kelewele can be found in food stalls run by locals around the country.

Languages Spoken

Ghana’s lingua franca is English. Although, a lot of Ghanaians speak a lot of their traditional languages like Ga, Twi, Ewe and so many more. To earn the trust of the locals, you can speak pidgin English as an alternative to English.

Currency

Ghana’s official currency is the Ghanaian Cedis.

Weather

Ghana’s weather is typically tropical all year round. Ghana has two main seasons: wet and dry. It can get very humid so make sure to get prepared. Harmattan period is usually from December – March.

To find out more about planning a trip to Ghana seamlessly, contact us at Wakanow.