Ghana: Castles, Ashanti and Canopy at the Gateway to Africa

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Ghana is the perfect gateway to West Africa: stable, anglophone and brimming with history. This itinerary begins in Accra, where the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum pays tribute to the father of African independence, and the Jamestown fishing neighborhood reveals everyday life alongside the colonial forts. The route heads down the coast to Cape Coast and Elmina, two slave castles declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. No words can prepare you for the emotion of walking through the dungeons where millions of Africans were imprisoned before the voyage of no return to the Americas. As a vital counterpoint, Kakum National Park offers a canopy walk suspended 40 meters above the rainforest floor. The journey culminates in Kumasi, spiritual capital of the Ashanti Empire: the Manhyia Palace Museum, the largest central market in West Africa and the artisan villages of Bonwire (kente loom) and Ntonso (adinkra stamping). Eight days of painful history and vibrant hope in the heart of the Gulf of Guinea.