Savalou
Natitingou
Sokode
This primarily Muslim village in the middle of the country is known for the quality of its leather crafts. It's also known for a daring ceremony called Gadawou, or "Dance of the Sword," during which celebrants cut themselves with knives or swords and apparently feel no pain. 150 mi/240 km north of Lome.
Kpalime
Its high altitude gives Kpalime, Togo, a mild climate and pleasant scenery. Although accommodations are rough in Kpalime, nearby plantations of cocoa, coffee and tea are worth touring.
The craft center sells batik fabric decorated with local motifs. More handicrafts can be found at the Kloto Craft Center in nearby Kloto, where sculptors make carvings from mahogany, teak and ebony.
Because of the thick vegetation and cooler climate, hiking the area around Kpalime is popular. The area is also famous for its spectacular butterflies. One much-traveled route involves taking a taxi from Kpalime to the Campement de Kloto. From the campement (only 7.5 mi/12 km northwest of Kpalime) you can hike up Mount Kloto (2,430 ft/741 m), which overlooks neighboring Ghana.
Kpalime (pah-lee-MAY) is 70 mi/115 km northwest of Lome.
Lomé
Lome, capital of West African republic Togo, is the country’s principal administrative, transport, and economic center. It is a city divided between Togo and its western neighbor, Ghana. Most of Togo’s international trade passes through the city’s port. Its huge market, one of the biggest in Francophone Africa, is home to the famous "mercedes-ladies", those formidable queens of the wholesale cloth trade.
Brenu Achinum
Ankasa
Bonkro
Akosombo
Located in the south of Ghana, Akosombo is translated to “chain of rocks”. This translation fits the town perfectly, because it is surrounded by mountains that virtually form a chain around Akosombo.
Ouidah
Once one of Africa's largest slave-trading centers, the 2.5-mi/4-km path from Ouidah to a slave ship that was walked by so many can still be followed. Along the way, there is a memorial to those who passed there before you. Through the diaspora, this eerie colonial town is responsible for exporting vodou around the world. There are a number of important sites related to the religion throughout the town. The Temple des Pythons is a bit of a tourist trap where you can wrap the reptiles around your neck or waist. Snakes represent the god Da, or Dan, who is the bringer of fertility and life.
The restored 18th-century slave fort, Sao Joao Batista, houses a museum of vodou. There's a large vodou-fetish market behind it. On the edge of town is the sacred forest of Kpasse, where some of the trees are said to be former Kings and others are said to have predicted who the new King of Ouidah should be. Statues of vodou divinities have been added to the forest's statuary. 20 mi/30 km west of Cotonou.
Elmina
Kumasi
Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti (also known as Asante) region and the "Garden City of West Africa." As you might infer from its nickname, it's a pleasant place to visit—plan to stay for two nights—though these days it might more accurately be dubbed the country's traffic-jam capital. Kumasi lies 125 mi/200 km northwest of Accra.
See the Ghana National Cultural Centre, where artisans demonstrate traditional handicrafts such as weaving, bronze casting and the making of palm wine. They also manufacture and display royal patterns of kente cloth. (A new pattern is designed for each chief.)
Across from the center is the Okomfo Anokye Sword Hilt, a buried sword that marks the spot where the Ashanti's mythical Golden Stool descended from the heavens. The best time to visit the Manhyia Palace, ceremonial home of the Asantehene (Ashanti king), is every sixth Saturday after around 10:30 am, when this powerful figure holds audience at a tributary festival called the Adae. Souvenir hunters should head for the nearby Kejetia Market—it's the largest in Ghana, and goods are often cheaper there than in Accra.
Rural Ashanti is rich in sites worth visiting as a day or overnight trip out of Kumasi. Culturally, the pick of these are the 10 remaining 19th-century traditional shrines (Abosomfie) that collectively stand as one of Ghana's two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most accessible of these is the Besease Shrine, which lies in Ejisu, some 12 mi/20 km south of Kumasi and is still in active use. Other easily accessed shrines include Atia Kusia Kwame in Edwenase and Aduko Jachie in the village of the same name.
For wildlife lovers, the Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary on the banks of the eponymous reservoir 10 mi/16 km from Kumasi is a good place to see monkeys and forest birds. Birds and butterflies are the main attraction of the more southerly Bobiri Forest Reserve, which is serviced by a pleasantly rustic forestry resthouse. However, the natural highlight of the Ashanti region is undoubtedly Lake Bosumtwi, which lies in the base of an ancient crater created by a meteorite impact and is held sacred by the people of Ashanti.
Accra
Accra, capital and largest city of Ghana, is a port with considerable industry, including the manufacture of textiles, processed food, and building materials. Government activities, tourism, and handicraft production are also important to the city's economic base. A sprawling city, Accra presents a varied appearance, with buildings of modern, colonial, and traditional African architecture.
This primarily Muslim village in the middle of the country is known for the quality of its leather crafts. It's also known for a daring ceremony called Gadawou, or "Dance of the Sword," during which celebrants cut themselves with knives or swords and apparently feel no pain. 150 mi/240 km north of Lome.
Its high altitude gives Kpalime, Togo, a mild climate and pleasant scenery. Although accommodations are rough in Kpalime, nearby plantations of cocoa, coffee and tea are worth touring.
The craft center sells batik fabric decorated with local motifs. More handicrafts can be found at the Kloto Craft Center in nearby Kloto, where sculptors make carvings from mahogany, teak and ebony.
Because of the thick vegetation and cooler climate, hiking the area around Kpalime is popular. The area is also famous for its spectacular butterflies. One much-traveled route involves taking a taxi from Kpalime to the Campement de Kloto. From the campement (only 7.5 mi/12 km northwest of Kpalime) you can hike up Mount Kloto (2,430 ft/741 m), which overlooks neighboring Ghana.
Kpalime (pah-lee-MAY) is 70 mi/115 km northwest of Lome.
Lome, capital of West African republic Togo, is the country’s principal administrative, transport, and economic center. It is a city divided between Togo and its western neighbor, Ghana. Most of Togo’s international trade passes through the city’s port. Its huge market, one of the biggest in Francophone Africa, is home to the famous "mercedes-ladies", those formidable queens of the wholesale cloth trade.
Located in the south of Ghana, Akosombo is translated to “chain of rocks”. This translation fits the town perfectly, because it is surrounded by mountains that virtually form a chain around Akosombo.
Once one of Africa's largest slave-trading centers, the 2.5-mi/4-km path from Ouidah to a slave ship that was walked by so many can still be followed. Along the way, there is a memorial to those who passed there before you. Through the diaspora, this eerie colonial town is responsible for exporting vodou around the world. There are a number of important sites related to the religion throughout the town. The Temple des Pythons is a bit of a tourist trap where you can wrap the reptiles around your neck or waist. Snakes represent the god Da, or Dan, who is the bringer of fertility and life.
The restored 18th-century slave fort, Sao Joao Batista, houses a museum of vodou. There's a large vodou-fetish market behind it. On the edge of town is the sacred forest of Kpasse, where some of the trees are said to be former Kings and others are said to have predicted who the new King of Ouidah should be. Statues of vodou divinities have been added to the forest's statuary. 20 mi/30 km west of Cotonou.
Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti (also known as Asante) region and the "Garden City of West Africa." As you might infer from its nickname, it's a pleasant place to visit—plan to stay for two nights—though these days it might more accurately be dubbed the country's traffic-jam capital. Kumasi lies 125 mi/200 km northwest of Accra.
See the Ghana National Cultural Centre, where artisans demonstrate traditional handicrafts such as weaving, bronze casting and the making of palm wine. They also manufacture and display royal patterns of kente cloth. (A new pattern is designed for each chief.)
Across from the center is the Okomfo Anokye Sword Hilt, a buried sword that marks the spot where the Ashanti's mythical Golden Stool descended from the heavens. The best time to visit the Manhyia Palace, ceremonial home of the Asantehene (Ashanti king), is every sixth Saturday after around 10:30 am, when this powerful figure holds audience at a tributary festival called the Adae. Souvenir hunters should head for the nearby Kejetia Market—it's the largest in Ghana, and goods are often cheaper there than in Accra.
Rural Ashanti is rich in sites worth visiting as a day or overnight trip out of Kumasi. Culturally, the pick of these are the 10 remaining 19th-century traditional shrines (Abosomfie) that collectively stand as one of Ghana's two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most accessible of these is the Besease Shrine, which lies in Ejisu, some 12 mi/20 km south of Kumasi and is still in active use. Other easily accessed shrines include Atia Kusia Kwame in Edwenase and Aduko Jachie in the village of the same name.
For wildlife lovers, the Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary on the banks of the eponymous reservoir 10 mi/16 km from Kumasi is a good place to see monkeys and forest birds. Birds and butterflies are the main attraction of the more southerly Bobiri Forest Reserve, which is serviced by a pleasantly rustic forestry resthouse. However, the natural highlight of the Ashanti region is undoubtedly Lake Bosumtwi, which lies in the base of an ancient crater created by a meteorite impact and is held sacred by the people of Ashanti.
Accra, capital and largest city of Ghana, is a port with considerable industry, including the manufacture of textiles, processed food, and building materials. Government activities, tourism, and handicraft production are also important to the city's economic base. A sprawling city, Accra presents a varied appearance, with buildings of modern, colonial, and traditional African architecture.
