Highlights of Ghana: Accra, the Cape Coast Castles & Ashanti Kumasi

Today you explore lively Accra, one of the most energetic and welcoming cities in West Africa. You visit the vast Independence Square (Black Star Square), with its triumphal Independence Arch and eternal flame, and the moving Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, where the father of Ghanaian independence and Pan-Africanism lies at rest amid beautiful gardens and fountains, with a museum telling his story. You plunge into the teeming Makola Market, a riot of colour, cloth, food and trade, and take in the historic seafront district of Jamestown, with its old lighthouse, fishing harbour and vibrant street life. The energy and warmth of the city are captivating. As the day ends, you return to your hotel, having felt the pulse of the capital. This evening, perhaps sample Accra's famous nightlife and highlife music. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey west along the coast to Cape Coast.

Today you journey west along the coast to Cape Coast, the heart of Ghana's moving history. You travel through fishing towns and palm-fringed coast to Elmina, where you visit St George's Castle, the oldest European building in sub-Saharan Africa, built by the Portuguese in 1482 and later a centre of the transatlantic slave trade. On a guided tour you walk through the courtyards, the governor's rooms and the dark, airless dungeons where enslaved Africans were held, and stand at its own Door of No Return, a place of deep reflection above the crashing surf and the colourful fishing harbour of Elmina below. The history is harrowing and profoundly important. As the day ends, you settle into your accommodation on the Cape Coast, moved by what you have seen. This evening, savour the coast and reflect. Rest well.

Today combines profound history with the thrill of the rainforest. In the morning you visit Cape Coast Castle, a great white fortress above the sea and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a guided tour that leads through the grim slave dungeons, the condemned cell and, finally, the Door of No Return, the threshold through which countless enslaved Africans passed to the waiting ships, a place of profound silence and reflection, especially powerful for those tracing their roots. The excellent museum tells the wider story. In the afternoon you drive inland to Kakum National Park, where you walk the famous canopy walkway, a series of rope bridges suspended high above the rainforest floor with breathtaking views over the green treetops. As the day ends, you return to the coast, moved and exhilarated. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to Ashanti Kumasi.

Today you journey inland to Kumasi, the proud heart of the Ashanti kingdom. You leave the coast and travel north through rolling green country, cocoa farms and busy market towns, a scenic drive into the heartland of Ghana. Along the way you take in the changing landscapes and lively roadside life, perhaps stopping at a village or craft workshop, and learn from your guide about the history and traditions of the powerful Ashanti (Asante) kingdom that once dominated this region. You arrive in Kumasi, the cultural capital of Ghana, a proud, energetic city steeped in royal tradition and surrounded by forested hills. As the day ends, you settle into your hotel in Kumasi, ready to explore the Ashanti heartland. This evening, savour the atmosphere of the Garden City and Ghanaian cuisine. Rest well, for tomorrow you discover the royal palace and vast market of Kumasi.

Today you explore Kumasi, the proud heart of the Ashanti kingdom. You visit the Manhyia Palace, seat of the Asantehene, the Ashanti king, with its fascinating museum telling the story of the powerful kingdom, its kings and its golden regalia, and the legend of the sacred Golden Stool said to house the soul of the Ashanti nation. You take in the National Cultural Centre, with its craft workshops, museum and displays of drumming, dancing and weaving. Then you plunge into the astonishing Kejetia (Central) Market, one of the largest in West Africa, a vast, teeming labyrinth of thousands of stalls selling cloth, food, crafts, beads and everything imaginable, a dizzying, colourful sensory feast. The royal history and vibrant energy are captivating. As the day ends, you return to your hotel, immersed in Ashanti culture. Rest well, for tomorrow you visit the famous kente weavers.

Today you discover the famous crafts of the Ashanti villages around Kumasi. At Bonwire, the home of kente, you watch master weavers working narrow looms with astonishing skill, creating the dazzling, richly patterned kente cloth, once reserved for royalty, whose every colour and geometric motif carries meaning, and you can try the loom yourself and buy genuine, handwoven cloth. At Ntonso you see adinkra cloth being stamped with symbolic designs using natural dyes, each symbol carrying a proverb or meaning, and at Ahwiaa, the woodcarvers' village, skilled artisans shape traditional stools, masks and figures. You might also visit Lake Bosomtwe, a serene crater lake sacred to the Ashanti. The colour, skill and living heritage are captivating. As the day ends, you return to Kumasi with handmade treasures and new understanding. This evening, savour the Garden City. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey back towards Accra.

Today you journey back to Accra, reflecting on the riches of your journey. You leave Kumasi and travel south through the green heartland of Ghana, cocoa country and busy market towns, arriving back in the lively capital. Depending on timing, you may enjoy some final sightseeing or shopping in Accra, perhaps browsing the artisan stalls of the Arts Centre for crafts, beads, carvings and kente, or relaxing at your hotel. You reflect on the moving history of the coast, the thrill of the rainforest and the royal culture of Ashanti that you have experienced. As the day ends, you settle back into Accra for your final night. This evening, savour a farewell dinner and, perhaps, one last taste of Accra's famous highlife and nightlife, reflecting on the beautiful journey you have made across Ghana. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow, carrying warm memories.

After a final morning in lively Accra, perhaps some last-minute souvenir shopping for kente, beads and crafts, or a relaxed breakfast, you are transferred to Kotoka International Airport for your onward international departure. You leave having experienced the very best of Ghana, lively Accra with its Independence Square and Nkrumah memorial, the profoundly moving slave-trade castles of Cape Coast and Elmina and the Door of No Return, the thrilling canopy walkway of Kakum's rainforest, and the royal traditions, vast market and kente weavers of Ashanti Kumasi, all warmed by genuine Ghanaian hospitality. The images stay vivid long after you land, the eternal flame at Independence Square, the silent dungeons and the Door of No Return, the swaying canopy walk high in the rainforest, and the dazzling colours of Bonwire kente. Ghana offers history, culture, adventure and heartfelt warmth in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to this welcoming land.