TOUR CODE: WA – BEN/TG/GHA02
11 Days Trip to Benin, Togo and Ghana.
The Highlight of this trip includes Rubbing shoulders with the chiefs of Kumasi and the King of Ashanti at the Akwasidae Festival at Manhyia Palace, or, watch voodoo performances during the Voodoo Festival in Ouidah, Cross Lake Togo and feel the history of Togoville in its palaces, churches and the voodoo fetish stalls lining the streets, Discover Ghana – with its ancient to modern history – in the capital of Accra, Visit the atmospheric St George’s Castle and unearth the nation’s haunting history of slavery.
Day One: Cotonou
On your arrival at the airport in Benin, The guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will welcome you and then transfer you to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day Two: Ouidah
This morning after breakfast, drive to the lake village of Ganvie. Here you’ll take a pirogue, a traditional boat used by West African fishermen, and be guided out on Lake Nokoue to visit the stilt village and learn about how the ‘water men’ as they are known fish to support their community. From here you’ll make the hour-long journey to Ouidah for the next two nights.
Day Three: Ouidah
After breakfast you will head out on a guided city tour of Ouidah, the historic centre of voodooism in Benin. The tour includes a visit to the History Museum, the Avenue d’Esclaves as well as many other notable sites. It will end with a traditional voodoo dance performance, a ritual used to call on or pray to spirits. The rest of your day and evening will be free to relax in Ouidah.
Day Four: Lome
Today, you will cross the border into Togo and make the five-hour journey to Lome via Lake Togo. On arrival at the lake, you will board a boat to visit Togoville, a historic town renowned for its royal palace and colonial church. It was here that voodoo practitioners were taken before they were transported to Haiti as slaves. There’s still a strong voodoo influence in the town today, with plenty of fetish stalls dotted throughout the streets. Afterwards continue to Lome, the capital of Togo, one of Africa’s smallest countries. This city was once a colony of the British, Germans and French, and is one of the few capitals to sit on a border with another country. This has lead to the development of a unique lifestyle and architecture, a cross between people, trades and cultures.
Day Five: Accra
On this day, you will depart Lome and drive for about six hours west into Ghana and the capital, Accra. In the afternoon, take a walking tour through the fishing village of Jamestown, and Accra’s oldest district, visit the site where Ghana’s first president and one of its founding fathers declared independence in 1957. The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park was erected in memory of both.
Day Six: Kumasi
Depart Accra and drive inland for about six hours to the ‘Garden City’ of Kumasi. This one-time capital of a powerful kingdom is nicknamed for its beautiful flora. The city is the heart of Ashanti history and is seen as the home of Ghanaian culture. According to legend it was in Kumasi that the Priest Okomfo Anokye called down a Golden Stool (containing the spirit of the people) from Heaven and then drove an irremovable sword into the ground as a symbol of Ashanti unity. This resulted in Ashanti independence from a rival state. After lunch visit the nearby Kejetia Market, the largest open-air market in West Africa. Here you’ll be able to buy a variety of knick-knacks, clothes, jewellery and Ghanaian food.
Day Seven: Kumasi
Today you will visit the museum of the palace, which sits close to the current royal residence. It was built by the British in 1925 and was home to the Ashanti Kings until 1974. In the museum you will learn about the functions of each room and see artefacts belonging to the kings. Then continue with visits to nearby villages, where you will meet talented artisans, weavers of Ghana’s beautiful kente cloth and sculptors of wood carvings.
Day Eight: Elmina
This drive to Elmina will take about seven hours, and on the way, you will stop at a cocoa plantation to learn about how this global commodity is grown and harvested. Once you’ve checked into your hotel, enjoy a free evening to explore the fishing port town or relax on the beach after your travels.
Day Nine: Anomabo Beach
After breakfast you will visit St George’s Castle. The fortification is one of 20 or so ‘slave castles’ that were built along the shoreline of the Gold Coast – the former name of modern-day Ghana. Built between the 15th and 18th centuries by European trading powers, these castles became the point from which an estimated 12 million Africans were shipped to the Americas. Walk the atmospheric grounds of the castle, past the oppressive dungeons where thousands of slaves were kept while officers lived in light and spacious quarters above, and through to a small door – the ‘Door of No Return’. Here slaves left the fort and were put on to ships. for many the sight across the sea was their final image of home. Continue to explore this busy little fishing town situated on a narrow peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean by taking a walking tour and discover the Pursubans animist (the traditional religion of Ghana) shrines. The drive to the Anomabo Beach for Dinner and overnight.
Day Ten: Anomabo Beach
Today is a free day to relax at this beautiful beach resort or to take an optional day trip to the Cape Coast. In what was the centre of British administration and capital of the Gold Cost between 1700 and 1877, Cape Coast is awash with colonial architecture. However, this easy-going fishing town is still haunted by the ghosts of the brutal slave trade and is a fascinating cultural experience.
Day Eleve: Accra
After a relaxed breakfast head back to Accra where you will be taken to the airport to connect to your international flight back home.
Trip Includes
Ganvie – Stilt Village
Ganvie – Pirogue Ride
Ouidah – City Tour
Ouidah – Voodoo Festival
Lake Togo – Boat Ride
Togoville – Town Visit
Lome – National Museum
Lome – Musée International Des Arts
Accra – City Tour
Kumasi – Kejeta Open Air Market
Kumasi – Akwasidae Festival
Kumasi – Ahwiaa Craft Village
Kumasi – Ntonso Craft Village
Kumasi – Bonwire Craft Village
Anwiankwanta – Cocoa Plantation
Elmina – St George’s Castle
Elmina – Walking Tour
ENJOY AFRICA