Cultural Heritage Tour To Ghana Including Akwasidae Festival

Depart Home country to Accra, Ghana (Flight – TBD)

Arrive in Accra, Ghana in the morning. You will be met at the airport by Landtours representatives who will assist you with your transfer from the airport to your hotel. Enjoy a welcome drink at 

the hotel and participate in an orientation session. Dressmakers will take measurements and sew cloths for interested participants.

Afterwards, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra, the Capital of Ghana. Experience the city’s highlights during this Accra orientation. The capital of Ghana since 1877, Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region. In addition, it’s the country’s most populous city. Travel through the administrative and economic districts of Accra. Also, see the Artiste Alliance Gallery, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan African Culture and the Independence/Black Star Square. Learn about important events in Ghana’s history and the country’s first president who helped lead Ghana to independence.

Continue your tour to The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, dedicated to the legacy of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and his role in African independence. The tour includes visits to Nkrumah’s mausoleum, a museum showcasing his life, his personal residence, the eternal Flame of African Liberation, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Learn about Nkrumah’s early life, political career, and Pan-African vision. End the day’s tour at the Arts Center, where participants can sharpen their bargaining skills to shop for goods from Ghana and West Africa in an open-air market. On display, you will see fabrics of different materials, designs, colors and textures to purchase from.

Overnight at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. Meals Included: Dinner.

After breakfast, embark on a Kumasi City Tour. Visit the Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain first-hand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artefacts. Enjoy a drive through the city with monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people.  Your city tour on this day will also include a visit to the famous Kejetia market, the National Cultural Centre which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers.

After lunch on your own, visit the three famous Ashanti craft villages; Ahwiaa, the wood carvers’ village, Ntonso, the home of Adinkra cloth, and Bonwire, the Kente weaving village. You will have an opportunity to see how African crafts are made and to buy directly from the artisans who make them.

Overnight at Lancaster Kumasi Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

Today you will have the privilege to witness the Akwasidae Festival in the Ashanti Kingdom. Akwasidae rituals and events are held in Ghana by the Akans every six weeks, honouring the ancestors and the Ashanti king. Akwasidae, according to the Ashanti cultural archive records is an ornate ceremony, commemorating the date that the Ashanti Golden Stool was magically brought down from heaven. A visit to Kumasi during an Akwasidae celebration is an invitation for spectacle. A celebration which parades colourful canopies and umbrellas amongst fontonfrom, kete and mpintsin drummers, dancers, horn blowers and singers who perform in honour of their ancestral spirits. After lunch, return to Accra.

Overnight at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. Meals Included: Dinner.

After breakfast, depart Accra to a beautiful village located on the lower course of the splendid Volta River. You will pay a courtesy call on the chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers. The group will participate in a naming ceremony of recognition, where a Ghanaian name is given to participants, and a gift presented as part of celebrating a new identity as a Ghanaian and a member of the local community. After lunch, return to Accra.

Overnight at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Cape Coast. Enroute, stop at the at the former slave river in Assin Manso. Visit the site of “Donkor Nsuo”, the former Slave River and market, as well as the final transit point for a large number of enslaved Africans.  This is the final resting place for two ancestors whose mortal remains were returned from the USA and Jamaica and re-interred there. Afterwards, continue your drive to Cape Coast. Upon arrival, check into your hotel.

Overnight at Ridge Royal Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, depart your hotel and embark on a tour of the infamous Forts, Castles, and Slave Dungeons of Ghana. History will unfold the story of the slave trade which the impact is still felt beyond the shores of Africa today. Visit the Cape Coast Castle built by the Swedes in 1653 and was later taken over by the British. Here, you would learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible. It is an opportunity to be up and close with history – to stand in the dark and stuffy dungeons, imagining the experience and conditions that millions of Africans endured. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum. Overnight at Ridge Royal Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

Join the group for “kasa” (talk time). Kasa provides an opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian culture or simply talk to each other and share impressions of the tour experience. Kasa discussions are led by your tour leader or tour guide. (This activity is optional).

After breakfast, visit the Global Mamas workshop where you will discover the art and beauty of African batik and get a glimpse into the life of a local artisan as you work side-by-side during this four-hour class. You’ll join a Global Mamas’ batiker in her workshop to learn the traditional techniques of batik production using wax and dye to create colorful patterns – to make your own one-of-a-kind fabric. Afterwards, take your two yards of handiwork home to sew into a finish product that will always have a special place in your home or wardrobe.

After lunch on your own, join Auntie Nana in her salon to learn the cultural history and technical wonders of African head wrapping. Head wrapping has been a part of African culture for centuries and are worn by men and women with pride. You will master an array of Gele head wrapping styles and learn how headwraps identify a woman’s religion, social status and celebrations. Apply your skills to show reverence at your next African event by attending with a perfectly fashioned head wrap. Overnight at Ridge Royal Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and return to Accra. Upon arrival, check into your hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Overnight at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

After breakfast, spend the day shopping and doing last minute packing. At noon, check out of the hotel and transfer to airport for check-in and final departure back home.