Discover Senegal and Ghana, 12 Days

The activities planned for today will depend on your flight arrival time, allowing you to either relax or start exploring Dakar and its surroundings. Meal(s) Included: Dinner Hotel: Azalai

Highlights: Renaissance Monument Museum of African Civilization Markets After breakfast, embark on a city tour of Dakar and its vicinity. Begin with a visit to the Africa Renaissance Monument, a 164 feet high statue unveiled in 2010, which overlooks Dakar and stands taller than the Statue of Liberty. This once-controversial bronze statue is now a popular attraction, featuring a man, woman, and child pointing, symbolizing African hope. Next, visit Independence Place, the heart of Dakar, where you will pass by the presidential palace and the main cathedral. Then, proceed to the Museum of Black Civilization, a massive four-story complex fulfilling the dream of Senegal’s first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor. The museum traces the oldest civilizations from Africa to the rest of the world, with architectural inspiration drawn from impluvium huts found in Casamance. In the evening, you will have opportunities for beach activities or leisure, depending on your preferences.

Highlights: Goree Island The Door of No Return Pink Lake Depart on a 20-minute ferry ride to visit the charming yet infamous Goree Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore the quiet streets lined with pastel-colored colonial-era buildings. Witness the “Door of No Return,” through which millions passed on their way to slavery. The tour includes a visit to the ethnographic museum and a lecture on the history of Goree. You may also visit MariamaBâ, Elite High School for Girls, named after the renowned Senegalese writer. Founded in 1977 by Leopold Sedar Senghor, the first president of Senegal, the school is dedicated to MariamaBâ, a novelist and feminist who fought for women’s rights in Senegal. After lunch, return to Dakar and proceed to visit Pink Lake, a rare natural phenomenon known for its pink color caused by micro-organisms and high salt concentration. Finally, continue to Saly in time to enjoy an evening swim in the ocean.

Highlights : Bandia National Park Drive to Bandia Park, where you will encounter numerous species native to Senegal, including buffalos, antelopes, impala gazelles, monkeys, tortoises, and crocodiles, as well as white rhinoceros, kudu, elands, cape moose, giraffes, ostriches, and zebras. Stop by the crocodile pool, where animals come to drink and buffalos wallow in the mud. You will also see numerous bird species, including small hornbills, grey herons, eagles, blackbirds, and kingfishers. Return to the hotel in time for a short excursion on the Somone Lagoon to admire the beautiful landscape and spot some rare river birds. This evening, there will be an opportunity for swimming and other beach activities.

Upon arrival in Accra, you will be met, assisted, and transferred to your hotel for the next two nights.

Highlights: W.E.B Dubois Centre The Independence/Black Square The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park The first visit will be to the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre, honoring the life of the prominent Pan-Africanist who chose to live and work in Ghana. We continue to Independence Square, where you will see the enclosed flame of African Liberation, lit by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961. Next, visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the final resting place of Ghana’s first president. Set in attractive gardens, there is an adjoining museum that contains photos, artifacts, and insight into Dr. Nkrumah’s life. Adjoining the park is the National Cultural Centre, Ghana’s largest outdoor arts and crafts market selling traditional crafts from all over West Africa.

Highlights: • Teshie Fancy Coffin Shop After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and head further East to Akosombo. Enroute we will the Teshie Casket/Coffin Shop where uniquely designed caskets are made and this reflects the people’s belief in life after death. The shop was started by Seth Kane Kwei in the 1950s, almost by accident. He made palanquins, also known as Litters or Sedan Chairs that are used to carry tribal chiefs at traditional festivals. One chief, who had ordered a palanquin shaped as a cocoa pod, died unexpectedly before the festival, so he was buried in the palanquin. Soon after that his grandmother who had planned her first overseas trip by flight died before the trip and she too was buried in a coffin shaped like an airplane. “The third fancy coffin was for a chief fisherman who was buried in a canoe. Thus, the fancy coffin industry was started. Continue to Kumasi arriving late afternoon; transfer to the hotel and check in.

Highlights: 3 Craft Villages of the Ashanti Kingdom Enjoy a scenic drive through Ashanti-style villages surrounded by lush countryside, contrasting modern Kumasi. Pass through Ejisu, home of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother who led the 1900 battle against the British. Visit Adanwomase, where Kente Cloth is handwoven on looms passed down through generations. Each pattern has meaning, and you’ll have time to shop or, by arrangement, meet the local chief amid drumming and dancing. Continue to Ntonso, where artisans hand-stamp cotton to make Adinkra Textiles. Learn how black dye is made from tree bark and create your own Adinkra sash to take home. At Ahwiaa, the Woodcarving Village, admire and shop for hand-carved stools, fertility dolls, and walking sticks. End in Central Kumasi, exploring colonial landmarks and visiting the Okomfo Anokye Sword Site, symbol of Ashanti unity and the legendary spot where the Golden Stool “descended from the sky.” Return to your hotel in the evening.

Highlights: Assin Manso Slave River Elmina Township Walk Today, we depart for yet another adventure of the Coastal lands of Ghana- Elmina & Cape Coast. En route, we stop at Assin Manso, the burial site of two former slaves from the USA and Jamaica whose remains were re-interred in August 1998 during Ghana’s first Emancipation Day Celebration. A visit to “the Slave River” or “Donkor Nsuo” offers the chance to see the place where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slaves Castles to await shipment to the Americas and Caribbean. This evening, enjoy the sights of the many colorful fishing boats bringing their daily catch into the harbor and take the opportunity to mix with the locals at the nearby market. A short distance from the market we visit the boat builders, still building colorful fishing boats using traditional tools and methods spanning centuries. Continue to your hotel and check in. Prepare for dinner at your hotel.

HIGHLIGHTS: Cape Coast Castle Elmina or St. George’s Castle Today, we will visit Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO world heritage site. The castle is a thought-provoking monument to a harrowing period in the region’s history. You will take an emotional journey through the castle which held more enslaved Africans than any other in the region, viewing the dungeons and the infamous “Door of no return”. Next, we visit Elmina Castle another World Heritage site. Late afternoon you will go through the “Fihankra” Fihankra is a ceremony that seeks to reconnect people of African descent, who have been lost due to the transatlantic slave trade, to the motherland. This ceremony reconnects returnees with the cultural and spiritual ties that had been denied them for centuries. The final part of Fihankra includes a naming ceremony to relax before you are transferred to the airport for your flight home.

HIGHLIGHTS: Kakum National Park After breakfast, you will check out of your hotel for a visit to the Kakum National Park, Ghana’s most famous park. Take a brief walking tour on the forest floor where you will learn how our ancestors lived in the forest. See birds, butterflies and perhaps catch a glimpse of the forests of over 40 species of mammals including monkeys and the reclusive forest elephant. Proceed to the canopy walk. Kakum is home to Africa’s only aerial walkway through the tree canopy, 1000-foot-long and even-bridge walkway with viewing platforms that reach heights over 150 feet above the ground. Arrive in Accra late afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Enjoy a leisurely morning! Later in the day, you will check out of your hotel and have some time for last-minute shopping before being transferred to the airport for your onward flight home.