Highlights of Ghana with Kakum Rain Forest

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from airport to your hotel.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Cape Coast and drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa's surviving tropical rain forests. Choose between a 2km nature walk through the rain forest to discover the wide variety of exotic flora and fauna species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway hanging 40 meters above the forest ground.

After lunch on your own, 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.

After breakfast, visit Elmina Castle, also known as St. George's Castle, which was built by the Portuguese in 1482. Here, learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here participants will witness the dark and stuffy dungeons local people were forced to endure before being sent on a long and perilous passage across the Atlantic. To see the truth of these conditions in person is a powerful reminder of the inhumanity of the slave trade.

After lunch on your own, explore Elmina, a fishing village that's both picturesque and gritty, charming and though-provoking. What better way to appreciate it than to immerse oneself in its main industry - fishing! Meet with local fishermen to learn the intricacies of their trade and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Next, meet the fish mongers in the village who will demonstrate the various stages of smoking the fish in earthenware ovens. This is a unique way to experience one of Ghana's oldest and important trades.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashanti people, whose legacies are still evident today. Stop at the former slave 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 to Kumasi where you will visit the Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain firsthand 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 breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart for Accra. En route to Accra, stop on the way at Besease shrine, a world heritage site. The Besease Shrine is a traditional fetish shrine near the town of Ejisu. Each of these shrines is a home for a particular spirit, called obosom that mediates between mortals and the supreme god Nyame. Observe the unique architecture and experience the mode of ancestral worship to the ancient gods. Upon arrival, check into your hotel.

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 on your own, return to Accra and relax.

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.