Ghana: a Cultural Experience
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GHANA: A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE Day 1 Sat Jan 22, 2022 - Akwaaba– Welcome! Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from airport to your hotel where you will participate in a classic chocolate tasting experience. This includes a group knowledge game, an information session on how to make chocolate from the cocoa bean to the bar, an opportunity to taste 6 different flavors of our Adinkra chocolate, and finally a feedback session. All participants will leave with one box of Adinkra chocolate containing all six flavors. Enjoy some snacks during this event. After our chocolate tasting experience, check in to your rooms and relax. We’ll come together this evening for a welcome dinner and cultural performance. Overnight at Kempinski Hotel. Meals Included: Snacks, Dinner. Day 2 Sun Jan 23, 2022 - Accra City Tour After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra. You will drive through the administrative and economic districts of Accra, the capital of Ghana. This 137-year-old city has a blend of colonial and modern architecture that summarize her history. You will visit the W. E. B. Dubois Centre for Pan African Culture, Independence/ Black Star Square and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. End your tour at the Arts Centre where you will have an opportunity to use your bargaining skills to shop from an open-air market for artefacts from Ghana and West Africa. Overnight at Kempinski Hotel Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch. Day 3 Mon Jan 24, 2022 - Kakum National Park - Cape Coast Castle – Elmina Castle After breakfast, check out of the hotel in Accra and depart for the Cape Coast. Upon arrival, drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Extending over 360sq km, Kakum is the home to over 40 large mammals and 400 bird species as well as many species of butterflies, flora and fauna. The most popular attraction is the Canopy walkway, which is made up of seven bridges extending 330m, hanging 100 feet above the forest floor. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through this forest to discover the wide variety of exotic floral species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway. Afterwards, 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. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum established by the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the Ghanaian Government in 1994. Overnight at Ridge Royal Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch. 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). Day 4 Tues Jan 25, 2022 - Elmina – Assin Manso– Kumasi City Tour 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 Ashantis, whose legacies are still evident today. Enroute, stop at Assin Manso. Visit the site of “Donkor Nsuo”, the former Slave River and market, 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. Continue your drive to Kumasi where you will visit 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. End the day’s tour at the National Cultural Center which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers. Overnight at Golden Tulip Kumasi Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch. Day 5 Wed Jan 26, 2022 - Ashanti Craft Villages - Accra After breakfast, check out of your hotel and devote this day to visiting the three famous Ashanti craft villages. After breakfast, depart for 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. Afterwards, return to Accra. Overnight at Labadi Beach Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch. Day 6 Thurs Jan 27, 2022 - Village Naming Ceremony – Time with Chef Binta After breakfast, depart for a scenic drive to a beautiful village located in the Volta Region. You will have the opportunity to pay a courtesy call on the paramount chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers and participate in a naming ceremony, where you will be given a traditional African name. Have lunch as a group and depart to Accra afterwards. Upon arrival, freshen up in your room and prepare for a time with Chef Binta where you will engage in a traditional nomadic dining experience. Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to first generation Sierra Leonean Fulanis of Guinean descent, Binta describes herself as a modern nomadic chef. Like her ancestors she has travelled to many countries and has worked with renowned African chefs. At Fulani Kitchen she combines her nomadic Fulani roots, classical training at the Kenyan Culinary Institute and love for rural life and nature. Her dishes and pop-up diners are authentic, modern environmentally engaged. By creating a traditional setting, telling you about Fulani culture and serving ancient grains, indigenous spices and other exciting West-African ingredients in an interactive way, Binta triggers all senses and takes you to a whole new world. Overnight at Labadi Beach Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Join the group for a final "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). Day 7 Thurs Jan 27, 2022 - Fancy Coffin Makers – Jamestown Walking Tour After early morning breakfast, depart your hotel and drive to Accra. Upon arrival, visit the Coffin Makers Shop at Teshie (a suburb of Accra). There, you will see how wood coffins are carved by hand into exquisite designs, representative of the occupation, interest, or hobby of the deceased. After lunch on your own, visit Jamestown, the historic center of British Accra. You will love the bright colors, authentic tastes and rich history of this charming district. Explore Jamestown’s architecture which has a unique blend of Eurocentric and Ghanaian influences, a reminder of the district’s history as the seat of British Colonial rule before Ghana’s independence. Take a picture by one of Ghana’s most famous buildings, Jamestown’s red and white lighthouse that overlooks the Gulf of Guinea. Upon arrival in Accra, we’ll check in to our hotel. After some time to relax and freshen up, we’ll come together for a celebration and farewell dinner and a final “Kasa” around the bonfire. Overnight at Labadi Beach Hotel. Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner Day 8 Sat Jan 29, 2022 Farewell/Departure After breakfast, spend the rest of the day packing and doing last minute shopping. We’ve secured a late checkout until 5:00PM. After checkout, we’ll depart for dinner. Afterward dinner we’ll transfer to the airport for check-in and final departure back home. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner. END OF ITINERARY (Itinerary subject to change) .