Ghana - Off the Beaten Track

The immediate question might be – do you want to go off the beaten track in Ghana?  But the answer, to anyone who has done it themselves, is a resounding YES.  The most popular area of Ghana for travellers is the south coast, where you will find some wonderful beach resorts, such as Kokrobite (home to the Academy of African Music) or Busua.  This area is also known for the Coastal Forts, the prisons in which slaves were kept before being shipped off overseas (such as can be found in Cape Coast or El Mina).  This is, of course, fascinating, if shocking, seeing the appalling conditions in which the slaves lived.
However, there is more to Ghana than just the South Coast.  This article is to inspire those who want a bit more when they travel than just the standard tourist basics.  It’s for those who really wish to see the proper, local Ghana, and how aren’t afraid of a bit of hard core travel.  And it’s for those who just don’t believe that Ghana is “Africa for Beginners”. 

Beach! - First things first – if you are still a beach baby who is determined to spend some time on the sand, but who’d like to find a quieter and more local one, here’s the plan.  The extreme south-west and south-east coasts – we’re talking east of Accra and west of Busua – are home to some incredible unspoilt beaches.  Try and make it to Misty Beach, out on the road from Accra to Tema, or Ada Beach, on the mouth of the Volta River.  Butre Beach is a quiet, serene beach not far from Busua that is definitely worth a look.  If you’re feeling really hardcore, head out even further east to Keta or Denu by the Toga border, where the surf is wild (and there are no lifeguards!).  It’s a bit harder to get out to these beaches, but you still get there by the legendary African tro-tro. 

Tro-tros, in case you haven’t seen the pictures, are mini-buses of minimal comfort, questionable safety and extreme brilliance.  This is local travel at its finest.  Tro-tros travel between most towns and cities.  They leave when they fill up, rather than according to actual timetables, so make sure you adopt your most nonchalant attitude to life before getting in one.  If you feel as though your life is in danger, you can tell the driver to slow down.  This is no time for Western politeness.  But this is a wonderful way to travel for hanging out with locals, and at most stops there will be food sellers pushing food at you through the windows.  If you relax and go with the flow, this is a hell of an experience.

Cities - Now, time to check out some Ghanaian cities other than Accra.  Kumasi is Ghana’s second biggest city, and yet it is a world away from the relatively cosmopolitan Accra.  Coming from the very flat Accra, the hills of Kumasi might be a bit of a shock, and the city in general is a lot rougher and less developed.  You’ll still be able to find a few western bars and restaurants, but on nothing like the scale that you’ll find in Accra.  You’ll also be surprised by the lack of tourists – they’re pretty common in Accra but much less so Kumasi.  Kumasi has several local clubs, which are exactly as you would imagine clubs to be in West Africa – dark and dingy, but with some of the most amazing dancing you’ll ever see. 

Market - Kumasi is also home to one of West Africa’s biggest markets:  Kejetia Market.  It is located in the centre of Kumasi and covers over 24 acres.  It’s a maze of criss-crossing alleyways, and it’s very easy to get lost inside.  As this is such a huge market, traders come from all over the country to sell their goods, and manage to make it even bigger.  It’s really not aimed at locals, which is why it’s a great place to go:  here you can see how every-day Ghanaians go about their everyday lives.  The market sells everything you could possibly imagine, with the tailors sections, the food section, the live chickens section... well, you get the idea.  Everything you can buy, you’ll find it here.  Looking down on Kejetia Market from above is an amazing site.  A massive shanty-town of corrugated iron, including a train track running through the middle of it, meets your eye.  That’s right, a train track, because a train runs through this unique market every day.

Out of the Way - Try and get to the North of Ghana.  Tamale is a good city to base yourself in for a northern mission.  From here, you can go up to Mole National Park, a vast wilderness (all 4840 sq km of it) that is remarkably untouched.  If you want to get some serious nature, this is the place to come.  We’re not going to pretend it’ll be easy, but it’ll definitely be well worth the effort.  You can arrange a guide within the park to take you on a hike, getting up at dawn when it’s still cool and trekking to several watering holes, where you can see some fantastic wildlife.  Or, if walking really isn’t your thing, you could arrange a 4x4 tour.  The wildlife here includes elephants, antelope, crocodiles, baboons, monitor lizards, monkeys, a whole host of rare bird life, the works.  You can stay in the (basic) accommodation within the park to give you an opportunity to see as much of possible.  Getting here is a bit of a mission – it might interest you to know that it’s a good solid 12 hours from Accra, and the roads are terrible, which is why you should break in both Kumasi and Tamale – they’re both worth visiting anyway.

 Villages - While the cities are wonderful to visit, many people reckon that the best part of going to Ghana is getting out into the real rural villages.  Many of the villages have the traditional circular African huts, with the pointed roofs, and the villages really spell out the difference in lifestyle to the West.  It is, however, quite difficult to get out to them, so here are a few suggestions of how you might be able to do this:

  • Volunteer – There are many programs for people to volunteer in Ghana, and many of the programs are based in the rural villages that require the most help.  Try a well-known company such as BUNAC if you are interested in this, as it important to know that you will have some support while you are out there.
  • Contact a Volunteer – If you just don’t have the time to do a voluntary stay in one place, another suggestion is to contact a volunteer already out there by email, and ask if you would be able to come and visit.  If you are a serious traveller who is interested in experiencing the local culture to the full, it is likely that volunteers living out there will be happy to show you around.  Equally, if you run into volunteers in the bars of the cities (probably Kumasi and Accra), you should speak to them about the best way to do this.
  • What you really shouldn’t do, no matter how much more simple it may seem, is to rely upon a local whom you don’t know and have no reason to trust, no matter how friendly they seem.  You can put yourself in a seriously dangerous situation if you ask someone whose motives you are unaware of to take you out into the deepest, darkest jungle. 

Ferries - To the East of Kumasi you will find the formidable Lake Volta.  This is the biggest manmade lake on earth, and is one of the biggest missions you can undertake in Ghana.  Taking a ferry across the Lake – either the three day lengthways trip or the one day horizontal trip – is an incredible experience.  You can either take the car ferry or the people carrier, and the latter has the very real possibility of capsizing.  If you feel that you would like to partake in this death-defying activity, take sunscreen, hat and shades – you may be exposed all day.

Finally...And one more appropriate thing for adventurous travellers – Nzeluzo stilt village is a beautiful little place on the west coast of Ghana, close to Beyin.  The best way to get here is from Beyin, where the locals are well aware of most tourists’ desire to go here, and will happily offer themselves up for hire as ferrymen.  The settlement is still working, serenely going about its business as it did for years before the foreigners came to visit.  To make it clear – you WILL be rowing there and back, so do save your strength!
Okay, now for the warnings... Sorry, but having advised you to embark on some challenging travel, we now feel honour-bound to qualify it with a few general words of advice:

    • Don’t try to plan your travels around a rigid timetable.  By all means, have a general idea, but keep it flexible, otherwise you’ll end up frustrated and disappointed as events seem to conspire against you, and who wants to spend their time feeling like that?  If you stay relaxed and able to go with the flow, you’ll get so much more out of your trip.  Remember that swimming against the tide is exhausting, and you probably won’t end up where you want to be anyway.  Equally, asking for an ETA of a Ghanaian is pointless.  They will often just tell you what you want to hear, in order to be polite and obliging, which will end up frustrating you no end when the expected twenty minutes turns into a few hours.
    • If you really are going to get fed up with the tro-tros, there are STC buses between main cities.  These are a bit more comfortable.  There are even some private buses, which are air-coned and pretty comfortable.  If you’re feeling ill or haven’t slept for days, and need a little comfort, maybe these are your best option. 
    • Again, it can’t be stressed enough, if the tro-tro drivers are driving like lunatics, ask them – in a friendly manner, of course – to slow down.  No point in dying for the sake of diplomacy.
    • PLEASE be careful about malaria.  Malaria tablets are NOT a sure-fire way of avoiding it.  The best thing to do is wear DEET, if possible buying the extra strong stuff for your clothes (and may we remind you that DEET is a pretty toxic, nasty substance and should be worn sparingly.  The extra strong stuff shouldn’t go on your skin), you should cover your arms and legs, particularly during the evening and nights and DEFINITELY use a mosquito net at night.  If you do start showing the early symptoms of malaria (similar to that of flu, but if you line the symptoms up with being bitten, you’ll be able to figure it out) you need to get to a good hospital.  Malaria is very treatable, but you do need to get it treated!
    • Be wary of overly friendly locals.  Ghanaians are lovely, helpful people, but you need to be aware that you appear extremely wealthy to them, and not everyone will have pure, innocent motives.  Be very careful when it comes to your own personal safety.