Bucket List Experiences: Things To Do in Ghana

Delve into Ghana’s history in Accra

In 1957, Ghana became the first African country to gain independence from colonial rule. Much of the fight for independence took place in Accra, and monuments to this compelling history exist throughout the city. These sites properly salute the importance of Ghana’s transformation into a republic, and what this newfound freedom meant for the continent as a whole.

Each year on March 6, Ghana’s Independence Day, a parade takes place in Black Star Square, Accra’s civic hub. This is where you’ll find the Independence Arch, a towering structure representing Ghana’s struggle for independence from imperial British rule; Kwame Nkrumah, the country’s first president, commissioned the arch in 1961, just in time for a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. The square’s imposing Black Star Gate is topped by the Black Star of Africa, the five-pointed star that represents Ghana and also features on its flag. While the interior of the arch isn’t open to the public, guards sometimes will take visitors to the top of the gate for a small fee.

Just down the road is the stunning Kwame Nkrumah Park and Mausoleum, a striking monument that’s the burial place of the former president and his wife Fathia. The structure is clad in Italian marble and shaped like an inverted sword, a symbol of peace among Ghana’s Akan people. Tours of this park and Black Star Square are typically offered alongside visits to WEB DuBois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture, which includes the onetime home and office of the famous American civil-rights activist, seen by many as the father of Pan-Africanism.

Accra is best place to go for Ghanaian art, food and nightlife

Ghana’s capital is an open door to the country’s culture – a gateway to Ghanaian, art, food and nightlife. Choose from elegant nightspots such as the rooftop Skybar25 or the stylish Bistro 22, tailored to tourists, expats and diasporas that can afford the high prices, and eateries offering a more down-to-earth taste of Ghanian cuisine, such as Auntie Muni Waakye and Bush Canteen, which serve local favorites like jollof rice, made with tomato sauce and spices, and waakye, a black-eyed-pea dish.

In the galleries, you’ll find images of Ghanaian social life from up-and-comers such as Kwesi Botchway and Afia Prempeh, and internationally recognized artists including Serge Clottey and Betty Acquah. Pieces from Ghanaian and African artists as a whole are captured inside showrooms across the city – contemporary art at Gallery 1957, older African works at Berj Gallery and rotating visual-art installations at the Nubuke Foundation, to name just a few.

Learn about the horrific history of slave castles on Cape Coast

The history of Ghana’s “slave castles” is appalling, one of the starkest and most vivid reminders you’ll encounter of many atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade. About 40 of these commercial fortresses once spanned West Africa’s Gold Coast during the 17th and 18th centuries, when they served as a point of no return for the many men and women shipped off in bondage into slavery. Remnants of some of these forts still exist, and two of the most accessible, Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle, are located in southern Ghana’s Central Region near the city of Cape Coast.

Planning tip: Cape Coast is about a three-hour drive southwest of Accra, and each of these former European trading posts offers guided tours. Visitors can experience first-hand the desolate isolation cells, dungeons for women and dark, dank holding cells where hundreds of men sweated, starved and defecated together before being forced out through a narrow door to sea.

Hit up Ghana’s dreamy beaches

With 550km (341 miles) of low-lying, sandy coastline lapped by warm waters, Ghana is a beach lover’s delight. Whether you prefer relaxing on the white sands of Cape Three Points Beach at the country’s southernmost point or partying late into the evening on Kokrobite Beach on the shores of Ghana’s Central Region, every type of beachgoer will find their ideal stretch of sand in the country. Accra’s Labadi Beach is easily accessible from the capital city, while Busua Beach in the country’s Western Region boasts waters for surfers of all levels. If you want to learn, a few surfing schools like Justice’s Brothers offer lessons.

Fill up on local cuisine

Hearty and comforting, Ghanaian cuisine has heavily influenced dishes across the southern United States, from red beans and rice to jambalaya, which has similarities to the country’s tomato-based jollof rice.

Ghana’s most popular foods typically combine a starchy staple with a soup or stew. One of the country’s most beloved dishes is red-red, a signature bean stew made with tomatoes, onions, black-eyed peas and palm oil. Rich, sweet and spicy, it often includes fish such as snapper or mackerel (but is just as tasty without) and usually comes with a side of fried plantains. Buka, in Accra’s hopping Osu neighborhood, dishes out a version that’s especially delicious.

Ghana’s national dish, fufu is the dough-like starch made from pieces of boiled cassava or plantains that are used to sop up soup. Kenkey, a dumpling-style street food, is a favorite among Ghana’s Ga people.