Ghana offers many historical places that are worth seeing for those interested in its past. Here’s a glimpse of some.
Central to the country’s western region is this facility which was once an essential link in Europe’s gold and timber trade networks, before playing an essential part in the rise of slavery.
Paga Nania
Paga Nania was initially established as a slave transit camp. This location served as an exchange point between Hausa, Mossi and Zabarma traders from western lands and Salaga slave market.
Relics from this brutal trade still stand today, including rocks with water troughs for slaves to drink from and indents where they ground cereals for food. A nearby rocky area also bears marks created by agonized slaves slapping themselves or others as forms of torture.
This site lies approximately three kilometres west of Paga and can be seen during a tour of the Gambaga Escarpment which also takes in other slave sites.
Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and Memorial Park stands as one of its most significant historical places. Constructed to honor Ghana’s first president who led its independence from Britain, this beautiful monument stands on what used to be a polo field.
This site also houses a museum dedicated to Kwame Nkrumah that displays his personal items as well as photographs taken with other world leaders at that time. A must-visit destination for anyone wanting to learn more about Ghanaian history!
Jenini Slave Camp provides an unforgettable insight into Africa’s involvement with trans-Atlantic slavery trade. Visitors should visit this historic location.
Komfo Anokye Sword Site
At Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi lies an iconic spot in Asante history: the sword site. Here lies a 333-year-old sword wedged into rock face for over 300 years due to Okomfo Anokye’s promise that no one could remove it.
This historical site is significant because it provides insight into the beginnings of Ashanti Kingdom and how its rulers governed their people. Furthermore, this attraction contains numerous stories from days gone by and makes an ideal tourist attraction in Ghana. Bring along a tour guide to gain more knowledge.
Ussher Fort
Ussher was originally called Fort Crevecoeur and formed part of the Dutch Gold Coast before its transfer to British jurisdiction through the Anglo-Dutch Gold Coast Treaty of 1867 that defined areas of influence on this region in 1868.
Before 1993, this prison was used solely as a jail, where Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President and an integral figure of independence struggle, was held prisoner. Now it serves as a museum and houses Monuments Division of Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB).
This site educates visitors with heartbreaking artifacts that reveal the devastating history of slavery in West Africa, especially at its most profound point: at The Door of No Return where captives were transported on to slave ships for transport across the Atlantic Ocean. This experience is especially powerful.
Ashanti Great Mosque
This iconic tourist spot contains the ashes of Ghana’s first president, as well as being used by many Ghanaians for religious practice and as an area to practice their religion. Additionally, its mausoleum serves as an iconic symbol of national unity that attracts visitors from around the globe.
Muslims were an integral component of Asante society prior to colonial residential segregation; their presence is sometimes overshadowed by claims that Islam represents one uniform identity; instead, its diverse identities make up a complex history, with mosque architecture reflecting this dynamic dynamic.
The Sheikh epitomized compromise and coexistence, regardless of his religious convictions. He refused to fight alongside Ashanti soldiers during the Gyaman war, leading the Asokorehene to spare him.
Fort Good Hope
Fort Good Hope is part of Ghana’s World Heritage Site “Forts and Castles”, and served as one of the continent’s premier slave trading posts throughout history.
Fort Frederick was initially designed as a small triangular fort with four bastions and curtain walls; later it was expanded into a larger rectangular fort housing both male and female slave prisons.
Fort Good Hope (also known as K’asho Got’ine) is an intimate charter community situated along the Mackenzie River. Home to less than 600 people, residents speak both English and North Slavey as they participate in traditional land-based lifestyles that include hunting and trapping activities.
