A Pan-African Journey — Mzansi to the Gold Coast
Ubuntu to Sankofa · Hidden Ghana Adventures
14-Day Indigenous Cultural Immersion Tour
Why this journey matters
"Sankofa" — the Akan word meaning "go back and fetch it." This journey is about South Africans returning to the ancient wellspring of West African civilisation, tracing shared roots across the continent.
As South Africans, we carry the philosophy of Ubuntu — I am because we are. Ghana's people live by the same spirit. This tour is not a holiday for outsiders looking in. It is a homecoming — an intra-African journey into one of the continent's oldest and proudest kingdoms.
We mix shoulder-to-shoulder with Ashanti royalty, learn to weave Kente cloth at the source, stand in the dungeons of Elmina Castle where our ancestors were held, hike Ghana's highest peak, and cook dinner in a village compound. No tourist buses. No velvet ropes. Just Africa meeting Africa.
Unlike tours designed for European and American visitors, ours is crafted for the African traveller — one who understands chieftaincy, respects ancestral ceremony, and wants to engage as family, not as a foreigner.
All guides are locally born Ghanaians. No leader is flown in from overseas. Your experience is authentic, personal, and life-changing.
At a glance
Day by Day
Fly from O.R. Tambo to Kotoka International Airport, Accra. You will be met by your guide and transferred to the Alisa Hotel. Depending on arrival time, enjoy an evening briefing dinner and introduction to your fellow travellers. Ghana is Africa's most welcoming nation — and it starts here.
Breakfast choice at the hotel or local stalls at Makola Market. Visit the Artist Alliance Gallery, then the famous fantasy coffin makers of Teshie Nungua — where coffins are sculpted as fish, cars and crocodiles to honour the deceased. Head to Independence Square, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum (Ghana's founding father), and the historic Jamestown quarter with its old Brazilian stone houses built by freed enslaved Africans. Evening: meet local youth boxers working to transform their community through sport.
Drive to Krobo — renowned for ancient glass bead jewellery that has traded across Africa for centuries. Visit a family compound and try bead-making yourself. Continue into the Volta Region, crossing the White Volta River to reach Wli Falls — Ghana's highest waterfall, sitting on the Togo border. A 45-minute flat walk leads to the falls where you can swim beneath the mist. An optional hike reaches the upper falls. Overnight at Wli Water Heights.
Early start to hike Mount Afajato — Ghana's highest mountain at 885m. The two-hour return hike rewards you with spectacular views over the Volta Region and into Togo. This afternoon, visit the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary to walk through sacred forest with Mona and Colobus monkeys — primates considered sacred by the local community. Head to Akosombo on the Volta River for the night.
Through the Akuapem hills to the Aburi Botanical Gardens — established in 1890, a living library of West Africa's indigenous and exotic flora with sweeping views of Accra. Visit the Aburi Craft Village where drums, sculptures and woodcarvings have been made for generations. Stop at Korifuda's famous traditional bead market for lunch before arriving in Kumasi — the spiritual capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. Overnight Noda Hotel.
Visit Adanwomasie — the birthplace of Kente cloth. Watch master weavers at their looms and try weaving yourself. Head to Ntunso where Adinkra symbols and cloth originate, then to the Kumasi Cultural Centre. Explore Adum, the commercial heart of Kumasi, and the vast Kejetia Market — one of West Africa's largest. Evening at leisure or exploring Kumasi's vibrant nightlife and music scene. Overnight Noda Hotel.
The centrepiece of the tour. Early departure for the Manhyia Palace — seat of the Asantehene, King of the Ashanti and ruler of one of Africa's most powerful surviving kingdoms. Journey through Ashanti history at the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, housing an extraordinary collection of golden regalia, royal artefacts and chronicles. Visit the Okomfo Anokye Sword Site — where 300 years ago, the legendary priest conjured the Golden Stool from the heavens. If dates align, witness the Akwasidae festival (see Festivals section). Drive south to the villages of Bonkro and Breku for a community-cooked lunch, then visit a local school and meet Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers to learn about Ghana's famous chocolate from farm to bar. Overnight Picathartes Guesthouse.
Help prepare a traditional breakfast, then head to the local market with your guide to choose ingredients for the evening meal. The afternoon is yours — relax, explore, or engage with village life. As the sun sets, return to the compound kitchen to cook your chosen Ghanaian dishes from scratch: fufu, kontomire stew, kelewele, or red red. Share the meal with community members around the fire. This day is unhurried and deeply human. Overnight Picathartes Guesthouse.
Head south to the coast. Stop at Assin Manso — the Ndonkor Nsua (Enslaved African River), where enslaved men and women were given their last bath in African soil before being marched to the coast. Continue to UNESCO-listed Cape Coast Castle — one of the largest slave-holding facilities in West Africa. Walk through the Door of No Return. This is a deeply meaningful experience for South Africans, whose own history is threaded with displacement and resilience. Lunch at the Baobab Children's Foundation restaurant. Afternoon: traditional batik-making workshop. Overnight Brenu Beach Resort.
Visit Elmina — the oldest European structure in sub-Saharan Africa, built by the Portuguese in 1482, later occupied by the Dutch and British. The Castle of St George and its museum are harrowing, important and unforgettable. Explore the colourful fishing port and Fort St Jago. Then head to Kakum National Park — 357 sq km of undisturbed Guinean rainforest — for the famous elevated canopy walkway, swaying 30m above the forest floor. Meet the International Stingless Bee Project. Visit a local palm wine farm. Overnight Brenu Beach Resort.
Drive west toward the Ivory Coast border. Visit the Brenu Akyinim community and school. Continue to Beyin for lunch, then take a leisurely canoe through the Amasuri Wetlands — a maze of reeds, water lilies and birdsong — to reach Nzulezu, a village built entirely on stilts over the lagoon. Meet the community and hear stories of their lake-bound life. Continue to Ankasa Reserve — over 500 sq km of pristine rainforest connecting to Nini-Suhien National Park. Optional night walk in the forest. Overnight Ankasa Reserve Lodge.
This morning, venture 12 km into the forest by mountain bike or 4WD to the Bamboo Cathedral — a towering grove of ancient bamboo whose arched canopy feels like the nave of a natural church. Return to the lodge for lunch, then an afternoon with local farmers and a school visit. Try Gari and FuFu at a local chop bar — no restaurant, just a woman, a pot and generations of recipes. Optional: afternoon mountain biking or a forest walking trail. Overnight Ankasa Reserve Lodge.
A relaxed morning. Drive east back to the coast and check into beachfront accommodation in Brenu Akyinim. Spend the afternoon swimming, exploring, or simply watching the Atlantic. This evening, gather on the beach for a farewell bonfire dinner with traditional Ghanaian drumming — the rhythms of the Ewe and Akan traditions filling the night air as waves break on the shore. Overnight Brenu Beach Resort.
Final morning in Elmina — explore the extraordinary fish market and watch traditional wooden boat builders at work. Drive to Accra with a stop at the Accra Mall for last-minute shopping and modern-day contrast. Early dinner before transfer to Kotoka International Airport for the return flight to Johannesburg. You leave not as a tourist who visited Ghana, but as someone who has returned home to a part of themselves they didn't know was missing.
Timing your visit
These are not performances staged for tourists. They are living institutions — centuries old — that transmit oral history, honour ancestors, and celebrate the living. When possible, we time the tour to coincide with these events.
The greatest recurring ceremony in West Africa. At Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, the Asantehene sits in full golden regalia under a royal umbrella, receiving homage from sub-chiefs, drummers, ivory-trumpet players, sword bearers and praise singers. The Golden Stool — the soul of the Ashanti nation — is present. Tourists may attend and witness the ceremony close up. This is the centrepiece indigenous experience of our Day 7.
The Ga people's great harvest festival. "Homowo" means to hoot at hunger — a remembrance of ancient famines survived through community. Families gather across Accra and Ga towns, kpokpoi (a palm-nut soup with mashed corn) is prepared and libations poured at ancestral shrines. Drums beat from dawn. If visiting July–September, we incorporate the Homowo season into the Accra days.
The Ashanti new year festival of purification and thanksgiving. Ancestral stools are cleaned with ceremonial herbs, chiefs hold state in full regalia, and the community reconnects with the wisdom of those who came before. Celebrated in Akropong, Kyebi and across Ashanti communities — the closest experience to an Ashanti spiritual new year you will ever witness.
Elmina's great fishing festival marking the end of the season. The ceremonial casting of the first net at dawn lifts the ban on fishing, followed by feasting, traditional dances and a grand durbar of chiefs. The Elmina fishing port transforms into a celebration of the sea, community and survival. If visiting in December, we time the Elmina day to coincide with this festival.
One of Ghana's most extraordinary spectacles — two rival Asafo warrior companies race at dawn to capture a live deer with bare hands. The deer is presented to the chief as an offering to Penkye Otu, the war god. Ancient, dramatic, uniquely Ghanaian. On our May departures, we include a detour to Winneba for this unforgettable ceremony.
The Anlo Ewe people commemorate their escape from Notsie in Togo to the Volta Region in the 14th century. Colourful durbars, Agbadza dancing, and the recounting of the great migration story. For South Africans who know the meaning of forced removal and return, this festival carries particular resonance. Available on our November departures.
Note on scheduling: We offer multiple departures each year, timed where possible to coincide with Akwasidae (which recurs every 42 days), and seasonal festivals. When you enquire, we will confirm which festival(s) fall within your preferred dates and plan accordingly. At minimum, every tour includes the Manhyia Palace visit and at least one cultural ceremony.
Designed for us
South Africans carry the philosophy of communal humanity. Ghanaians live by the Sankofa principle — look back to move forward. This tour is an intentional dialogue between two great African worldviews: South Africa's post-liberation identity and West Africa's ancient, unbroken traditions. Our guides facilitate conversations that a European tourist simply cannot access.
South African passport holders no longer require a visa to enter Ghana — travel is visa-free. Simply arrive with a valid passport (6 months beyond your return date). You will need a valid Yellow Fever Certificate (mandatory for entry), which can be obtained at any travel clinic in South Africa — including Dis-Chem and Netcare Travel Clinics.
Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways operate regular connections from O.R. Tambo to Kotoka International Airport in Accra, typically via Addis Ababa or Nairobi. Flight time is approximately 8–10 hours. Flights are at the traveller's own cost — economy return fares typically range from R8,500–R14,000. We recommend booking 3–4 months in advance.
All our land packages are quoted and payable in South African Rand — no currency conversion headaches. In Ghana, we recommend carrying US Dollars cash for spending money. ATMs are available in major cities. Cards are not widely accepted outside Accra and Kumasi. Daily spending money of USD $30–$50 covers drinks, personal purchases and optional activities.
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan nation to gain independence (1957), under Kwame Nkrumah — a towering Pan-Africanist who inspired the entire liberation movement, including the ANC. We visit his mausoleum and Independence Square on Day 2. For South Africans who grew up with Mandela, encountering Nkrumah's legacy is a powerful cross-continental homecoming.
The Elmina and Cape Coast Castle visits are among the most emotionally significant for any African visitor. Unlike European tourists encountering this history for the first time, many South Africans arrive with their own relationship to displacement, resistance and ancestral pain. Our guides hold space for this — facilitating reflection rather than lecture. It is an experience you process as community, not as individuals.
What's covered
Investment in your roots
One straightforward land package price — all accommodation, all meals, all activities and your expert local guide. Flights are at the traveller's own cost and booked separately.
Estimated total from Johannesburg: Land package (R49,500) + Flights at own cost (±R9,000–R14,000) + Yellow Fever & vaccinations (±R600) + Travel insurance (±R1,500) + Spending money 14 days @ $40/day (±R10,000) = Approximately R70,600–R75,600 total per person. No visa fee required for South African citizens.
Preparing for Ghana