The Eastern Region is about 20.000 sq. km large and is very versatile in it’s landscape. Here you find mountains, hills and flat land populated by peaceful villages. The mountains got their names from the tribes which settled here:- Akwapim, Akim, Kwahu and Juaben. The highest point is 800 meters above sea level and the mountains have amazing limestone formations as well as numerous waterfalls. The eastern part of the region has a natural border – the Volta Lake. Even though the region has many different tribes, they speak the same language, but with different dialect and most belong to the Akan Tribe and as such have similarities in their tradition. The only exception is the Krobo district made up of  Odumasi and Somanya area. They belong to the ethnic group of the Ga – Adangme.

The hills and mountains which make up this region today were the refuge for the tribes which were weak in military power during the time of war due to the search for new settlement areas. As these people settled deep in the mountains they were able to keep to their original traditions and culture. Due to the climate in the hills the first protestant missionaries settled here and were successful in converting many to their church. Thousands were baptized and many schools and churches were built. It was here that the first educational facilities were established in Ghana and even today most prominent Church activists come from this region. The region is also has very fertile land and as such is rich in Cocoa Plantations. The first plantation was started by Tetteh Quarshie who brought the Cacao plant from the Island of Fernado Po.

Akosombo was originally built to house all the workers which were part of the construction of the Akosombo Dam in the 1960′s. Today it is a beautiful city surrounded by the Akwamu Mountains and the Volta Lake. The construction of the Akosombo Dam resulted in the largest man made lake in the world – the Volta Lake which is roughly 400 km long and covers an area of 850.000 ha and a shoreline measuring almost 5,000 km.

Sightseeing

Aburi Gardens
37 km north of Accra lies the Aburi Botanical Garden which was created in the 1890′s and is a Noah’s Ark of flora and fauna.

Akosombo Dam
The Akosombo Dam provides Electricity for Ghana and it’s neighbors Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. On Sundays the Dodi Princess takes a 4 hour trip to the Dodi Island in the lake and back. On board you will be entertained by a live band as well as a terrific lunch buffet. Upon special request you can take a tour through the Dam.

Boti Falls
The 30 km high perennial waterfall lies on the Pawnpawn River in the Boti Forest Reserve. It carries water only during the raining season approximately from May to September. The fall is surrounded by beautiful flamboyant trees and other vegetation as well as caves and interesting rock formations like the ‘Umbrella Stone’. The pool at the base of the fall can be reached by descending 250 steps and is safe for a swim.

Dr. Nkrumah saw the necessity of producing electricity in Ghana and saw this as the first step in Ghana’s
independence. Work started in 1961 and ended in 1965 with the result being a dam of height 135 meters
and 670 meters in length. The lake which formed behind the dam is the largest man made lake in the world
and has a volume of 8500 sq. km and provides drinking water, fishing facility, irrigation as well as easy
transportation from Akosombo to the north of Ghana and back. After the completion of the dam Ghana was
able  to produced so much hydroelectric power that it was able to supply  its neighbors Togo and Benin
as well.

The Ashanti Region has probably the most interesting part in Ghana’s history. This takes us back to ancient Gana in Mali – when Gana broke up, the Akan tribe split up and one group settled in the region, which became the Ashanti Region. The Ashanti were a tribe of Warriors and after a short period had conquered the most of the tribes around them with the exception of the Denkyira, which made life difficult for them. The Denkyira oppressed the Ashanti which had to pay tribute to them in form of Gold and Slaves. The change came with King Osei Tutu who was able to conquer the Denkyira in 1700.

As it happens so very often in world history the oppressed became the oppressor. After their victory over the Denkyira, the Ashanti begun systematically to incorporate all surrounding tribes and villages into the Ashanti Kingdom. Due to the many wars the Ashanti had many prisoners of war which were sold to the Europeans as Slaves. This in turn resulted in a permanent war between the Fanti’s from the coast and the Ashanti who did not want to use the Fanti as middlemen in their trade. This behavior of the Ashanti was noticed by the British and they in turn did not look favorably on this which ended in the war between this two headstrong parties – the Ashanti and the British. As the Ashanti had a strong army it took 7 wars between the years 1824 and 1901 until the British were able to conquer Kumasi in 1901.

Kumasi today also known as Garden City or Gold Town has an interesting tale to tell about how it came into existence. Okonfo Anokye the High Priest of Asantehene Osei Tutu planted two seeds of the Kum Tree at two different locations. One seed started to grow but one died. Kum Asi ( under the Kum tree ) was built at the location of the growing tree and another town was later built at the other location and became known as Kum Awu ( the Kum tree that died ). It was also Okonfo Anokye who brought down the Golden Stool from the sky. It is believed that the soul of the Asante people was put in the Golden Stool and it has been protected by every means ever since. The stool is never displayed in public, what you see is always an imitation. The only time the Asantehene sits on the Golden Stool is on his initiation day.

Almost none of the historic Kumasi is left today due to the burning down of the ancient Kum Asi by the British upon their victory in 1901. It took the Asante people twelve years to re- built their city but almost none of the original traces of their history remains.. After these years of struggle Kumasi entered a time of plenty and immense riches. The years after the second world war, Ghana became interesting once again for the western world due to the countries natural resources in Cocoa, Gold and Hard Wood. As all these are mostly found in the Ashanti Region the Asantehene and his people were able to profit immensely. The railway Line connecting the North and the South run through Kumasi and this boosted its importance yet again. Kumasi soon became the central Market point in Ghana which in turn attracted people to migrate from all over the country to settle. Schools were built, roads constructed, factories erected and Kumasi slowly grew into the second largest city in Ghana.

From the historical aspect the Brong Ahafo Region is the cradle of the Akan People as most of the Akan Tribes find their roots in the areas of Techiman and Kintampo. During some archeological expeditions amazing finds were made in these areas. The largest tribes in this region are the Bono and the Ahafo. Sunyani has always been a market place between the north and the south. The Salt Traders from the south and the north met here as well as the Kola Nut was traded between the east and the west. The area surrounding Sunyani used to be densely populated by Elephants which in turn attracted the hunters in search of Ivory. Once the Elephants diminished the town Sunyani lost it’s attraction and this brought about the beginning of Cocoa Plantations. With the growing Cocoa demand in the world Sunyani again became interesting for traders. The farmers became rich and Sunyani grew into a flourishing city.

The Brong Ahafo Region used to be part of Ashanti until the 60′s when it became a region of it’s own. In the western part of this region near the Cote d’Ivoire border the vegetation is dense rainforest which makes up for the largest part of Ghana’s forest reserve. The eastern border of the region is the Volta Lake which is at it’s widest here. The northern area of the region shows a change in vegetation and the rainforest changes into tree savanna.

Sightseeing

Royal Palace Museum
Here you get an insight on the colorful history of the Asante. A wonderful museum with real life size figures of all the past chiefs produced in London and many other objects telling the stories of the people of Asante.

National Cultural Center
Situated within the Cultural Center is the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum which offers a good insight of Asante History. Prempeh II reigned from 1931 to 1970 and most of the artifacts in this museum are about this period.

Okonfo Anokye Sword Site
Situated behind the Okomfo Anokye Hospital is a small circular building which has the original Okomfo Anokye Sword on display. The Sword marks the place where the Golden Stool initially descended from the sky and it has been at the same spot for the last 300 years. Legend has it that the state of Asante would collapse were it ever removed.

Armed Forces Museum
Here one finds an amazing collection of weapons and spoils.

Kejetia Market
This is the largest market in West Africa. It is a sea of millions of colors created by people selling their wares. Here one finds almost everything under the sun for the right price.

Lake Bososmtwe
Situated 30 km south of Kumasi one finds Lake Bosomtwe which was formed by a falling meteorite about 1.3 million years ago.

Bonwire
Bonwire is one of the many Kente weaving villages in Asante.

Wood Carvers at Ahwiaa
About 12 km away from Kumasi on the Mampong road lies the little village Ahwiaa where one finds very skilful wood carvers.

Monkey Sanctuary
The Boabeng – Fiema Monkey Sanctuary lies between Techiman and Sunyani.

Kintampo Waterfall
Half way between Kumasi and Tamale on the outskirts of Kintampo is the Kintampo Waterfall.

Kente is the traditional cloth of the Asantehene. According to tradition, Bonwire was one of the five kente
stools which were founded by exiles from Denkyira, who settled around Kumasi after the Denkyira were
conquered by Osei Tutu. As they were very skilful weavers they were forbidden to sell cloth to anyone
without the Asantehens permission. Today one can purchase traditional kente cloth here and learn the
meaning of the various patterns.

Here you can buy gifts and souvenirs in all sizes and all shapes. You can also watch whiles
the beautiful masks and animals are skillfully carved out of a chunk of wood.

Accra became the seat for the Gold Coast Administration in the year 1877 the reason was simple – Cape Coast, the then Capital of the Crown Colony, was too far away from the other parts of the country and since then Accra has been the center point for the ten regions. Accra is the smallest of Ghana’s Regions with only 2577 sq. km but it is the most densely populated.

Accra is proud of it’s style. As Ghanaians are proud of their culture and heritage they are also proud of their style.  Accra is one of the few cities in Africa which does not try to copy the Western World or America. You will not find towering buildings from cold cement and glass nor will you find snobbish shopping arcades. What you find is a city which is first and foremost a home to it’s population of more than 2 million. Accra is not necessarily a beautiful city but it was made according the style and taste of those that live in it and around it.

Due to Accra’s geographic situation it hardly rains in Accra. It is situated in the middle of a very dry coastline that stretches from Cape Three Points to Togo. Due to this the area around Accra and Tema is among the driest in the country. Accra is surrounded by water and as such is not affected by the absence of rain. The sea, one lake and four lagoons are ample enough. Accra is only 25 meters above sea level and is surrounded by hills 350 meters high on the other three sides.

No one really knows where the name Accra originated, but one thing is for sure, it has a connection with Black Ants also known as Gaga in the Ga language.  Another sign for the connection of ants with the name is the traditional Akan name for Accra is Nkran – Black Ant. The Ga were the first to settle in this area. They were mostly farmers and as such they preferred living on higher grounds, but also because they had many enemies and the surrounding hills gave them cover. Around 1471 the Portuguese landed on the coast in this region and soon set up a trading point to trade their wares against the riches of the African Coast – Gold, Pepper, Ivory and Slaves.

The Ga were quite a small tribe and as such had problems defending themselves against their countless enemies. But one thing they had in their favor was the fact that they were smart and used the foreigners to protect them. The Foreigners found the Ga’ s to be good tradesmen and wanted to protect their interest. Soon the areas around the Castles in the Ga area became attractive for other settlers and the region grew in population with people migrating down from other regions. The first large settlement was around the Korle Lagoon which became Ussher Town when the British took over the Ussher Fort. Similarly James Town became the area around the British James Fort. Labadi was formed by a colony of Farmers which supplied the other areas with food crops whiles the folk along the coastal strips supplied fish and as such there was a constant bartering between the Ga’s and the foreigners. When the British finally took over in the middle of the 19th Century Accra was born.

Today Accra is no different from any other metropolis only maybe more interesting as one finds the old tradition and the new American and Western influence as a refreshing mixture. Accra is quickly growing into a model city for the rest of West Africa – Accra dictates Fashion and Music trends for  West Africa.

Sightseeing

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park
Dr. Nkrumah was the first President of the Republic of Ghana.

Du Bois Memorial Center
Dr. W. E. Du Bois was the leader of the Pan African Congress between 1919 and 1927 as well as vocal anti – segregationist, prolific writer and speaker and he was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Center serves as a Library for students of pan – Africansim but is also a memorial for Du- Bois himself and is open to the Public.

National Museum
The museum has an excellent display of traditional crafts as well as an ethnological and archeological array of items.

Center for National Culture
In the Ghana Center for National Culture you can spend the Saturday afternoon watching local music and drama shows. Adjoining there are several displays of traditional art at the Anansekrom Arts Center.

Arts Market
Besides the Art Center on the High street you find a market devoted solely to traditional Arts and Craft. Here one can spend hours rummaging through little stores and sheds looking for souvenirs amongst carvings, beads, material, baskets and leather ware.

Makola Market
This is the largest market in Accra and is interesting in it’s variety of items sold as many different people from all walks of life selling and buying.

Coffin Shop
In Teshie a suburb of Accra one finds the Coffin Makers.