10-Day Ghana and Senegal Expedition with Castles, Goree and Lac Rose

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Day 01

Akwaaba - Welcome to Ghana

• Arrive in Accra, Ghana. You will be met at the airport by Landtours representatives, who will assist you with your transfer from the airport to your hotel.

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Day 02

Accra City Tour and Traditional African Market

• After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra, the capital of Ghana. Experience the city's highlights during this Accra orientation. The capital of Ghana since 1877, Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region. In addition, it is the country's most populous city. Travel through the administrative and economic districts of Accra. Also, see the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan-African Culture and the Independence/Black Star Square. Learn about important events in Ghana's history and the country's first president, who helped lead Ghana to independence.
• Continue your tour to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, which is dedicated to the legacy of Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and his role in African independence. The tour includes visits to Nkrumah's mausoleum, a museum showcasing his life, his residence, the Eternal Flame of African Liberation, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Learn about Nkrumah's early life, political career, and Pan-African vision.
• End the day's tour at the Arts Center, where participants can sharpen their bargaining skills and shop for goods from Ghana and West Africa in an open-air market. On display are fabrics of different materials, designs, colours, and textures to purchase.

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Day 03

Kakum Rainforest and Cape Coast Castle

• After breakfast, check out of your hotel, depart for Cape Coast, and drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa's surviving tropical rainforests. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through the rainforest to discover the wide variety of exotic flora and fauna species and their medicinal values, or take a walk on the canopy walkway 40 meters above the forest floor.
• After lunch on your own, embark on a tour of the infamous forts, castles, and slave dungeons of Ghana. History will unfold the story of the slave trade, and the impact is still felt beyond the shores of Africa today.
• Visit Cape Coast Castle, built by the Swedes in 1653 and later taken over by the British. Here, you will learn about the relationship between the Western slave traders and the African tribes that made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible. It is an opportunity to be up close with history - to stand in the dark and stuffy dungeons, imagining the experience and conditions millions of Africans endured. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum.

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Day 04

Elmina Castle and Fishing Village Experience

• Explore Elmina, a fishing village that's both picturesque and gritty, charming and thought-provoking. What better way to appreciate it than to immerse yourself in its main industry - fishing! Meet with local fishermen to learn the intricacies of their trade and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Next, meet the fishmongers in the village, who will demonstrate the various stages of smoking the fish in earthenware ovens. This is a unique way to experience one of Ghana's oldest and most important trades.
• After lunch on your own, visit Elmina Castle, also known as St. George's Castle, built by the Portuguese in 1482. Here, learn about the relationship between the Western slave traders and the African tribes that participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here, participants will witness the dark and stuffy dungeons that local people were forced to endure before being sent on a long and dangerous passage across the Atlantic. To see the truth of these conditions in person is a powerful reminder of the inhumanity of the slave trade.

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Day 05

Assin Manso and Kumasi City Tour

• After breakfast, check out of your hotel and drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire, to explore the legends of the famous Ashantis, whose legacies are still evident today. En route, stop at Assin Manso. Visit the site of

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Day 06

Ashanti Craft Villages

• After breakfast, depart your hotel and devote this day to visiting the three famous Ashanti craft villages: Ahwiaa, the wood carvers' village; Ntonso, the home of Adinkra cloth; and Bonwire, the Kente weaving village. You will have an opportunity to see how African crafts are made and to buy directly from the artisans who make them.

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Day 07

Accra to Dakar

• After breakfast, spend the remainder of the day packing and doing last-minute shopping.
• Transfer to the airport for check-in and departure to Senegal.

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Day 08

Goree Island and Dakar City Tour

• After breakfast, depart your hotel and be transferred to the ferry terminal. Here, you will board a ferry to the infamous Goree Island. This 20-minute ride takes us back in time over 200 years. Goree Island was once the depot and departure point of millions and millions of Africans shipped into bondage to the Americas. At the slave house, we listen to the curator narrate 3 to 4 centuries of the black slave trade as it happened in West Africa.
• After prayers and libation to the memories of our ancestors who perished in the door passage, you will tour the island, stopping at the Women's Museum. Then, you will enjoy lunch on the island on your own.
• After lunch on your own, depart to discover Dakar, the capital city of Senegal. Stop at the Presidential Palace, the African Arts Museum with its great collection from all over West Africa, and the Catholic cathedral of the African Memories. Stroll through the colourful market of Sandag, pass by the great mosque, the university, the sand painting gallery, and the Monument of African Renaissance. At last, stop at the biggest craft market and experience the friendly bargain system.

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Day 09

Pink Lake and Kayar Tour

• After breakfast, start your day with a visit to the beautiful Lac Rose (Pink Lake Retba), known for its spectacular pink hues. Next, stop in the Fulani villages of Kayar. Here, you will get the opportunity to interact with local community members while you observe the lively arrival of big-game fishing and watch how fisherfolk go about their daily duties at the beach.

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Day 10

Farewell and Departure

• After breakfast, spend the early part of the day at leisure. Later in the day, check out of your hotel and transfer to the airport for check-in and your final departure home.