Exploring Ghana's History
Ancient kingdoms, forty European forts and the first independent nation in sub-Saharan Africa: a short guide to the past you will encounter here.
History · 5 November 2025
Ghana packs an enormous amount of history into a small country, and much of it is still standing. Here is the shape of it, and where you can go and see each part.
Before the Europeans
The modern country takes its name from the medieval Ghana Empire, which sat further north-west, but the land here held powerful states of its own: Bono, Dagbon, Gonja, the Ga and Ewe polities, and from the late 1600s the Ashanti Empire, which grew into one of the most sophisticated states in Africa. Visit the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi for that story told by the Ashanti themselves.
The forts and castles
More than forty European forts and castles were built along this coastline, more than anywhere else in Africa. St. George’s Castle at Elmina went up in 1482 and is the oldest surviving European building south of the Sahara. Cape Coast Castle became the largest. Both were later central to the transatlantic slave trade and both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The slave trade and the journey of return
Millions of Africans were taken from this coast. Cape Coast and Elmina are the sites most visitors see, but Assin Manso, where captives were washed in the river before the final march to the sea, is quieter and for many people more affecting. Ghana has actively invited the diaspora to make this journey, and our guides handle these days with care.
Independence
On 6 March 1957 Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule, under Kwame Nkrumah. It changed the trajectory of the whole continent. The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra holds his tomb and a museum, and Independence Square nearby was built for the occasion.
Pan-Africanism
Nkrumah’s Ghana became a magnet for Black thinkers and activists worldwide. W.E.B. Du Bois moved here and died here, and his house in Accra is now a memorial centre and archive. Maya Angelou, Malcolm X and George Padmore all spent time in the city.
Seeing it properly
Our Accra City Day Tour covers the independence and Pan-African sites. The Kakum and Cape Coast day, and the Kakum and Elmina day, cover the castles. Add Kumasi for the Ashanti story and you have the whole arc in about four days.
More Ghana travel guides
The Best Time to Visit Ghana
Ghana is a year-round destination, but the season you choose changes what your trip feels like. Here is how the year actually breaks down.
Ten Places You Should Not Leave Ghana Without Seeing
From the canopy bridges of Kakum to the stilt village of Nzulezu, the places we send every visitor to, and why.
Ghana Travel Tips for First-Time Visitors
Money, visas, transport, greetings, bargaining and the small practical things nobody tells you before you land.
Come as a visitor. Leave with fond memories of Ghana.
Tell us your dates and what you would love to see. We will reply within a few hours with a plan, a price and no pressure.