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.
Destinations · 28 April 2026
Ghana is bigger and more varied than most first-time visitors expect. You could spend a fortnight here and only cover the south. If you are building an itinerary, these ten places are the ones we come back to again and again.
1. Cape Coast and Elmina Castles
Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites within half an hour of each other, and the most important historical sites in the country. Elmina is older, built by the Portuguese in 1482. Cape Coast is the larger and, for many visitors, the more affecting. Give either one a proper half day.
2. Kakum National Park
The canopy walkway, seven suspension bridges 40 metres above the rainforest floor, is the single most photographed thing in Ghana, and it earns it. Go early, before the tour buses and the heat.
3. Mole National Park
Elephants walking to a waterhole below the lodge terrace while you have breakfast. Mole is a long way north but it is the only place in Ghana where you can do a genuine walking safari.
4. Wli Waterfalls
The highest falls in West Africa, in the Volta Region near the Togo border. The lower falls are an easy forest walk. The upper falls are a serious three-hour climb with a real reward.
5. Aburi Botanical Gardens
Forty-five minutes from Accra and several degrees cooler. Colonial-era palm avenues, enormous strangler figs and the easiest good day out from the capital.
6. Nzulezu
An entire village built on stilts over a lake in the Western Region, reached by an hour-long canoe trip through reed channels. Nothing else in Ghana feels like it.
7. Kumasi and the Ashanti craft villages
The Manhyia Palace Museum for the history of the Ashanti Kingdom, Kejetia market for the scale of it, and the villages of Bonwire and Ntonso for kente weaving and adinkra printing.
8. Lake Bosomtwe
A sacred crater lake near Kumasi, formed by a meteorite strike, ringed by steep green hills. Quiet, swimmable and beautiful at sunset.
9. Ada Foah
Where the Volta finally meets the Atlantic. Take a boat to the sandbar and stand with a river on one side and an ocean on the other.
10. Jamestown, Accra
The old quarter of the capital: the lighthouse, the fishing harbour, the murals and the boxing gyms that have produced world champions. Best seen on foot with someone who knows it.
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.
Ghana Travel Tips for First-Time Visitors
Money, visas, transport, greetings, bargaining and the small practical things nobody tells you before you land.
Ghanaian Food You Should Try
Jollof, waakye, banku and the rest: what to order, when to order it, and how to eat it properly.
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.