Itinerary Details
MT Sobek: Ghana, Togo & Benin Cultural Discovery
Day 1 Arrive in Accra, Ghana
Welcome to Accra, the vibrant capital of Ghana. Meet your English-speaking guide outside the airport and transfer to your hotel in Osa — a leafy suburb of the city. You'll have time to explore the area before enjoying a welcome dinner with your group tonight.
Accommodation: La Villa Boutique Hotel
(D)
Day 2 Explore Historic Accra
4-hour private van transfer
1-hour easy walking city tour
Start the day with a one-hour guided walk through the vibrant and historic ocean-facing neighborhood of Jamestown. A unique treat awaits next: a visit to the Fantasy Coffins workshop, a place that specializes in handcrafted coffins shaped like fruit, animals, fish, cars, airplanes — you name it! The coffins, also known as FAVs (fantastic afterlife vehicles), are made by specialized carpenters only in the Greater Accra region. These unique pieces are collected worldwide and showcased in museums. Next, explore the National Museum for an introduction to Ghana's history and culture. After lunch, enjoy a scenic drive to the village of Anomabo located on Ghana's central coast.
Accommodation: Anomabo Beach Resort
(B, L, D)
Day 3 Castles, Dungeons & Slave Trade History in Elmina
1.5-hour private van transfer
1.5-hour easy walking tour
Soak up the palm-fringed coast on the way to the lively trading town of Elmina and its pretty harbor, bobbing with wooden fishing boats. Explore the UNESCO-listed 15th-century Elmina Castle, an infamous location in the history of the slave trade. Elmina Castle was used by European colonialists as a warehouse to trade gold, ivory, and humans, for over five centuries. Entering the slave dungeons and witnessing the "Door of No Return" is a profound and moving experience. After lunch, return to Anomabo and take an easy walk in Old Town to discover the elaborate posuban, colorful shrines of the Asafo companies. Explore the lively alleyways of Old Town, then return to the hotel. Relax on the beach in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Anomabo Beach Resort
(B, L, D)
Day 4 Discover Kumasi, Capital of the Historic Ashanti Kingdom
5-hour private van transfer
45-minute easy walking tour; 1-hour traditional ceremony
Enjoy a drive across a tropical forest region and arrive in Kumasi, the historical and spiritual capital of the old Ashanti Kingdom — one of pre-colonial Africa's most powerful nations. Explore Kumasi's colorful market and its elaborate array of crafts. Marvel at the Ashanti Cultural Center, with a fascinating collection of artifacts on display. Witness a traditional Ashanti funeral, where relatives and friends gather to celebrate the deceased, who is believed to join a long line of ancestors via the ceremony. Chiefs and their courtiers arrive under the shade of colorful umbrellas, while drums accompany the dancers. It's a highly symbolic and special ceremony in which to participate. This evening will include an optional city tour with live band performances, nightlife, and local contemporary music.
Accommodation: Lancaster Kumasi City Hotel
(B, L, D)
Day 5 Participate in The Akwasidae Festival
3-hour private van transfer
Akwasidae Festival
Join in the festivities of celebrating the Ashanti King — one of the most traditional ceremonies to survive into the modern day. Witness the colorful processions, the ceremonies surrounding this ancient rite, and absorb the rhythms of dances. The splendors and the rituals are quite intense and vivid, including gold and magnificently colored cloths. Soak it all up as the grand monarchs are honored by their people.
Accommodation: Encom Hotel
(B, L, D)
Day 6 Visit a Sacred Forest & Explore the Northern Savannah
6-hour private van transfer
1-hour easy walking
As you venture out into the Brong Afo region from Techiman, leave the main road and follow a track into a sacred forest. The population that resides here considers the wild monas and colobus monkeys to be their ancestors. Take an easy walk beneath the shade of giant trees, keeping an eye out for those sacred monkeys roaming about the forest. Later, you'll drive north, noticing as the environment changes. Leave the forest and its tall, lush vegetation and enter the savannah landscape with its baobabs and their bare branches. The Akan people have resided here for centuries in traditional, round huts in the forest.
Accommodation: Gariba Lodge
(B, L, D)
Day 7 Meet the Dagomba Tribe & Walk with Witches
6-hour private van transfer
1.5-hour easy village walk
Today you'll visit with the Dagomba tribe that lives in the savannah region. Notice the thatched-roof, round clay huts, and take a peek inside the village chief's house where the council of elders meet. Continue your exploration to meet a large settlement of alleged witches, exiled from their villages. Take a walk through the village and talk to these women about their lives. Later, continue driving along a dusty track to the border of Togo, reaching your hotel late in the evening.
Accommodation: Hotel Kara
(B, L, D)
Day 8 Enter Benin via Kabye Mountain Communities
3-hour private van transfer
1-hour easy walking tour
Walk in the mountains and see Kabye dwellings, locally known as soukala. Witness potters using an ancestral molding technique, and blacksmiths shaping iron with heavy stones instead of hammers and anvil, a technique used in the Iron Age. Cross the border with Benin, and visit a nomadic camp of the Fulani, the largest tribe of Zebu cow herders in West Africa. Absorb the breathtaking sight of the herdsmen watching over their animals.
Accommodation: Hotel Tata Somba
(B, L, D)
Day 9 Visit Adobe Castles of the Somba People
2-hour private van transfer
1.5-hour easy walking tour
Walk through the highlands and see the Somba people's adobe houses, shaped like small castles. These are some of the most magnificent examples of traditional African architecture. Get a unique opportunity to visit a local home for a closer look at the Somba way of life, and learn about their captivating cosmology. Back at the hotel, spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or visit the small but interesting ethnographic museum, and the town's bustling market.
Accommodation: Hotel Tata Somba
(B, L, D)
Day 10 Explore Traditional Fetish Hill Villages
7-hour private van transfer
1.5-hour moderate walking
Enjoy a long but thrilling day of exploration. Follow a rocky path to the traditional Taneka villages made up of round adobe huts covered with conical roofs. See the mix of ethnic groups in this melting-pot area with its unique cults and initiation rites. Wander through the villages along rock-lined alleyways, noticing the ancient and mysterious carvings on the rocks, representing the many populations who have dwelt here in the past. Stop at the Dankoli Fetish, a shrine for ancient animistic cults that are still practiced; local people come here to pray for things they need. Fresh traces of sacrifice, such as blood, palm alcohol and oil you'll see on the shrine are evidence that the prayers have been fulfilled.
Accommodation: Hotel Jeko
(B, L, D)
Day 11 Explore Kingdoms & Traditions in Benin
3-hour private van transfer
1.5-hour palace visit & 1.5-hour ceremony
Today join your guide on an informative walk through the historic streets of Abomey. The ancient capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th to 19th centuries, the city was the site of 12 royal palaces from each succeeding king, most now in ruins. You will meet families descended from Dahomey lineages, learn about the symbols of the ancient Dahomey Kingdom, and discover its history and economy. They operated the slave trade but also challenged the powerful armies that came to colonize the African continent. Find out about the royal army's female troop, famous for its boldness and fighting spirit. Attend an Oro ceremony, a rarely seen ritual of resistance and courage. The ceremony has ancient Yoruba origins and is only celebrated by male descendants. It's an unforgettable experience. Note: The Abomey Royal Palace Museum, which was previously part of this itinerary, is currently closed for renovation with no confirmed completion date.
Accommodation: Residence Celine
(B, L, D)
Day 12 Experience Mask Dances
2-hour private van transfer
40-minute palace visit & 3 hours masked dances
Today explore Ketou, the capital of an ancient and prestigious Yoruba kingdom. Visit the palace and be received by the Oba (King) Adedu Loye, 51st Alaketu and his dignitaries. Cherish the opportunity to see the dazzling Gelede mask dance, with more than 20 singers and dancers performing. Continue to Porto Novo, the country's former capital, to attend the Egun mask spectacle: the men wearing the masks symbolize the dead, emerging from the forest and forming a street procession.
Accommodation: Residences Ouadada
(B, L, D)
Day 13 Visit Lake Nokwe’s Stilt Village
3-hour private van transfer
2-hour boat tour
Feel the hustle and bustle of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, as thousands of zemidjans (moto-taxis) buzz about, driven by their purple- or yellow-uniformed drivers. From here, head to the boat dock and enjoy a ride across Lake Nokwe to Ganvie, the largest and most beautiful African stilt village. Inhabitants of the Tofinou ethnic group build their huts on teak stilts and cover the roofs with a thick leaf layer. Watch the local Tofinou people fish using traditional methods, and admire the way they managed to preserve their traditions and the lush natural environment. See idyllic daily life revolve around the canoes that men, women, and children guide with ease, using brightly colored poles.
Accommodation: Casa del Papa
(B, L, D)
Day 14 Explore Ouidah, Capital of African Voodoo
1-hour private van transfer
2-hour temple and fort visit; 45-minute villa visit; optional kayaking and boat cruise
Today delve right into Benin's Ouidah, where African Voodoo thrives. Conquered in the 18th century, it was one of the main slave-shipping harbors. Take in the city's unique blend of Afro-Brazilian architecture and its Voodoo Python Temple. Learn about the comparison between African and Caribbean Voodoo and walk along the "slave road" to the beach, leading to the "Door of No Return," where captives used to board the trade vessels to the Americas. Visit Villa Adjavon, built in 1922 in Afro-Brazilian architectural style, and see its exhibit of contemporary African Art. Spend the rest of the day at leisure, relaxing at the hotel's shady beach bar or swimming pool, or heading out for kayaking or a boat cruise on the lagoon.
Accommodation: Casa del Papa
(B, L, D)
Day 15 Venture into the Land of Voodoo
3-hour private van transfer
3-hour boat cruise and village tour
Cruise by pirogue along the Mono River, reaching an amazing estuary as the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. Discover small villages where women still extract salt using ancient techniques. Enjoy pristine, white-sand beaches and navigate through lagoons lined by small mangrove forests. Admire the large and artistically sculptured pirogues used by local fishermen. Take in a Zangbeto mask dance performance in a village. These large masks covered by colored straw represent non-human spirits, the forces of nature and the night. Cross the border to Togo and join a Voodoo ceremony in a remote settlement. Witness this age-old complex religion that is still fervently practiced in Africa today, a spectacular sight to behold.
Accommodation: Hotel 2 Fevrier
(B, L, D)
Day 16 Discover Lome & Depart from Togo
2-hour guided city tour & 3-hour cooking class
Wander Togo's vibrant capital of Lome with a local artist for an in-depth view of its buzzing streetscape. Visit the central market where fabric is sold to all over West and Central Africa; explore the colonial history, still very present in the administrative quarter; and see the largest fetish market in Africa. Meet a renowned local chef at the market and together scour the stalls for ingredients you'll use to make a gourmet African meal. Then learn about contemporary African cuisine, preparing a special lunch in the chef's studio under her careful guidance. You will have the use of a day room at your hotel until 6:00 p.m. Dinner is on your own before heading to the airport. Bid farewell to West Africa!
Accommodation: Hotel 2 Fevrier
(B, L)
