Ghana, Togo & Benin July 22 to August 07, 2019 Including Travel dates Ghana, 10 nights Togo, Nights Benin, Nights Day Activity Hotel Monday, July 22 Tuesday July 23 Departure from the USA In-flight ARRIVE ACCRA, GHANA Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel Wednesday July 24 Upon arrival at Kotoka International Airport, proceed through immigrations, claim luggage and clear Custom procedures, exit and meet our expert Cultural Tour guide You have a drive through the Accra Mall to exchange money or have lunch (on your own account) before continuing to your hotel (Hotel check-in is at 3:00pm) This evening there is orientation which includes a lecture/discussion on African culture and a welcome dinner with entertainment Tailors and dressmakers will be in attendance to take your orders for custom made outfits Meal(s) Included: Welcome Dinner ACCRA Accra, the capital of Ghana, has maintained its unique identity despite the fast paced development currently underway in this intriguing African city.Today is dedicated to meeting government, regional and local stakeholders in the area of Health, Gender rights and Social Work We begin the day short tour of the beautiful and vast campus of University of Ghana, Legon in our private air conditioned vehicle We will meet and hold discussions with a lecturer/Professor at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana on understanding slave history, slave trade & African Liberation Visit the University Of Ghana School Of Social Work followed by a meeting with executives and members of Ghana Social Workers Association which was formed in the 1970s to promote the best possible social work services for all people who may need them, whiles also securing the well being of social workers Visit the International Health Care Centre (partners with the West Africa AIDS Foundation), which serves marginalized and vulnerable people who many a time have constraints in accommodation the cost Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel Thursday July 25 Friday July 26 of care They are also well-experienced in offering counseling and testing for various chronic conditions including HIV as well as managing persons infected with HIV IHCC is also one of the NACP’s accredited anti-retroviral (ART) sites in the country Finally, we meet and hold discussions with management and staff of Ghana Aids Commission, established in 2002 as the highest policy making body on HIV & AIDS that provides effective leadership in the coordination of the programmes and activities undertaken by all stakeholders of the national response through advocacy, joint planning, research, monitoring and evaluation towards comprehensive prevention and total control of the disease Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner ACCRA & VICINITY After breakfast, we set off for a panaramic tour of Accra Visit the W.E.B Du Bois Centre for Pan Africanism; this is the final burial place and former home of the prominent American PanAfricanist Dr W.E.B Du Bois, who led the Pan-African congress between 1919 and 1927 It is currently a Pan African Center for culture and it also has a research library and gallery full of manuscripts Drive past the Independence Arch and the Black Star Square, Accra’s ceremonial grounds, to visit the Arts and Crafts market View the Christiansborg Castle, office and residence of the President of Ghana Continue to visit the final resting places of the fathers of PanAfricanism Visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, burial place of the first President of Ghana Ghana’s first president is known to have spearheaded the course of Pan Africanism on the African Continent and beyond The Mausoleum has been visited by many world dignitaries Your last stop for the tour will be at the Arts and Crafts market where you may try out your bargaining skills on the local vendors and to “shop till you drop” We will have the opportunity of visiting the office of Women in Law and Development in Ghana (WiLDAF) for an interactive session learning about their consistent efforts in building the capacity of women across Ghana WilDaf is a Pan Africa Women’s rights network which aims to promote and reinforce strategies that link law and development in order to increase women’s participation and influence at the local, national and international levels They are operational in several African Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner ACCRA-KUMASI We depart for a scenic drive to Kumasi the capital of the cradle of African culture- Ashanti Region Kumasi may surprise you, being the most dynamic marketplace in West African and the second largest city in Ghana with a population of almost three million Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel Noda Hotel At the outskirts of Kumasi, we will visit the Ashanti Craft villages as follows: The village of Bonwire, to explore the famous Kente cloth which is handmade on looms in a time-honored tradition passed down through generations See the Kente weavers in the process of creating Kente cloth in various intricate styles and interact with the craftsmen The village of Ntonso, where artisan’s hand-stamp patterns on cotton cloth to make Adinkra textiles Ntonso is noted for its indigenous artisans whose expertise lies in the Adinkra textiles printing using traditional symbols that express the spiritual, moral, political and socio-cultural philosophies of the Akan people The Adinkra textiles are also worn for funerals and other solemn occasions Learn how the black dye is made from the bark of trees, and create your own Adinkra sash to take home The woodcarving village Of Ahwiaa, known for the talented craftsmen who fashion royal stools, fertility dolls and other crafts from wood Witness the woodcarvers turn pieces of wood into a beautiful Ashanti stool or fertility doll Transfer to the hotel Saturday July 27 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner KUMASI Kumasi has quite a collection of British colonial buildings and it is the heart of the Ashanti culture.We enjoy a drive through the city with monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people Noda Hotel We will visit the Manhyia Palace, official residence of Ashanti Kings (Asantehene) until 1974, now a museum containing treasured items relating to the Ashanti Kingdom Visit the nearby Okomfo Anokye Sword, an important symbol of Ashanti unity that marks the spot where the Golden Stool “descended from the sky” and has been in place for 300 years Legend says the Ashanti Kingdom would collapse should the sword ever be removed We continue to the National Cultural Center, which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers On your return to the hotel, you will have a drive through the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Campus After the tour, we return to the hotel Sunday July 28 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner KUMASI- ELMINA This morning you will experience an authentic Ghanaian local worship service by attending mass at the St Peter’s Basilica in Kumasi before we depart for the spiritual heart of Ghana- Cape Coast Stop en route at Assin Manso to visit the burial site of the remains of Elmina Beach Resort the two ancestors exhumed from New York’s Wall Street and Jamaica Kingston and re-interred on the Emancipation Day 1998 Visit the “Enslaved African River” This evening, meet and hold discussions with Mr Felix Nguah award winning Tourism professional in Ghana With his experience working as Senior Museums and Monuments Education Officer at the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, he is well able to take the group through an interactive session on Trans-Atlantic slave-trade and Ghanaian culture He is a co-author of SHACKLES IN DARKNESS: A HANDBOOK ON THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE Transfer to the hotel and enjoy the rest of day on the beach Monday July 29 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner ELMINA & VICINITY Elmina Beach Resort This morning after breakfast, we drive a short distance to Cape Coast and visit the Cape Coast Castle; also a UNESCO World Heritage Monument was originally started by the Swedes in 1652 It served as the headquarters and seat of the British colonial government until 1877 Go on a comprehensive tour of the Castle, the Slave Dungeons and the West African Heritage Museum The guide will lead you to slave quarters and Negotiation Hall where our ancestors were bargained and sold We continue to Elmina embarking on a guided walking tour of Elmina, which was the first point of European contact in Sub-Saharan Africa It was once the most cosmopolitan city in Tropical Africa Climb the Jago Hill to Fort Saint Jargo, which was used by the Dutch as a post to snatch the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese You will be thrilled by the various Colonial Dutch Cemeteries as well as the colorful Safo (Fante Traditional Soldiers) posts with their philosophical symbols Visit the Elmina Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage monument It is the oldest and largest European structure built in subSaharan Africa This was built by the Portuguese in1482 and later used as an auction market for a comprehensive guided tour See the slave dungeons and condemn cells where slave who attempted to escape were incarcerated View its utterly distinct architecture Rest of day at leisure on the beach Tuesday July 30 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner ELMINA-CAPE COAST-ELMINA After breakfast, you will check out of your hotel for Accra Enroute, you enjoy a drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa's surviving tropical rain forests Extending over 360sq km, Kakum is the home to over 40 large mammals and 400 bird species as well as many species of butterflies, flora and fauna The most popular attraction is the canopy walkway, which is made up of seven bridges extending 330m, hanging 30m above the forest floor Choose between a km nature walk through this forest to discover the wide variety of exotic floral species and the medicinal Elmina Beach Resort values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway After lunch (on your own account), visit the Cape Coast School for the Deaf, a school that trains deaf children from all over the Central region You will be welcomed by the students with traditional cultural performance The students at Cape Coast School for the Deaf have put their disability aside in keeping the African traditional cultural performances alive They will excite you with African traditional drumming and dancing skills After the Welcome ceremony, meet and interact with teachers and students This would provide a unique opportunity to donate clothes, toys and school supplies to the school 10 Wednesday July 31 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast & Dinner ELMINA-ACCRA After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and set off to Accra Stop en route at a typical farming village to pay a courtesy call on the Chief Interact with the Chief and his people and learn more about village life in Ghana Observe village life and share experiences You would have the opportunity of visiting a pineapple farm to learn at first hand the use of centuries old methods of farming Arrive early afternoon and you visit the office of Compassion International, Ghana who are engaged in a holistic Child Development Approach In this approach, they seek to develop the child spiritually, physically, in terms of their cognitive skills and socio-emotional strength Here you discuss about their general efforts in achieving this goal Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel Transfer to your hotel for overnight stay 11 Thursday August 01 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast & Dinner ACCRA-LOME Today we follow the coast dotted with Ewe villages, tranquil lagoons and tropical vegetation before we reach Togo and the capital Lome (we depart Ghana/enter Togo via the Aflao border post) Lomé, with a population of 837,437 (metro population 1,570,283), is the capital and largest city of Togo Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels It also has an oil refinery The city was founded in the 19th century by German, British and African traders, becoming the capital of Togoland in 1897 Upon arrival we will have a scenic drive of Lome: an ocean drive, market area, public buildings, main boulevards and the new International Museum of the Gulf of Guinea Hotel Sancta Maria Transfer to your hotel; check in and refresh 12 Friday August 02 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner LOME-TOGOVILLE-LOME Today, you explore Togo’s vibrant capital where modernism and tradition so well overlap Visit the Akodesséwa fetish market, Independence Square portraying the struggle of the people of Togo for their emancipation from the Hotel Sancta Maria French colonial rule Continue to National museum housing pieces of Togo’s rich culture Proceed to Artisans’ Village where you could admire Togo’s craftsmen at work and probably buy some souvenirs Along the coastal road, see most colonial buildings and one of the president’s offices Continue to Togoville for sightseeing About 16 miles from Lome lay Lake Togo, a quiet lagoon lake, good for boating, windsurfing and water skiing At Agbodrafo, you may board the fishermen’s canoes to help them pull in their nets (seek permission from the village chief) From there, you can easily travel by shared boat to Togoville, a red-earth village which was the homeland of numerous slaves taken to Haiti, who were members of the voodoo cult Here you will find magic remedies and voodoo charms used by local sorcerers 13 Saturday August 02 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner LOME-OUIDAH-COTONOU, BENIN This morning, we drive along the scenic Togo Lagoon from Lome to the colonial town of Aneho, capital of the former German Togoland, where we exit Togo (border post Aneho) After entering Benin (border post Hilla-Condji), we drive to Ouidah, an important historical center and the cradle of the Voodoo religion Ouidah offers a calm and relaxed atmosphere with its colonial buildings and it tropical atmosphere Our Ouidah tour will include the Temple of Pythons and the sacred forest, both important Voodoo Shrines as well as the Portuguese Fort now housing the History Museum The exhibit focuses on the slave trade and Benin consequent cultural links with the Caribbean and the Americas From the city center, we retrace part of the infamous slave route, passing a former slave market and numerous shrines and memorials erected by the African Diaspora of the New World We travel all the way to the ocean and the Door of No Return Hotel Du Lac We drive to Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin 14 Sunday August 03 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner COTONOU & PORT NOVO This morning, we travel the short distance to Porto Novo, the capital of Benin and its second largest city of approximately 250,000 people – a nice change of pace from the bustling Cotonou Porto Novo, named by the Portuguese in the 1500s, is still today showing significant Portuguese influence For its size, Porto Novo has an interesting culture and tourist attractions In addition to a panoramic tour of the city, we will visit the Musée Éthnographique de Porto Novo, an interesting museum that takes an intensive look into the past of Porto Novo's kings, displaying a good selection of fetishes, old Yoruba king masks, costumes, and some musical instruments We also visit Palais Royal du Roi Toffa This former residence of King Toffa is now officially called Musée Home This well-maintained, rather simple, palace is a nice look into how African royalty really lived 1883 was the year King Toffa signed the treaty with French, agreeing to hand over land The kingdom of Porto Novo was one of the longest lasting in Africa, lasting up until Hotel Du Lac 1976 We also see the unique and perhaps most colorful building in West Africa the 19th century Brazilian style church now converted into a mosque We return to Cotonou late afternoon 15 Monday August 05 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner COTONOU-GANVIE One of the highlights of any trip to West Africa is Ganvie, the African Venice In ancient times people took refuge on Lake Nokoue from the attacks of the feared Dahomey warriors who were forbidden by a deep belief to fight on water The Ganvie people over time developed this unique lake culture and way of life which have made them famous Our boat cruise takes us along tranquil waterways and fish farms to the lake community of Ganvie We discover these curious built-on-stilts dwellings, small floating markets and different aspects of the local daily life Returning to "terra firma", we pay a visit to the Abomey-Calavi fetish market, the most authentic in the region and (hopefully) meet one of the officiating fetish priests before returning to Cotonou Hotel Du Lac We return to Cotonou for our overnight stay; dinner at a local restaurant 16 Tuesday August 06 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner COTONOU-ACCRA Today will be spent visiting the following places before departimg to Accra: Best Western Plus Accra Beach Hotel Meet and hold discussions on slave history with a Professor at the University of Benin Teaching University Hospital, Cotonou to hold discussions around the general health care system of the country, comprehensive approach to managing HIV cases and assistance to persons living with AIDS The Center for Disease Control NGO whose efforts have supported various patients infected with HIV We continue back to Accra Transfer to your hotel for the night 17 Wednesday August 07 Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner ACCRA- DEPART After breakfast, day at leisure Transportation, including driver and guide provided Meal(s) Included: Breakfast In-flight TOUR INCLUDES • Meeting and assistance upon arrival and departure • Round-trip airport/hotel transfers/air fare • Hotel accommodation in the indicated properties • Transportation in private vehicle • Experienced tour guide • Admission to listed sites • Meals indicated (breakfast and dinner) TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE • Cost of visa (if needed) • Meals not listed including lunches • Travel Insurance • Gratuity to driver and guide *** Air fares are subject to change.***** ... residence of the President of Ghana Continue to visit the final resting places of the fathers of PanAfricanism Visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, burial place of the first President of Ghana...4 Thursday July 25 Friday July 26 of care They are also well-experienced in offering counseling and testing for various chronic conditions... in Kumasi before we depart for the spiritual heart of Ghana- Cape Coast Stop en route at Assin Manso to visit the burial site of the remains of Elmina Beach Resort the two ancestors exhumed