Bradt Travel Guide: Ghana

About this book

Bradt's Ghana is the only dedicated guidebook on the market and the most comprehensive source of travel information on the country, written by Philip Briggs, the leading writer of guidebooks to Africa. Catering for all types of visitors, from bar-hoppers to birdwatchers, and covering everything from Ghana's 550 km of Atlantic coastline to its remote and sparsely populated northern border, Bradt's Ghana is the most detailed resource for those who want to explore the country's wealth of tropical beaches, national parks, forest reserves, cultural sites and scenic waterfalls. It also includes more than 60 maps and is accompanied by a dedicated updated website run by the author himself.

Friendly, safe and inexpensive, Ghana is an ideal destination for first-time visitors to Africa. It is rich in little-visited national parks, forest reserves, cultural sites and scenic waterfalls and blessed with bleached white beaches and the lush rainforest of the Atlantic coastline. Updated throughout, this revised guide includes authoritative history and wildlife sections, accommodation and restaurant recommendations and a wealth of background and practical information. Written by Africa expert Philip Briggs, it provides unrivalled detail and knowledge of this little-visited nation.

This edition has been updated by Sean Connolly, author of Bradt's Senegal and a contributor to several of Bradt's African titles, who has been visiting the continent regularly since 2008. It has been thoroughly updated and carefully tailored to any changes in the Ghana travel scene since the last edition.

Contents

Introduction

PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 Background Information
      Geography and location, Climate, History, Economy, Language, Religion
Chapter 2 Natural History
      Wildlife
Chapter 3 Practical Information
      When to visit, Tourist information, Itineraries and highlights, Tour operators, Red tape, Ghana high commissions, embassies and diplomatic representatives, Getting there and away, Safety and hassles, What to take, Money, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays, Media and communications, Business, Cultural etiquette
Chapter 4 Health
      Preparations, In Ghana

PART TWO ACCRA AND SURROUNDS
Chapter 5 Accra
      History, Getting there and away, Orientation, Safety, Getting around, Tour operators, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see and do
Chapter 6 Around Accra
      Teshie-Nungua, Tema, Prampram and Ningo, Atsiekpoe, Aburi, Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Kokrobite, Bojo and Langma beaches, Gomoah Fetteh and Senya Beraku

PART THREE THE COAST WEST OF ACCRA
Overview
Chapter 7 Winneba and the Cape Coast Road
      Winneba, Apam , Mankessim, Saltpond and surrounds, Anomabu and Biriwa , Moree
Chapter 8 Cape Coast and Elmina
      Cape Coast, Kakum National Park, Elmina, Towards Takoradi
Chapter 9 Takoradi
      History, Orientation, Getting there and away, Getting around, Tourist informatio, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Other practicalities, What to see and do, Around Takoradi
Chapter 10 Busua and Surrounds
      Busua, Butre, Akwidaa and Cape Three Points
Chapter 11 Axim and the Far Southwest 257
      Prince's Town, Axim, Beyin, Nzulezo and the Amansuri Wetlands, Half Assini Ankasa Protected Area, Elubo

PART FOUR EASTERN GHANA
Overview
Chapter 12 Ada and the East Coast
      Ada Foah, Sogakope, Avu Lagoon, Keta and surrounds, Aflao
Chapter 13 Akosombo and Krobo
      Akosombo, Atimpoku and surrounds, Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo
Chapter 14 Ho and the Volta Interior
      Ho, Amedzofe and the Avatime Hills, Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, Kpandu, Hohoe, Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary, Mount Afadjato, Nkwanta
Chapter 15 Koforidua and the Kumasi Road
      Koforidua, Bunso and surrounds, The Kwahu Plateau

PART FIVE CENTRAL GHANA
Overview
Chapter 16 Kumasi
      History, Getting there and away, Orientation, Tourist information, Hassles, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink 363, Bars and nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see and do, Bia National Park and Resource Reserve
Chapter 17 Greater Ashanti
      Craft villages northeast of Kumasi, Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary, Lake Bosomtwe, Obuasi, Bonkro Picathartes Site, Ejisu and surrounds, Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary, Effiduase and surrounds, Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Mampong and surrounds
Chapter 18 From Kumasi to Tamale
      Sunyani, Asumura Conservation Initiative, Bui National Park, Techiman and surrounds, Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Kintampo

PART SIX NORTHERN GHANA
Overview
Chapter 19 Tamale and Surrounds
      History, Getting there and away, Getting around, Tourist information, Guides and tours, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Nightclubs, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see and do, Excursions further afield
Chapter 20 Mole National Park 429
      History and wildlife, Getting there and away, Where to stay and eat, What to see and do, Around Mole National Park
Chapter 21 Bolgatanga and the Upper East 443
      Bolgatanga, Around Bolgatanga, The Gambaga Escarpment, Navrongo, Paga
Chapter 22 Wa and the Upper West
      Wa, Around Wa, Lawra, Tumu, Around Tumu

Appendix 1 Language
Appendix 2 Glossary
Appendix 3 Further Information
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Philip Briggs has been exploring Africa since 1986. He has visited more than two dozen African countries and written about most of them for specialist travel and wildlife magazines including Africa Birds & Birding, Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa and Wanderlust. His long relationship with Ghana started in 1997, when he researched the first edition of a Bradt guide to the country that is soon to go into its 7th edition. Philip has returned to West Africa regularly since then to update the Bradt's Ghana and to explore neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Gambia. He still spends at least four months on the road every year, usually accompanied by his wife, the travel photographer Ariadne Van Zandbergen, and spends the rest of his time battering away at a keyboard in the sleepy village of Wilderness, on the south coast of South Africa.