Day 1, 22.04.2027:  Accra in
Arrival and transfer to the hotel.

Days 2-4, 23-25.04.2027 : DIPO & glass beads, different transfers (distances may vary accordingly with the Dipo site)
We attend the Dipo celebrations. Krobo people are well known for their production of glass beads, usually families heritages; they are shown during the Dipo celebrations.
Dipo: the female initiation rite among the Krobo People
A female initiation rite aims at turning a girl into a woman. The entrance into womanhood is led according to the tradition and girls who successfully go through this rite can become good wives. The girls undergo a series of rituals, tests, and tasks to prove both their chastity and their being ready for adult life.
During the final steps of the Dipo rite, the girls are elegantly decorated: colorful assorted beads adorn their exposed upper parts while from waist to knee they are covered in beautiful fabrics. The breasts are bare for everyone to see.
During the ceremony, the girls appear in public in their ceremonial dress and then their heads are shaved leaving only a small portion of hair on the head; a piece of raffia is tied around their neck to indicate they are Dipo-yi. On the next morning, the girls are given a ritual bath in a river and then are required to taste foods like sugar cane and peanuts.  They will learn women’s tasks and once the rite is over, they will retour from a secret place adorned with glass beads necklaces and wrapped in beautiful textiles: it is the time of the celebration. They are the newborn! The day after they will dance for the community asking for money…
According to the Dipo schedule, we will join a Voodoo ceremony and we will take part to a glass bead master class which are part of everyday life in the villages. The frenetic rhythm of the drums and chants of the adepts’ help calling in the voodoo spirit who then takes possession of some of the dancers. They fall into a deep trance: eyes rolling back, grimaces, convulsions, insensitivity to fire or pain. Sakpata, Heviesso, Mami Water are just some of the voodoo divinities who can show up. In a village, surrounded by the magic atmosphere of the ceremony, we will understand what people mean when they say: “In your Churches you pray God; in our shrines we become Gods!
We will visit an atelier where they make glass beads according to the tradition. The process involves different stages: scrap glass is first grounded into a fine powder, and then it is meticulously made into patterns and placed into hand-made clay molds, covered in kaolin to be baked. We will have the time to learn and to produce our own beads.

Day 5, 26.04.2027: The garden city, from Akosombo to Kumasi (250 km – driving time 6 hr)
This morning we drive north.
Welcome in the Ashanti land: the Kingdom of gold. West Africa has been shipping gold all around the world for centuries and today Obuasi is among the most important site for gold mining in West Africa.
We will reach Kumasi in the afternoon.
Kumasi is the historical and spiritual capital of the ancient Ashanti Empire. Ashanti was one of the most powerful empires and kingdoms in Africa from 1670 to 1957 when British Gold Coast become the independent Ghana. The tribute paid today to the Asantehene (King) is the best evidence of their past splendour and strength and the still strong Ashanti pride. With nearly two million inhabitants, Kumasi is a sprawling town with a unique central market, one of the largest in Africa. All kinds of Ashanti craft (leather goods, pottery, beads, textiles called Kente cloth, etc.) are found here, along with just about every tropical fruit and vegetable.
The program includes a visit to the Ashanti Cultural Centre: a rich collection of Ashanti artefacts housed in a wonderful reproduction of an Ashanti house. In the afternoon, we participate – if available – in a traditional Ashanti funeral, attended by mourners wearing beautifully red or black togas. We say “funerals” but it means a “festive” celebration: thanks to this ceremony, the deceased return as an ancestor and will protect his family. Relatives and friends gather, socialize, and celebrate his/her memory. The chief arrives surrounded by his court under the shade of large umbrellas while drums give rhythm to the dancers whose intricate moves are highly symbolic in war and erotic meanings.

DAY 6, 27.04.2027: Golden Kingdom, Kumasi (transfers)
We visit the Royal Palace Museum which will open its doors for us, displaying its unique collection of Ashanti souvenirs.
One cannot visit Kumasi and the Golden Ashanti kingdom without meeting one of its many traditional kings! We are privileged to be allowed into the courtyard of a great Ashanti chief. Wrapped in traditional cloth and adorned with antique solid gold jewels, he will take a seat under a large colored umbrella and discuss his role as a traditional chief in modern Ghana.
Visits to villages surrounding Kumasi, where people are specialized in making the traditional cloth called Kente and Adinkra, and other interesting handicraft: the stools used by the elders of the family for instance.

DAY 7, 28.04.20227: From the forest to Elmina, from Kumasi to Elmina (250 km – driving time 5 hr)
A few kilometres north of the coast, in the middle of a rainforest, we will discover the Kakum National Park. This park gives a unique opportunity to observe the forest from above as Kakum has a canopy walk hung high up in the trees. The Kakum canopy walkway is one of the longest and highest rope bridges in the world. Walking between 120 to 150 feet above the ground, you will enjoy an incredible view of the rain forest. At this height, instead of revealing their trunks, the trees offer a breath-taking view of their canopy.
Drive to the coast.
The coast of Ghana (formerly known as Gold Coast) has more than 50 ancient forts and castles, reminiscent of the gold, ivory and slave trade. The first name of Ghana was the Gold Coast and is still the largest producer of gold in Africa.

DAY 8, 29.04.2027: Elmina, the largest and ancient castle in Africa, (transfers)
We reach Elmina Castle (Sao Jorge da Mina), the oldest and largest European building in Africa, erected by the Portuguese in 1482. At different times, the castle has been used as a warehouse to trade gold, ivory, and eventually slaves. The castle we visit today is the result of successive extension works and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Facing the castle, there is a traditional fishing harbour with hundreds of large colourful fishing large canoes. Every day these large wooden pirogues are conducted by skilled fishermen across strong ocean waves and currents, “fighting” to earn a living.
Weather and tide permitting, we will board on a boat to discover the fishing harbour from inside and skim the ocean in an unprecedented navigation.
Cape Coast castle was built by the Swedish in 1653. From 1657 to 1664 it changed hands many times as it was conquered by the Danes, the Dutch, the Fanti (a local tribe), the Swedes and finally the British. Today, it hosts a museum on the history of slave trade.

Day 9 & 10 , 30.04-01.05.2027: Aboakyer, from Elmina to Winneba (100 km – 3 hrs)
In a neighbour town, we will discover the Posuban, colorful shrines of the Asafo companies with multiple full size statues, where the Asafo warriors still pour libations. Asafo where warrior groups of the Fante tribes, active during the slave trade. They still exist with a rule of taking care and protecting their towns and villages.
Drive to Winneba
We will attend the Aboakyer celebrations.
Aboakyer, also known as the ‘deer hunting festival’, it is organized to honor the tribal God of the town. In this festival, God Penkye Otu receives the sacrifice of a deer. The festival originated about three hundred years ago, when Winneba was first settled. People believed they managed to establish their homes here only thanks to the help of their God and they are still under its protection. This festival is the expression of their gratitude. Aboakyer Festival involves two groups (Asafo Companies) of people in Winneba, the Tuafo and the Dentsifo. They compete with one another to go into the bush and be the first to catch a deer armed with only clubs. The group, which first catches the animal rushes, back home singing war and victory songs. The deer is then presented to the Omanhene who places his bare right foot three times on it. After completing this ritual, the deer is lifted and carried through the town streets accompanied by singing and dancing crowd to the shrine of Penkye Otu. In the final act of the festival, the Tuafo and the Dentsifo come together in front their God and sacrifice the deer.

DAY 11, 02.05.2027: Metropolis, from Winneba to Accra (65 km – driving time 2 hr) 
Drive to Accra.
Accra, the capital of Ghana, has kept its unique identity despite the fast-paced development of the last decades with its modern buildings and large avenues. The luxuriant administrative area, punctuated with elegant villas built during the first half of the 19^th century, reminds us that Ghana was the most flourishing colony in Africa.
We explore James Town historic neighbourhood, inhabited by Ga people. Facing the Ocean it is where native people life, fully unfolds: a village surrounded by the city! Here all economic activities follow very different rules from the ones governing “the city” (business area), just a few hundred meters away. We continue with the visit of the interesting National Museum recently renewed and to a workshop specialized in “fantasy coffins”. These unique handcrafted coffins can reflect any shape: fruits, animals, fish, cars, airplanes…. The only limit being imagination! Started in Accra, these flamboyant coffin designs are by now collected worldwide and exposed in museums as contemporary African art.
In the evening transfer to the airport for the flight out.