10 Days Panafest Celebration

This morning after breakfast, there will orientation including a lecture/discussion on Ghanaian history, culture and customs. You will also learn about staying safe and healthy in Ghana. We will visit the following culturally engaging sites in Accra: W.E.B Du Bois Centre honoring the life of the prominent Pan-Africanist who chose to live and work in Ghana. Make a picturesque stop at the Independence Square where you will see the enclosed flame of African Liberation, which was lit by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961. We continue to the newly renovated Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park for the first President of Ghana – Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. The 5.4 acre facility has never seen any major facelift until this one. The old facility housed the bodies of Nkrumah and his wife Fathia and had a museum that had on display objects from various stages of Nkrumah's life. Adjoining the park is the Arts & Crafts Centre, which is Ghana's largest outdoor arts and crafts market selling traditional crafts from all over West Africa.

• Orientation on Ghanaian culture
• W.E.B Du Bois Centre
• Independence Square
• Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park
• Arts & Crafts Centre

Accommodation: Lancaster Accra Hotel

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After a well deserving breakfast and check out, we depart to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire, where legend is still evident today. The Ashanti forms the biggest Akan ethnic group in Ghana. For centuries they were the rulers in this region because of their well-organized society. Upon arrival in Kumasi late afternoon, we will visit the National Cultural Center, which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers. The Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, named for the former Asantehene (ruler of the Ashanti people). Exhibits include a replica of the famed Golden Stool, which is believed to have descended from the sky and is the spiritual symbol of the Ashanti people.

• Drive to Kumasi
• National Cultural Center
• Prempeh II Jubilee Museum
• Brass makers and potters studios

Accommodation: Lancaster Kumasi

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Today, you will visit the craft communities in Kumasi's surrounding verdant countryside after breakfast. Our first artisan village will be Adanwomase, where we can observe how the renowned Kente cloth is manufactured by hand on looms according to a long-standing custom that has been handed down through the years. View the Kente fashions and take advantage of the opportunity to buy. We could pay the paramount chief of this village a courtesy visit. In the town of Ntonso, artisans' hand-stamp designs onto cotton fabric to create Adinkra textiles. For funerals and other somber events, black-on-black and black-on-red Adinkra cloth is worn; discover how the black dye is manufactured in the village from tree bark and make your own Adinkra sash to take home. Additionally, you can buy sizable pieces of the village-made Adinkra cloth. Cap off the cultural adventure with a visit to Manhyia Palace, official residence of Ashanti Kings (Asantehene) until 1974, now a museum containing treasured items relating to the Ashanti Kingdom. Dinner at a local restaurant.

• Adanwomase Kente Village
• Ntonso Adinkra Village
• Create your own Adinkra sash
• Manhyia Palace
• Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodation: Lancaster Kumasi

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Following a leisurely breakfast and check out, we depart Kumasi for Cape Coast. We will have the chance to shop in Kumasi for persons who are interested in Jewelry shopping. Upon arrival in Cape Coast, visit Cape Coast castle, a UNESCO world heritage site. The castle is a thought-provoking monument to a harrowing period in the region's history. You will take an emotional journey through the castle which held more enslaved Africans than any other in the region, viewing the dungeons and the infamous 'Door of no return'. There is a significant historical museum inside, which explains the history of the castle and of Cape Coast itself. You can purchase literature on Ghana's forts and castles, as well as the cultural history and traditions of Ghana. You will be transferred to your hotel. Dinner at the hotel.

• Jewelry shopping in Kumasi
• Cape Coast Castle tour
• Dungeons and Door of No Return
• Historical museum

Accommodation: Coconut Groove Beach Resort

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After breakfast, we depart the hotel at 9:00 am to visit Elmina Castle, originally known as St. George's Castle. This castle was the first European structure built in Sub-Saharan Africa. Explore the grounds and rooms full of haunting history. Stroll down to the beach for a memorial ceremony where each of us will throw bread into the waters in remembrance of our ancestors. A wreath with a candle will be solemnly cast out to sea and a respectful moment of silence will be observed in remembrance of those who died in the middle passage. At the Castle, we will hold a Fihankra ceremony which seeks to reconnect people of African descent, who have been lost due to the transatlantic slave trade, to the motherland. This ceremony reconnects returnees with the cultural and spiritual ties that had been denied them for centuries. The final part of Fihankra should include a naming ceremony, which would be completed at the Chief's palace. ALL ARE REQUESTED TO WEAR WHITE.

• Elmina Castle tour
• Beach memorial ceremony
• Fihankra reconnection ceremony
• Naming ceremony at Chief's palace

Accommodation: Coconut Grove Beach Resort

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This morning, we depart at 9:00 am to visit Kakum National Park, one of Ghana's most famous parks. Take a brief walking tour on the forest floor; see birds, butterflies and perhaps catch a glimpse of the forests over 40 species of mammals including monkeys and the reclusive forest elephant. Proceed to the canopy walkway. Kakum is home to Africa's only aerial walkway through the treetops, a 1000-foot-long and seven-bridge walkway with viewing platforms that reach heights of over 150 feet above ground. This evening, participate in the reverential night, the most sacred program on the PANAFEST schedule. It normally begins with a 'gathering' at the Mfantsipim Senior High School junction with a bon fire from which candles will be lit and the procession formed made up of Asafo traditional militia. There will be candlelit process and wreath laying giving a full scale tribute to the ancestors.

• Kakum National Park
• Canopy Walkway
• Reverential Night ceremony
• Candlelit procession
• Wreath laying

Accommodation: Coconut Grove Beach Resort

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This morning is going an emotional journey that will live with you for years. We depart the hotel for a drive to Assin Manso, the burial site of two former slaves from the USA and Jamaica whose remains were re-interred in August 1998 during Ghana's first Emancipation Day Celebration. A visit to 'the Slave River or 'Donkor Nsuo' offers the chance to see the place where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slaves Castles to await shipment to the Americas and Caribbean. Join others in a solemn Durbar of chiefs and people of Assin Manso will be held to give reverence to those ancestors who suffered the horrifying journey of the slave route and gave up their lives far away from their homeland. There will be wreath laying and purification rite at the Donkonsuo. We return to Accra. Dinner at the hotel.

• Assin Manso Slave River
• Emancipation Day Celebration
• Durbar of Chiefs
• Wreath laying ceremony
• Purification rite

Accommodation: Lancaster Accra Hotel

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Enjoy the full day at leisure to reflect, recover and rejuvenate for the experiences had so far on the trip. You may sunbathe at the private beach area of the hotel. Personal activities can also be done at guest's own expense. The seamstresses will be at the hotel for fitting of your custom-made clothing and will do any alterations that may be required. We will have a farewell dinner at a local restaurant this evening.

• Leisure day
• Custom clothing fitting
• Beach relaxation
• Farewell dinner

Accommodation: Lancaster Accra Hotel

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Have a leisure breakfast this morning. Your driver and guide will be available to assist you last minute shopping. There is late check-out included to pack and freshen up before you are transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

• Leisure breakfast
• Last minute shopping
• Late check-out
• Airport transfer

Accommodation: In-flight

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