Cape Coast Castle was used to house slaves

West of Accra, the World Heritage sites of the Central Coast of Ghana are easily accessible.

Tracks branching off the main road from Accra to Cape Coast lead to a whole string of waterfront resorts, such as White Sands Beach Resort and Tills Number One Beach Hotel (both at the little town of Winneba).

These resorts - inexpensive and with good amenities - make a great alternative to the hectic pace of Accra.

Nearer to Cape Coast, Kromantse Beach is one of the best in Ghana; just to the west of Kromantse, Anomabo Beach Resort (with an excellent beachfront restaurant) is within easy reach of Cape Coast.

Cape Coast (traditionally named Oguaa) is a delightful shambles of a town. It used to be the former Ghanaian capital, and its castle (built by the Swedes in the 16th Century) is a UN-designated World Heritage site.

Like most ancient fortifications in Ghana, Cape Coast Castle played a significant role in the gold and slave trade. The most disturbing places in the castle are the horrific dungeons, which were used to house slaves who were bound in iron chains awaiting deportation by ship through the infamous “gate of no return” to Brazil, the Caribbean and the USA.

Over the nearly 400 years of the slave trade, it is estimated that some 25 million slaves were shipped from West Africa to the Americas, with at least another 25 million dying during the voyage.

Now however, a new “gate of return” graces Cape Coast, highlighting the new policy of encouraging expatriates to return. 

“We want Africans everywhere, no matter where they live or how they got there, to see Ghana as their gateway home,” says J. Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, the Ghanaian tourism minister. “We hope we can help bring the African family back together again.”