"Cape Coast Slave Fortress & Kakum National Park" Top 5 Page for this destination Cape Coast by atufft

Cape Coast Travel Guide: 47 reviews and 238 photos

School Children Visit the Men's Dungeon - Cape Coast

Cape Coast Slave Fort and Museum

There were some 300 slave castles along the Gold Coast at one time, but Cape Coast may be the best for visitors today. The buildings are in reasonable repair, and the museum in world-class in its presentation. In fact, the Cape Coast fortress museum was better kept than the National Museum in Accra at the time I visited in 2004. The museum is also something of a tribute to African-American heros. This museum is visited not only by Europeans and Americans, but also by local school aged children.

The views of the city and beach...

Cape Coast Castle

The views of the city and beach at Cape Coast from the fortress are worth the entrance fee alone, but when one descends into the dungeons, it's not hard to imagine the horror felt by those captured and chained for delivery to America. This is the region of Africa from where some two thirds of African-Americans can claim their heritage. Given this, it's not surprising that Muhammad Ali, Malcom X, and others have flocked to visit this haunting reminder of the evils of slavery. Exportation of slaves removed important labor and divided the people of this region, but today Ghanan's are actually proud of their association with African-Americans.

Take a quick trip to Kakum National Park

Canopies at Kakum National Park

About an hour by tro-tro or private vehicle is a prestine rainforest preserve called Kakum National Park. It's small, but relative to most of the other nature preserves in Ghana, relatively easy to get to. Supposedly some 20 forest elephants live here, but don't expect to see them. They have a reputation for being nocturnal and very shy of humans in this former game park turned national park. However, the canopy walk is very pleasant and the wealth of vegetation impressive. We saw a number of bird and reptile species there.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Easy visit for most travelers to Ghana
Cons:On the touristy side. Not much tribal life here.
In a nutshell:Cape Coast provides a reminder of the horrors of slavery

Last visit to Cape Coast: Jul 2004
Intro Updated Feb 14, 2006
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (3)

Kumasi Tro-Tro in Cape Coast Station - Cape Coast

Tro-Tro to Kumasi Transportation (1)

The road from Cape Coast to Kumasi is more scenic and pleasant than that from Accra to Kumasi, so I recommend this... more travel advice

Ramparts of the Slave Castle - Cape Coast

Cape Coast Castle Tour Things to Do (2)

The Cape Coast Castle was originally controlled by the Portuguese, Swedes, Danes, and Dutch, before the British took... more travel advice

My friend from Accra braves the Canopy Walk - Cape Coast

Kakum National Park Things to Do (2)

Kakum National Park is about an hour from Cape Coast. It would be difficult to find a tro-tro direct, but one should go... more travel advice

Have you been to Cape Coast? Share your travels with the world!

Comments (4)

Reply
- Report abuse
calcaf38 Apr 28, 2007 at 6:05 PM

Good pages, Alan. Great pictures.
Reply
- Report abuse
kenHuocj Apr 24, 2007 at 10:04 AM

useful links ;-)))
Reply
- Report abuse
Ewingjr98 Mar 24, 2007 at 1:28 AM

Didn't I see those bridges in Indiana Jones? Nice sunset, too!
Reply
- Report abuse
grets Oct 19, 2006 at 11:04 PM

The canopy walk at Kakum National Park looks great - I can't wait! :-)