There are only a handful of places in Ghana that have left an indelible mark on history. Ghana is one of Africa’s few historical and ancient sites. In Ghana, there is so much unwritten and unseen history, as well as several historical attractions and ancient towns. Ghana is one of the best destinations in Africa to learn more about slavery and African-American history.
In this article, Mrpocu.com has put together a piece to help you know more about ancient towns in Ghana that are full of history. Some of these places also host some of our top historical sites. What are you waiting for, scroll down and read more.
Ancient Towns In Ghana
Elmina
If you are from Ghana, you probably know Elmina will be first on my list and of course, it is. The local Fante refer to Elmina as Edina. It is located near Cape Coast in Ghana’s Central Region. It is an old town in Ghana that is a must-see for travelers. Elmina was one of the first places European sailors encountered when they arrived on the coast of Ghana in the early 16th century. It is also the capital of the Central Region’s Komenda/Edina/Abirem District on Ghana’s south coast.
Elmina is a charming village nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Benya Lagoon on a short spit of land. It’s no surprise that the Europeans liked it there. Anomansah was the name of the town before the Portuguese arrived (meaning the inexhaustible supply of water). It was due to the peninsula’s location between the sea and the Benya Lagoon. Read more about Elmina.
Cape Coast
Cape Coast is also one of the top ancient towns in Ghana with unforgettable history because of the castle. Oguaa and Kotokuraba (meaning “River of Crabs” or “Village of Crabs”) are two ancient traditional names for the city. When the Portuguese navigators Joo de Santarém and Pedro Escobar sailed through Oguaa in 1471, they named the spot Cabo Corso (which means “short cape” in English).
The people of Oguaa in the central area created Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana’s central region. From the 16th century, it was governed by different colonial governments. It served as the seat of the British colonial government in the time Gold Coast until 1877 when it was relocated to Accra. Cape Coast’s terrain is largely muddy, with hills and dips. The air is hot and humid, but the sea breeze keeps things cool. The residents’ primary occupation is fishing and related activities.
Larabanga
Larabanga is a historic village in Ghana’s West Gonja region, which is located in the northwestern Northern Region. The whitewashed adobe Sahelian mosque in the town is supposed to date from 1421. The trans-Saharan trade was booming at the time. It is said to be Ghana’s oldest mosque, and it has a Qur’an copy that is nearly as old. The village is also known for its Mystic Stone, its patterned vernacular architecture, and as the entrance to the Mole National Park. Larabanga is one of the most visited ancient towns in Ghana. The village host about a thousand local and international tourist every year.
Kintampo
According to locals, it is the oldest town in Ghana. Kintampo is a town in Ghana’s Bono East Region and a popular tourist attraction. In 2004, it was designated as the capital of Kintampo North Municipal. Kintampo is home to 49,046 people. It was also the former capital of the Kintampo District.
Kintampo’s population is mostly made up of farmers who grow yams, maize, beans, tubers, and other vegetables. The Deg [disambiguation needed] or Mo tribe is a native tribe in the area. Kintampo is a cosmopolitan town where, in addition to the indigenous tribe, other tribes such as the Wangaras, Bonos, Gonjas, Konkombas, and others live. The town is also popular with local and international tourist because of the attractions it host.
Salaga
Salaga was a significant market town in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, especially for the lively regional kola trade, and holding Salaga granted a monopoly over commerce to the north and trade to the south.
Situated in the southernmost parts of the Sahel, Salaga was referred to as “the Timbuktu of the south” for its cosmopolitan population and varied trade. Salaga and numerous other cities were ruled by Gonja, a formidable warrior kingdom. Salaga, on the other hand, was a cosmopolitan town where the indigenous Gonja coexisted with Hausas, Wangaras, Dagombas, Gurmas, and other ethnic groups from the region.
When the scholar Alfa Hano and the warrior Gazari arrived here from their former homes south-east of Niamey in the 1860s, Salaga was instrumental in the rise of the Zabarima (emirate) as a force in what is now northern Ghana. Read more about Salaga slave Market.
Daboya
Due to the expansion of commercial areas such as Tamale and Wa in the north, Daboya, around 67 kilometers northwest of Tamale, may no longer be a significant home in Ghana. Daboya, on the other hand, was formerly the most popular town in the Northern region, because of its extensive salt production and strong commercial enterprises. It is one of the top ancient towns in Ghana that is not popular with the people because it does not serve as a hub for salt anymore.
In the 1700s and 1800s, Daboya supplied almost half of Ghana’s salt usage, with the salt mining business employing the majority of the town’s women and men, making it one of Ghana’s most energetic and commercially vibrant cities.
The town is no longer known as the salt capital of Ghana. Salt is still mined and produced in the old town, but in considerably smaller quantities than centuries ago, and the salt produced currently is solely for local consumption and market.
Kumasi
Now Kumasi can’t be classified as a town anymore, it’s a city now. But if we are talking about places in Ghana with history, Kumasi is the most place in Ghana with history or Ashantis. Kumasi’s stronghold as the center of an autonomous empire lasted well into the nineteenth century, despite multiple British-Ashanti conflicts, and it has a fascinating history worth learning about.
Assin Manso
Slaves arriving from the interior were believed to have received their last bath and were shackled before being sent to the dungeons of the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles, from where they were eventually put on boats to the Americans, according to legend.
Nakpanduri
This is a village in Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri District, a district in the North East Region of northern Ghana adjacent to the Togo border. People in this town still leave in huts even though we are in the modern world. They believe it is their culture or way of life.
Nzulazu Stilt
Nzulezu stilt is a popular village in Ghana because it is built on a lake. A village that is unique in Ghana is located near the coast in the far western part of the country, near the border with Cote d’Ivoire. Nzulezu, a 400-year-old stilt-supported water hamlet on Lake Tadane, is a one-of-a-kind village built on stilts that is home to hundreds of people in the Western Region. They believe it is where their gods want them to settle, therefore it’s no surprise that it is one of Ghana’s most visited settlements.
Nzulezu is a Nzema term that means “water’s surface.” The village’s residents are supposed to have come from Walata, a city in the ancient Ghana Empire, the first of the Western Sudanese states. According to legend, a snail transported the village’s forefathers to their current location. You can imagine how slow the journey was, but they were optimistic.