Welcome to the Northern region. A place full of history and unique culture. There are many things to do and see in the region. If you are lucky to be there if planning to visit, check out some of the top tourist sites in the Northern Region.
In all of Ghana’s 16 administrative regions, this is by far the largest. As a result, it has more tourist attractions than the majority of the other regions. The Northern area, which is rich in culture and tradition, is ideally located among the country’s most beautiful places.
The northern section of Ghana is a major player in the tourism industry, with several high-profile and well-known tourist attractions that are well-known throughout West Africa and the rest of the world. The region has risen in leaps and bounds in terms of development during the previous two decades, resulting in an increase in the number of tourists to the region’s tourist attractions.
If you find yourself there or planning to visit, try to explore all the tourist sites in the Northern Region and I promise it will be your best travel experience ever. Ranging from historical places to wildlife experience, the region is a must-visit destination in Ghana.
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Read the ultimate travel guide to Ghana to help you plan your trip.
Tourist Sites In Northern Region
Mole National Park
Mole National Park, home to the country’s largest wildlife refuge, has long piqued the interest of visitors due to its diverse wildlife. Residents of the Northern Region used to live in the Mole National Park’s current site, but they were relocated to make room for the land to be used as a reserve. African bush elephants and antelopes are among the prominent wildlife found at the Mole National Park. According to research completed on the park, there are around 800 elephants in the Mole National Park.
Burkea Africana, Isoberlinia Doka, and Terminalia Macroptera are some of the tree species that may be found in the forest. While elephants and antelopes dominate the forest’s wildlife, other creatures such as buffalos, antelopes, and hippos can also be found there, albeit in tiny numbers. Olive baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, green vervet monkeys, and patas monkeys have all made the park their home.
Larabanga Mosque
The Larabanga Mosque is Ghana’s and West Africa’s oldest mosque, according to legend. It is known as the “Mecca of West Africa” because of its rich historical and architectural traits. The mosque measures around 8 meters by 8 meters. The Larabanga Mosque has been added to the World Monuments Fund’s list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites.
The World Monuments Fund named the Larabanga Mosque to its list of 100 Most Endangered Sites. The mosque is thought to have been built in 1421 by Ayuba, an Islamic businessman. The Sudanese-style mosque is composed of mud and sticks.
The Mosque is one of the best places to visit among all tourist sites in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The Mystic Stone
The Mystic Stone is located in Damongo municipality in the West Gonja District, approximately 6 kilometers from the famed Mole National Park and 21 kilometers from Damongo. The stone initially achieved notoriety in the 1950s, when the British colonial administration began construction on a road in the Damongo area, where it was discovered. A path on which the stone was lying was cleaned as part of the activities to make room for the road project.
According to legend, the contractors returned the next day to find the stone had inexplicably returned to the precise spot where it had been cleaned. The contractors cleared the stone from the pathway once more, but when they returned the next day, they discovered the stone had returned to the position where it had been moved the first time. The officials opted to leave the stone where it was and find a new path to build the road, and the Stone has remained in the same position ever since.
Visit the mystic stone and learn more about it.
Gbele Game Reserve
Gbele Game Reserve is one of Ghana’s several wildlife reserves, located in the country’s Upper West area. The plant is about 90 kilometers from Wa, the regional seat, and 61 kilometers from Tumu, and is near to the Burkina Faso border. Unlike most wildlife reserves in Ghana, where the forest’s vegetative nature is tropical rainforest, the Gbele forest’s vegetative nature is open savannah woodland, which means rain is few and infrequent.
The reserve is home to antelope, hartebeest, bushbuck, waterbuck, savannah duikers and warthogs, baboon, patas, green monkey, and other popular West African wildlife animals, making it one of Ghana’s most abundant wildlife reserves in terms of animal variety and number. Birdwatching is another popular pastime at the Gbele Game Reserve, which is home to over 190 different bird species.
Tourists who come to the center often take time to go birdwatching to see the gorgeous and magnificent flying species that live in the woods. The reserve also offers tourists the opportunity to embark on nature excursions and walks in the forest, visiting various portions of the reserve, such as the rock outcrops, for those seeking adventure.
Mognori Eco-Village
The Mognori Eco-village, located near Mole National Park, is known for its colorful culture and customs. In this village, you may go on exciting canoe excursions to see animals such as crocodiles, monkeys, and birds. You can also take a tour of the village to learn about the people’s history and traditional medicines. In this village, you will also be entertained by dances and drumming. It’s might bro be popular but it’s one of the best tourist sites in Northern Region.
Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary
The Wechiau sanctuary is one of Ghana’s many animal reserves, located in the Upper East region of the country, specifically near the little town of Wechiau, which is part of the Lobi community. The reserve covers around 40 square kilometers of land and is located along a stretch of the Black Volta River near Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso. Other wildlife animals found in the park include bats, chameleons, several species of snakes, lizards, and over a hundred species of birds and butterflies, in addition to the Hippopotamus, who constitute the reserve’s dominating animal population.
Tourists visiting the Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary can also take a boat trip on the Black Volta River, which is only a few meters away from the reserve, and encounter several friendly hippos in the river. This river safari is conducted by tour guards and boat drivers who are usually on the lookout for tourists who want to get aboard and enjoy the ride. The sanctuary has also erected a particular lodge in town where visitors who plan to spend more than a day at the site can stay for a nominal fee.
At night, travelers enjoy Pito with the locals, who frequently gather around little fires to tell stories and listen to the singing of the woodland birds. This is one of the most memorable experiences for tourists who have spent their entire lives in places like Accra and Kumasi, where such gatherings are uncommon, if not non-existent.
Nalerigu Slave Defence Wall
One of the most well-known slave monuments in Ghana’s northern area is the Nalerigu Defence Wall. The historic wall is located near Nalerigu, in the East Mamprusi District of the North East area, and was previously known as the Naa Jaringa Wall.
The wall, which encircled the entire hamlet of Nalerigu and defended the people from brutal slave traders from Burkina Faso and Mali, was built by Naa Jaringa, the Mamprusi ethnic group’s then monarch, in the 16th century.
According to historical records, the town of Nalerigu was situated in the center of the slave trade route between Djenne, Mali, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. As a result, traders passing through both locations kidnapped and sold some of Naa Jaringa’s subjects as slaves. To put an end to this and safeguard his people, Naa Jaringa built the famed wall around the village to shelter and protect his people from traders coming from both directions.
Salaga Slave Market
You’ve probably heard a lot about the heinous 19th-century slave trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas, in which Africans were kidnapped and sent as cargo to the Americas to work on plantations and factories.
Slavery existed in Africa throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, although it was carried out in considerably more humane circumstances than the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Salaga, specifically the Salaga Slave Market, is home to one of the few remaining pieces of evidence of Africa’s slave trade prior to the nineteenth century.
Salaga, the administrative capital of the Gonja East district in the Northern Region, used to be an important West African city where traders from the north met traders from the south to barter in commodities such cowries, beads, textiles, animal hides, and gold.
The Salaga slave market is now a pale shell of its former glory, devoid of dynamic commercial activity and transformed into a car park. Salaga also has additional slave monuments, such as a notable slave cemetery and a slave storehouse, in addition to the slave market. Slaves were housed and held captive in the slave warehouse until they were moved to coastal districts and sold to Europeans living along the coasts.
Visit the Salaga slave market and learn more about the place. It is one of the few historical tourist sites in Northern Region
Zayaa Mud Mosque at Wulugu
This mosque, of course, was built with mud, but what’s remarkable about it is that it has its own unique storey patterns, making it a strategic site for military purposes.
Tamale Central Market
Tamale is Ghana’s fourth-largest city and the country’s fastest-growing. It has a population of 400,000 people, with Muslims making up the majority. The central market handles a large portion of the city’s buying and selling, making it a popular spot in the city and throughout Ghana.
Tongo Rocks and Tenzug Shrines
Tongo Rocks and Shrine are not among Ghana’s most prominent tourist attractions, but it is a major attraction in the northern region of the country and one of the most revered and indigenous locations. Tongo is the capital of the Talensi-Nandam District in the Upper East region, and lies about 20 kilometers from Bolgatanga, the regional capital. The town isn’t widely renowned for attracting visitors or tourists, although Tongo Rocks and Tengzug Shrine are two potentially fantastic tourist attractions within the town.
The Tongo rocks are located in Tengzug, a small settlement located a short distance from Tongo’s main town. The Rocks are known for their wonderful and odd arrangement, in which one rock lays comfortably on top of another in a fascinating shape. When the harmattan season begins in November and December, the rocks are also notorious for creating weird whistling sounds. The Whispering Rocks got their name because of this.
Tourists who successfully scale the rocks and reach the summit may see the entire Tongo scenery as well as the surrounding region. The option to visit the ancient Tengzug shrine at the summit of the rocks is another perk of scaling the rocks.