Panafest festival holiday in Ghana
| country: | Ghana |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made at a time to suit you. Festival is held 24 Jul - 01 Aug 2010 |
| price: | From £1575 (13 days) excluding flights. We can help arrange flights from the UK. Price includes collection, transportation, accommodation, all meals, park entrance fees, all guide fees & excursion costs. Can also be tailormade |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Panafest festival holiday in Ghana
Ghana was the first African colony to gain its independence from the British back in 1957. We intend to mark the 50th Anniversary of this historical occasion and 200 years of Ghana’s abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Panafest (A Pan African Festival) and Emancipation is a celebration which is committed to the ideals of Pan Africanism.
This is a chance for the African community around the world to reflect on its colourful history, take pride in its achievements and look forward to a bright and rewarding future. Our Panafest pilgrimage will take you on an amazing journey through the history of this wonderful country, immersing you in the cultural traditions and daily life of the many different ethnic communities we come into contact with. We visit ancient monuments in all regions of the country, passing through areas seldom visited by tourists. This enhances our guests’ experience and enables them to see the real Ghana.
This tour will take you on a thought provoking journey through Ghana’s recent tragic enslaved African trade era, visiting wonderfully preserved slave forts and castles on the Gold Coast. We pay our respects to our ancestors during an Emancipation day midnight candle light vigil through the streets of Cape Coast ending at the dungeons of the Castle for prayers and remembrance. During our journey we attend the Akwesidae festival, a wonderful tradition dating centuries where subservient chiefs pay homage to the Asantehene, King of the Ashanti’s. We witness African drumming and dance dating back centuries, and have an opportunity to participate and learn more about the history of these wonderful cultural displays. We are sure a visit to experience the colourful and warm hospitality of the varied ethnic groups within Ghana, immersing yourself in their diverse culture and traditions, is an experience that will live with you forever.
Panafest (A Pan African Festival) and Emancipation is a celebration which is committed to the ideals of Pan Africanism.
This is a chance for the African community around the world to reflect on its colourful history, take pride in its achievements and look forward to a bright and rewarding future. Our Panafest pilgrimage will take you on an amazing journey through the history of this wonderful country, immersing you in the cultural traditions and daily life of the many different ethnic communities we come into contact with. We visit ancient monuments in all regions of the country, passing through areas seldom visited by tourists. This enhances our guests’ experience and enables them to see the real Ghana.
This tour will take you on a thought provoking journey through Ghana’s recent tragic enslaved African trade era, visiting wonderfully preserved slave forts and castles on the Gold Coast. We pay our respects to our ancestors during an Emancipation day midnight candle light vigil through the streets of Cape Coast ending at the dungeons of the Castle for prayers and remembrance. During our journey we attend the Akwesidae festival, a wonderful tradition dating centuries where subservient chiefs pay homage to the Asantehene, King of the Ashanti’s. We witness African drumming and dance dating back centuries, and have an opportunity to participate and learn more about the history of these wonderful cultural displays. We are sure a visit to experience the colourful and warm hospitality of the varied ethnic groups within Ghana, immersing yourself in their diverse culture and traditions, is an experience that will live with you forever.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive at Accra and transfer to hotel. In the evening you can relax on the hotel terrace overlooking the Gold Coast. |
| Day 2: | Pilgrimage to Kumasi home of the Asantehene; King of the Ashanti’s stopping at Adawomasi and Ntonso en route to learn about traditional Ashanti fabrics. We continue our journey to the Golden Kingdom. On arrival, we go for dinner before checking into our cozy hotel. |
| Day 3: | We will depart Kumasi after breakfast for Techiman stopping en route for lunch. Visit Bono historical sites, the memorial parks of Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. From here we will visit the Bono Manso cave and the Tono Sacred Grove, where our forefathers hid from slave raiders. |
| Day 4: | Our pilgrimage takes us to the Upper East and Bolgatanga, stopping for lunch in Tamale. After lunch we continue our journey visiting the Tango Shrine Hills and Chief’s palace to learn about the history and traditions of the locals. We will continue our journey to the hotel to enjoy our evening meal and relax. |
| Day 5: | After breakfast we will set off for Paga crocodile ponds. We depart Paga and head for Nania camp and Navorongo historical gravesites. We will tour the village interacting with locals and learning about their history and traditions, a highlight of our time at Sirigu would be a tour of the local markets and Chief’s Palace. |
| Day 6: | We head off to Salaga to retrace the steps our enslaved ancestors were forced to make not so long ago. his would be an opportunity to visit the famous Salaga enslaved Ancestors market and hear the history of Salaga during the slave trade era. Return to Tamale in the evening for dinner and relaxation at Garib. |
| Day 7: | Set off for Mole National Park, Ghana’s oldest, largest and best game viewing park. |
| Day 8: | After an early morning foot safari, we bid a sad farewell to Mole National park and retrace our steps back to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. En route we will stop at the beautiful Kintampo waterfalls. We continue our journey to Kumasi stopping for Lunch in Techiman. |
| Day 9: | Prepare for Akwasidae Festival where Subservient Chiefs pay homage to the Ashanti King. Afternoon tour of Central Market. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience everyday life for the people in this great city. |
| Day 10: | Set off for Elmina after breakfast, stopping in Cape Coast to visit the castle. |
| Day 11: | Visit Elmina castle. Elmina castle is also known as the Castle of St George. We will then be participating in the reverential programme and Emancipation day vigil to the ancestors. There will be a candle light street procession to Cape Coast Castle and Dungeons. |
| Day 12: | Official celebration of Emancipation Day Programme. We will dine at our hotel and reflect on the memorable and emotional day’s activities. |
| Day 13: | Set off for Kakum National park, Africa’s only rainforest canopy walkway. Flight home. |
small group cultural tours
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.how this holiday makes a difference
 We hope that by increasing responsible tourism in and around Ghana’s vulnerable wildlife parks and areas, the Ghanaian government will see the economical benefits and increase government resources into protecting Ghana’s fragile flora and fauna. By visiting and supporting local eco tourism projects and benefiting the local economy, we encourage the continuation and protection of the local culture, history and traditions of these communities. We ensure the revenue is used for projects that benefit the whole community, which encourages them to protect the surrounding wildlife and flora. By booking this tour, a percentage of the profits go towards establishing our community development programme, which will concentrate on vital requirements such as clean water, electricity provisions, the building of schools and well needed medical centres in remote areas of Ghana. We employ local guides, drivers and cooks during all our tours, and we source supplies where possible from the local communities and aim to use local businesses wherever possible. We encourage our guests to purchase goods and souvenirs locally and support our community project. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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