Cape Coast
Ghana · Central Region · 20 m
Description
Cape Coast Castle (Oguaa Fie) is the reason people come, a whitewashed British fort on the rocks that was the headquarters of the Gold Coast administration and, for a century and a half, one of the largest holding sites for enslaved people anywhere on the West African coast. The dungeons under the courtyard held up to a thousand at a time in the dark, and the passage out to the water is still called the Door of No Return. Barack Obama came in 2009 and the Year of Return in 2019 brought a wave of diaspora visitors that has not receded.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: July – August or November – February
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Cape Coast Castle and its dungeons (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Door of No Return
- Castle museum of the slave trade
- Fishing beach and the canoe fleet below the walls
- Fort William lighthouse on the hill
- Emancipation Day and Panafest ceremonies (approx. July - August)
- Oguaa Fetu Afahye festival (approx. September)
- Cape Coast old town and the posuban shrines
- Grilled fish and banku at the beachfront stalls
- Fort Victoria viewpoint over the bay