Two and a half hours west of Accra stand two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Cape Coast Castle and St George’s Castle at Elmina. They are among the most significant sites of the transatlantic slave trade anywhere in the world, and for a great many visitors — particularly people of African descent in the diaspora — they are the reason for the journey to Ghana.
This guide is practical. It is not a substitute for the visit or for a guide who will do it properly.
What they are
Elmina Castle was built by the Portuguese in 1482, the earliest European structure of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. It later passed to the Dutch, then the British.
Cape Coast Castle, twelve kilometres east, became the headquarters of the British slave trade on the Gold Coast.
Both held captured Africans in dungeons before they were forced through the Door of No Return onto ships. Hundreds of thousands of people passed through these two buildings.
Above the dungeons at Cape Coast sits a church.
What the visit is like
You go in a guided group. The guides are excellent, and the tour is structured around walking into the spaces themselves: the male dungeon, the female dungeon, the punishment cell, the governor’s quarters, and the Door of No Return.
The dungeons are dark, low and airless. The guides describe what happened in them plainly. People cry. That is normal and nobody will think anything of it.
The tour takes an hour to ninety minutes and it is not a museum visit. Plan nothing demanding afterwards, and do not schedule both castles in one morning if you can avoid it.
Go with a guide, and let them lead
The official guides at both castles are knowledgeable and have done this thousands of times, including for people for whom it is deeply personal. Ask your questions. They are used to them.
Practical details
Getting there. Two and a half to three hours from Accra on the coastal road. Options: a chartered car or Bolt for the day, an STC or VIP coach to Cape Coast then a taxi, or an organised tour from Accra. — Day trips from Accra
Entry. Both charge admission, with a guided tour included. Non-Ghanaians pay around ₵150; Ghanaians and students pay considerably less. Bring cash.
Photography. Generally permitted, sometimes with a fee. There are places where you will not want to.
Opening hours are daily, with last tours well before closing. Go in the morning.
Staying over. Cape Coast and Elmina both have hotels and guesthouses. An overnight lets you do both castles and Kakum without rushing, and gives you the evening to sit with it.
Combining with Kakum National Park — the rainforest canopy walkway — is the standard itinerary. Kakum first thing, castles after, or castles one day and Kakum the next.
If you are coming as diaspora
Ghana has actively invited the descendants of enslaved Africans to return — through PANAFEST, the Joseph Project, the Year of Return in 2019 and Beyond the Return since. Thousands have come, and some have stayed.
A few things worth knowing:
- Both castles hold ceremonies of remembrance and return. Ask in advance if you want to take part rather than only observe.
- PANAFEST and Emancipation Day (1 August) bring large diaspora gatherings to Cape Coast and Elmina. Powerful, and crowded.
- You may be called obroni here too. It is used for anyone read as foreign, including Black visitors from abroad, and it is not a judgement about belonging. — Learning Twi and Ga
- The Right of Abode grants people of African descent in the diaspora the right to live and work in Ghana indefinitely. — The Right of Abode
Looking after yourself
- Go with someone, if this is personal to you. Do not do it alone on a tight schedule.
- Leave the afternoon clear.
- Eat beforehand. It is a long, hot walk and low blood sugar makes everything harder.
- Water, hat, sunscreen. The courtyards are exposed.
- It is entirely acceptable to step out of the dungeon and wait in the courtyard. Guides expect it.
Nearby
Kakum National Park — canopy walkway, rainforest, early mornings best.
Elmina fishing harbour — extraordinary, chaotic, and directly below the castle walls. Worth an hour.
Posuban shrines in Elmina town — the elaborate painted shrines of the Fante military companies, unlike anything else in Ghana.
Busua and the Western beaches, another two hours west, for anyone continuing.