Ghana

Another 70 miles west of Elmina is the coastal resort village of Busua. The main hotel here, the Busua Beach Resort (31/212-10), is a collection of individual chalets (more like nice cabins) that start at $50 a night per person. But its budget rooms with shared bathroom for $10 per person ($20 for air-conditioned) are a real deal, since they are nearly as cozy and modern. What's more, the hotel's beach is one of the best in Ghana.

Kumasi: Heart of the Ashanti

One hundred or so miles north of Cape Coast is the capital of the Ashanti Region: the hilly, colonial city of Kumasi, a gold and timber center. It took the avaricious British four wars to finally conquer the brave Ashanti in 1900. But the Ashanti culture is still strong and dominates other tribes in Ghana (their language, Twi, is the country's lingua franca, along with English). In 1687, legend has it that a golden stool and sword descended from heaven, establishing the Ashanti kingdom. Even now, the golden stool is kept secure and brought out only for special ceremonies--the sword is still visible, thrust into the ground at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Kumasi is full of colonial buildings decorated with terraces and columns, and the thriving, massive Kejetia Market is said to be one of the largest on the continent, covering over 24 acres in the center of the city with thousands of vendors--don't venture in unless you have plenty of time and patience. Your search could be rewarded with finds like Ashanti sandals, Muslim smocks, even smoked monkey meat.

The National Culture Centre off Bantana Road and the Manhyia Palace Museum off Antoa Road both house excellent exhibitions of Ashanti artifacts (15,000 cedi/$1.70 entrance fees), but for the real thing, visit the crafts villages that surround Kumasi in a loop. For 80,000 cedis ($10.45), a taxi will take you on the 45-minute drive to three rustic villages: Bonwire, where skilled men weave multicolored kente cloth on large wooden looms; Ahwiaa, famous for its mahogany wood carvers; and best of all, Ntonso, where the vivid adinkra cloth is stamped with special symbols sacred to the Ashanti people. Although slightly touristy, no place encapsulates Ghana's vigorous culture as well as these humble hamlets.

In Kumasi, stay at the Justice Hotel (Accra Road, 51/225-25), a two-story cement building that is cozier inside than it looks from the outside. With 38 rooms and a patio restaurant, the Justice is a quiet reprieve from Kumasi, and rates are only 133,500 ($15) per person for a double with private bath and fan, or 160,000 cedis ($18) for an air-conditioned double. Simple breakfasts are 4,000 cedis ($.50).

Jofel's on the Airport Roundabout (51/212-13) is probably Kumasi's best restaurant, large and roomy with African dishes ranging from 30,000-40,000 cedis ($3.40-$4.50), and fried golden lobster or shrimps for around 30,000 cedis ($3.40).

The far, dry north

Fewer tourists venture into the north of Ghana, which is less developed but just as fascinating. The terrain is arid, the roads caked with red dust, and round mud-hut villages dot the landscape as they did thousands of years ago.

Tamale in the northeast is an interesting contrast to Accra, and makes a good base for exploring the north. It's a sleepy city where men play cards under trees, and women pound fufu in large carved-out bowls with wooden pestles. Picorna Hotel (71/226-72) is Tamale's best, run by friendly folks with first-class service. Rooms start at 126,000 cedis/$14.20 while fancier ones with air-conditioning and TVs are 236,000 cedis ($26.50). Its entertainment space holds live events.

A two-and-a-half-hour drive directly east of Tamale is the Mole National Park, known for its wildlife. You can arrange for a taxi to drive you from Tamale to Mole and back for 350,000 cedis ($45.75) for up to four passengers. The entrance into Mole National Park is 45,000 cedis ($5) per person, and there's the rather solitary Mole Hotel (71/722-014) on the cliffs of the park with 30 chalets for 130,000 cedis ($14.60) per person a night, or you can camp for 20,000 cedis ($2.60). Park rangers armed with rifles (to scare off the odd lion) lead visitors on bush hikes costing an astounding 5,000 cedis ($.65) per hour. Surprisingly good meals (for being out in the boondocks) are provided at the hotel for about 25,000 cedis ($3.25), and you can take a dip in the swimming pool for 10,000 cedis ($1.30). You might spot elephants, baboons, jackals, warthogs, hyenas, and crocodiles at the park.

Just outside the park's entrance is the tiny town of Larabanga, famous for its thirteenth-century mud mosque (10,000 cedis/$1.12 is requested to see it). The stunning white structure is said to house the oldest known copy of the Koran in West Africa. Kids smile and tug at your clothes, while elderly women dry tobacco in the mud courtyards. Have a local show you the Sacred Stone nearby. This rock kept mysteriously reappearing in the middle of the road during its construction, so they finally built the highway in a curve around it. Peering at the hazy savanna descending below the stone, you can't help but be engulfed by the mystical atmosphere that forever permeates the land of Ghana.