Gwollu Kuoro's Palace

Gwollu Kuoro's Palace is the compound and seat of the Gwollu Kuoro, the paramount chief of the Gwollu Traditional Area, in Gwollu, the administrative capital of Sissala West District in the far north of Ghana's Upper West Region, close to the Burkina Faso border. The palace is not a museum or a ticketed monument; it is a working traditional seat, and the Gwollu Slave Defence Wall stands immediately next to it, which keeps the wall under the community leader's watch.

The compound carries several layers of local and national history. The wall beside it was built in the nineteenth century as a double-ringed defence against slave raiders Babatu and Samori, and shrines associated with that period are reported within the palace. The tomb of Dr Hilla Limann, a former President of Ghana who was Gwollu Kuoro before his death in 1998, lies inside the chief's compound. In 2008, the tenth anniversary of his death, government approved a budget to redesign the mausoleum and the Gwollu Palace. A baobab tree reputed to be among the largest in the Upper West Region stands in front of the palace.

Visitors traditionally greet the chief first and request permission for a tour; the chief may talk about the history and the community. Photographs are permitted of the slave wall, but permission must be asked before shooting within the palace, where several shrines and tombs are off limits. A small donation is requested for upkeep of the wall, and a libation offering may be suggested, though it is not required, at Limann's grave.

Access takes planning. Public transport is restricted and hiring a private car is advised; the Navrongo–Tumu–Gwollu route is roughly 150 km of poor road, taking four to five hours by private vehicle. The district assembly has noted that the district capital is not tarred and has called for tarmacking from the Assembly premises to the town centre through the chiefs' palace. Opening hours, fees and formal tour arrangements are not documented in the available sources, so visitors should confirm locally before travelling.