Tamale Central Market

Tamale Central Market is a large trading market in Tamale, in Ghana's Northern Region, within the Tamale Metropolitan Area. Wikipedia describes it as the largest market in northern Ghana, and it is organised into two main sections. Aboabo Market carries most of the wholesale and retail activity and is noted for local food products; the older side, known as Dakurili, is where vendors sell traditional crafts, clothing and other goods. A third-party listing also mentions textiles, leather products, spices and fresh vegetables, along with street-food vendors selling grilled meats, fried plantains and spicy sauces.

The market has a long and eventful record. It experienced a fire outbreak in 1979 and was burnt down completely in 1982. Renovation followed under then head of state Jerry Rawlings, and again in 2015 under President John Mahama, funded by the World Bank and supervised by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly. A fire on 9 September 2022 burned a few stores and was contained by the Ghana National Fire Service. In January 2025 a violent clash over a land dispute in the market area caused injuries and disrupted trading.

For visitors, the market's appeal is its scale and range of goods rather than any formal visitor infrastructure. UN-Habitat's Tamale City Profile places Aboabo Market in Tamale Central at 6.1 hectares and notes a large terminal for regional buses and articulated trucks, which makes the market a practical arrival point for travellers coming into Tamale by road. An Instagram location page lists the address as Kumbungu Road, Tamale.

Practical details are limited. A third-party travel listing states that entrance is free and that shopping can suit any budget, but this is not confirmed by an official source, and no official fee schedule was found. No source confirms toilets, parking, ATMs or guided services, and no verified coordinates were obtained, so precise latitude and longitude remain unknown. The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly is the public authority associated with the Central Market and Aboabo Market.