Explore Ghana
Ghana's coastline holds one of the densest collections of forts and castles anywhere in the world, and this page gathers twenty of them in one place. Elmina Castle, founded by the Portuguese in 1482, and Osu Castle in Accra are the best known, but the story continues along the shore at Fort Metal Cross in Dixcove, Fort San Sebastian at Shama, Fort Santo Antonio at Axim, Fort Patience at Apam and Fort William at Anomabo. Inland, the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum turns the same history towards the Anglo-Asante wars.
What these places share is a long, layered past: Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Brandenburg and British hands, trading routes, the slave trade, and UNESCO recognition for many of them. They differ in condition and in what you will find when you arrive. Some are restored and hold museums, such as Fort Apollonia at Beyin and Ussher Fort in Accra. Others are ruins, including English Fort Komenda, Fort Vredenburg, Fort Fredensborg at Old Ningo and Fort Kongenstein at Ada Foah, where the sea has taken most of the structure. A few, like Fort Good Hope at Senya Beraku and Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg at Princes Town, serve as rest houses.
Good to know
Plan around the coast rather than trying to see everything at once; the forts run from Ada Foah and Keta in the east through Accra, Apam, Anomabo, Elmina and Shama to Dixcove, Akwidaa, Axim and Beyin in the west. Roads link the main towns, but some sites sit on promontories or hills, so expect short walks, and Fort Dorothea at Akwidaa is reached on foot with permission from the local chief. Check opening arrangements before you travel: Fort Santo Antonio at Axim has been closed since 18 December 2025, James Fort in Accra is listed as temporarily closed, and several ruins are unstaffed. Guided tours at the museums add a great deal, so ask locally.
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Attraction · Elmina
St. George's Castle, commonly called Elmina Castle, is a 1482 Portuguese-founded castle and museum on a promontory at Elmina in Ghana's Central Region, listed by UNESCO.
Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · Source
Attraction · Komenda
English Fort Komenda is a ruined British Gold Coast fort on the Komenda River in Ghana's Central Region, part of a UNESCO World Heritage property and in GMMB custody.
Photo: Flixtey · Source
Attraction · Beyin
Fort Apollonia is a colonial-era seafront fort at Beyin, Western Region, Ghana, housing the Museum of Nzema Culture and History since 2010.
Photo: Esthee2010 · Source
Attraction · Teshie
Fort Augustaborg (Fort Teshie) is a ruined 1787 Danish fort in Teshie, Greater Accra, listed among Ghana's UNESCO-inscribed coastal forts and castles.
Photo: Shahadusadik · Source
Attraction · Old Ningo
Fort Fredensborg is a ruined 1734 Danish-Norwegian slave-trading fort at Old Ningo on Ghana's Gulf of Guinea coast, part of a UNESCO World Heritage serial property.
Photo: Owula kpakpo · Source
Attraction · Senya Beraku
Fort Good Hope (Fort de Goede Hoop) is a restored Dutch coastal fort at Senya Beraku, Central Region, Ghana, now a rest house, bed-and-breakfast and visitor attraction.
Photo: Nandi D · Source
Attraction · Prince's Town
Ghana's only German-built fort, a hilltop fortification on Manfro Hill at Princes Town (Pokesu), Western Region, now a partially restored attraction and rest house.
Photo: Roberto Zaugg · Source
Attraction · Dixcove
Fort Metal Cross is a British colonial fort begun in 1692 on a promontory at Dixcove in Ghana's Western Region, now a UNESCO-listed protected monument.
Photo: Nicholas McGee · Source
Attraction · Apam
Dutch-built Fort Patience (Fort Lijdzaamheid) stands on a promontory at Apam, Central Region, overlooking the fishing harbour and Gulf of Guinea coast.
Photo: Street4kingz · Source
Attraction · Keta
Fort Prinzenstein is a partly ruined 1784 Danish fort at Keta in the Volta Region, part of Ghana's UNESCO-listed forts and castles.
Photo: Khobbyyyy · Source
Attraction · Shama
Fort San Sebastian at Shama, Western Region, is a Portuguese fort of 1520–1526, later expanded by the Dutch and now a National Monument in Ghana's UNESCO-listed forts and castles.
Photo: Esthee2010 · Source
Attraction · Axim
Portuguese-built fort begun in 1515 at Axim, Western Region, now a UNESCO-listed state monument managed by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and closed since 18 December 2025.
Photo: Jesuraj Alakassery · Source
Attraction · Komenda
Fort Vredenburgh is a ruined 1682 Dutch fort on the Komenda River at Dutch Komenda, Central Region, inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1979.
Photo: Flixtey · Source
Attraction · Anomabo
Fort William is a British trading fort at Anomabo in Ghana's Central Region, built from 1753, later a prison, and now in the custody of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.
Photo: Fquasie · Source
Attraction · Accra
James Fort is a 17th-century British fort in Jamestown, Accra, built in 1673, later a prison and now a GMMB-managed heritage site that is currently listed as temporarily closed.
Photo: Newfoundlandguy · Source
Attraction · Kumasi
A fort and military museum in Kumasi's Uaddara Barracks, tracing the Anglo-Asante wars and the Gold Coast Regiment's evolution into the Ghana Armed Forces.
Photo: Noahalorwu · Source
Attraction · Accra
Osu Castle (Christiansborg) is a 17th-century fort at Osu, Accra, run by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Photo: Danieljatuat · Source
Attraction · Accra
Ussher Fort is a 17th-century Dutch-built fort in James Town, Accra, now home to the Ussher Fort Museum on the history of the slave trade in Ghana.
Photo: Twi inaccr · Source
Attraction · Akwidaa
Fort Dorothea is a ruined Brandenburg-era fort on a rocky hill at Akwidaa in Ghana's Western Region, reached on foot with permission from the local chief.
Attraction · Ada Foah
Fort Kongenstein is a largely sea-eroded 1783 Danish trading fort at Ada Foah, Greater Accra, where only traces of the structure remain.
Attraction · Beyin
An eco-museum inside the restored Fort Apollonia at Beyin, Jomoro District, presenting Nzema culture, history and the Amansuri wetland environment.
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