Attraction · Navrongo
Navrongo Basilica Museum
A small museum attached to the Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral, a mud-brick national monument in Ghana's Upper East Region.
Photo: Mwintirew · Source
Explore Ghana
Heritage sites in Upper East Region
The Upper East Region holds some of Ghana's most quietly remarkable heritage. These ten places share a common thread: they are living sites, still used by the communities around them. Palaces such as the Bolgatanga Naba's Palace, the Navrongo Palace of the Navro-Pio and the Azukodaana Palace in Sirigu remain working traditional seats, while the Tengzug Shrine in the Tongo Hills is the paramount shrine of the Talensi people.
They differ in mood and setting. At Pikworo Slave Camp near Paga, rock-cut features mark a transit camp active from 1704 to 1845, a sobering place to reflect. The Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape offers balancing rock formations and sacred ancestral shrines at the base of a horseshoe-shaped hill chain, and the Tongo Chief's Palace is a stop on the official Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape tour. In Navrongo, the Basilica Museum sits beside the mud-brick Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral, a national monument.
Sirigu rewards a slower visit. The Martyrs of Uganda Parish Church is known for walls decorated by local women with traditional mural designs and for Gurune-language hymn singing, and SWOPA, the Sirigu Women's Organisation for Pottery and Art, runs a visitor centre, gallery, workshop and guesthouse.
Good to know
Before you go
Bolgatanga is the natural base for the Tongo and Tengzuk sites, and Navrongo and Paga lie to the west, with Sirigu to the east. Distances are modest but roads and transport vary, so allow generous time and plan how you will move between towns before you set out. Many of these are sacred or working sites: shrines, palaces and churches. Check opening arrangements and any visitor protocol in advance, ask before photographing people or ceremonies, and dress respectfully. A local guide adds a great deal, particularly at Tengzug and Pikworo. Carry water and sun protection, and confirm festival dates such as the Azuko Festival before travelling.
Start here
Places to explore
Attraction · Paga
Pikworo Slave Camp
Pikworo Slave Camp is a rock-cut heritage site at Paga Nania, about 3 km west of Paga in Ghana's Upper East Region, active as a slave-trade transit camp from 1704 to 1845.
Photo: Celestinesucess · Source
Attraction · Tongo
Tengzug Shrine
Tengzug Shrine is the paramount shrine of the Talensi people, set among sacred shrines in the cliffs of the Tongo Hills, about 15 km southeast of Bolgatanga.
Photo: Alhaj Darajaati · Source
Attraction · Tongo
Tongo Chief's Palace
The royal court of the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, and a stop on the official Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape tour in Ghana's Upper East Region.
Photo: Knowledge and philosophy · Source
Attraction · Tengzuk
Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape and Sacred Shrines
A Talensi cultural landscape of balancing rock formations and sacred ancestral shrines at the base of a horseshoe-shaped hill chain near Tongo, Upper East Region.
Photo: Munkaila Sulemana · Source
Attraction
Attraction · Bolgatanga
Bolgatanga Naba's Palace
The traditional seat and administrative centre of the paramount chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, in the Atulibabisi community, Upper East Region, Ghana.
Attraction
Attraction · Sirigu
Martyrs of Uganda Parish Church, Sirigu
Catholic parish church at Sirigu in Ghana's Upper East Region, known for church walls decorated by local women with traditional mural designs and for Gurune-language hymn singing.
Attraction
Attraction · Navrongo
Navrongo Palace
The Navrongo Palace is the working traditional seat of the Navro-Pio, Paramount Chief of the Navrongo Traditional Area, and a ceremonial venue in Ghana's Upper East Region.
Attraction
Attraction · Sirigu
Sirigu Chief's Palace
The Azukodaana Palace in Sirigu, Upper East Region, is the seat of the Paramount Chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area and the launch venue for the annual Azuko Festival.
Attraction
Attraction · Sirigu
Sirigu Craft Village / SWOPA
SWOPA is a women's craft cooperative and community tourism centre in Sirigu, Upper East Region, with a visitor centre, gallery, workshop and guesthouse.