Explore Ghana
The Eastern Region rewards travellers who like their history close to the everyday life around it. Three very different places here all keep Ghana's past in view, and each one tells its story through objects, buildings and living craft rather than through glass cases alone. In Koforidua, the Centre for National Culture is the regional home of the National Commission on Culture, with a craftshop, a traditional training school and a reported 1,500-seat theatre. In Kibi, the Okyeman Old Palace Museum preserves the old palace as a museum of the royal heritage of the Akyem Abuakwa State. And at Mampong-Akuapem, the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm is Ghana's founding cocoa farm, a national monument managed by CRIG, with original trees, a museum and a 2020 exhibition centre.
What they share is a sense of place: each is rooted in the town that holds it, and each mixes heritage with something you can see being made, grown or performed. What differs is the subject. One is about culture and craft, one about kingship and memory, one about a single crop that changed the country. Together they make an easy, unhurried day or two of learning in the Eastern Region.
Good to know
These three places sit in different towns, so plan them as separate stops rather than one loop, and allow time for the road between Koforidua, Kibi and Mampong-Akuapem. Mornings are usually the calmest for travelling and for finding someone to show you around. Before you set off, check current opening days and times directly with each site, as small museums and cultural centres can close for ceremonies, maintenance or public holidays. Bring cash for the craftshop in Koforidua, wear comfortable shoes, and ask before photographing people or palace interiors.
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Attraction · Koforidua
The Eastern Regional office of Ghana's National Commission on Culture in Koforidua, with a craftshop, traditional training school and a reported 1,500-seat theatre.
Photo: Jude Hammond · Source
Attraction · Kibi
The Okyeman Old Palace in Kibi, Abuakwa South Municipality, is preserved as a museum reflecting the royal heritage of the Akyem Abuakwa State.
Attraction · Mampong
Ghana's founding cocoa farm at Mampong-Akuapem, a national monument managed by CRIG, with original trees, a museum and a 2020 exhibition centre.