Attraction · Aboadze
Aboadze Thermal Power Station (VRA) visitor site
Ghana's first fossil-fuel power station, operated by VRA at Aboadze near Sekondi-Takoradi, drawing students and tourists to study electricity supply.
Photo: Enock4seth · Source
Explore Ghana
Things to do in Western Region
The Western Region stretches along Ghana's Atlantic coast from Shama and Takoradi westwards to the Ivorian border, and it holds an unusual concentration of history, water and forest. Fort San Sebastian at Shama, begun by the Portuguese in the 1520s, and Fort Santo Antonio at Axim, started in 1515, are both National Monuments within the UNESCO-listed Forts and Castles of Ghana. Further west stand Fort Metal Cross at Dixcove, Fort Batenstein above Butre, Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg at Prince's Town — Ghana's only German-built fort — and Fort Apollonia at Beyin, which has housed the Museum of Nzema Culture and History since 2010.
What these places share is the coast itself: almost everything here is reached by the same shoreline road, and most of it looks out over the same ocean. Where they differ is in mood. Some are working or restricted sites, such as Takoradi Harbour, Ghana's oldest seaport, and the Aboadze Thermal Power Station visitor site. Others are quiet and natural — the Ankobra Estuary near Sanwoma, Abby Lagoon near Jaway Wharf, and Takoradi Monkey Hill. And some are simply about being outdoors: the Busua–Butre coastal hike, the surf at Ahanta Waves Surf School on Busua Beach, the lighthouses at Cape Three Points, and Nzulezo, Ghana's only stilt village, reached by canoe through the Amanzule wetlands.
Good to know
Before you go
Base yourself in Sekondi-Takoradi for the eastern forts and markets, and plan separate nights further west around Busua, Dixcove, Akwidaa or Beyin, since the coastal road links most of these places but the distances add up. Several sites are informal or community-run: the Busua–Butre footpath, Fort Dorothea at Akwidaa and Nzulezo all involve walking or a guided canoe, so ask locally and go with a guide where that is expected. Check access before you travel. Takoradi Harbour is a secured working port with restricted public access, Fort Santo Antonio at Axim has been closed since 18 December 2025, and the Market Circle redevelopment in Takoradi has been stalled since early 2023. Carry cash, water and sun protection, and start early.
Start here
Places to explore
Attraction · Sanwoma
Ankobra Estuary
The Ankobra Estuary is where the Ankobra River meets the Atlantic at Sanwoma in the Ellembelle District, Western Region, near the remains of Fort Elize Carthago.
Photo: ZSM · Source
Attraction · Butre
Busua–Butre Coastal Hike & Butre Hills Viewpoint
An informal coastal footpath linking Busua and Butre in Ghana's Western Region, climbing laterite headlands above the Atlantic to Fort Batenstein and the Butre river mouth.
Photo: aripeskoe2 · Source
Attraction · Akwidaa
Cape Three Points
Cape Three Points is Ghana's southernmost tip, a fishing village and peninsula in the Western Region known for its 1875 and 1925 lighthouses.
Photo: Friedmut Abel · Source
Attraction · Akwidaa
Cape Three Points Lighthouse
Cape Three Points is Ghana's southernmost tip, a fishing village and peninsula in Ahanta West known for its 1875 lighthouse ruin and working 1925 tower.
Photo: Friedmut Abel · Source
Attraction · Beyin
Fort Apollonia
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 · Butre
Fort Batenstein
Fort Batenstein is a Dutch trading fort built in 1656, now a ruin on the hill above Butre village in Ghana's Western Region, overlooking the Atlantic.
Photo: Macabe5387 · Source
Attraction · Akwidaa
Fort Dorothea ruins
Fort Dorothea is a ruined 17th-century fortification on a rocky hill at Akwidaa, Western Region, Ghana, reached by trekking with local permission.
Photo: Stig Nygaard · Source
Attraction · Prince's Town
Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg
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
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 · Shama
Fort San Sebastian
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 · Shama
Fort San Sebastian, Shama
Fort San Sebastian in Shama, Western Region, is a Portuguese-built fort of 1520–1526, now a National Monument and part of the UNESCO-listed Forts and Castles of Ghana.
Photo: Esthee2010 · Source
Attraction · Axim
Fort Santo Antonio
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 · Axim
Fort St. Antony
Portuguese-built fort begun in 1515 on a rocky promontory at Axim, later a Dutch Gold Coast stronghold and now a UNESCO-listed state-owned site open to the public.
Photo: Jesuraj Alakassery · Source
Attraction · Takoradi
Market Circle, Takoradi
Takoradi Market Circle is a long-established market in Takoradi, Western Region, whose 2020 redevelopment has been stalled since early 2023.
Photo: Canny Kay · Source
Attraction · Nzulezo
Nzulezo Stilt Village
Nzulezo is Ghana's only stilt village, reached by guided canoe through the Amanzule wetlands from Beyin in the Western Region.
Photo: Luke Bosman · Source
Attraction · Takoradi
Takoradi Harbour
Takoradi Harbour is Ghana's oldest seaport, a secured working industrial port in Sekondi-Takoradi commissioned in 1928, with restricted public access.
Photo: Kees Torn · Source
Attraction · Takoradi
Takoradi Monkey Hill
Takoradi Monkey Hill is a forested hill and primate habitat conservation site within Takoradi, listed by the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly as a tourist site.
Photo: Elsewer · Source
Attraction
Attraction · Jaway Wharf
Abby Lagoon
Abby Lagoon is a trans-boundary wetland near Jaway Wharf in Jomoro, Western Ghana, listed among the municipality's attractions and believed to hold West African manatees.
Attraction
Attraction · Busua
Ahanta Waves Surf School & Camp
Locally owned surf school and surf camp on Busua Beach, Western Region, offering surf lessons, board rental, guided surf trips and accommodation at Ahanta Eco Lodge.
Attraction
Attraction · Wassa Akropong
Akropong Town Park
Akropong Town Park is a public town park and athletic ground in Wassa Akropong, capital of the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal District in Ghana's Western Region.
Attraction
Attraction · Akwidaa
Akwidaa
Akwidaa is a small fishing town in Ahanta West District, Western Region, split between a coastal Old Town and an inland New Town, with fort ruins and beaches.
Attraction
Attraction · Essikadu
Albert Bosomtwi Sam Fishing Harbour
GPHA-operated fishing harbour in Sekondi, Western Region, with inner and outer harbours, a canoe basin, and an adjacent fish market and processing area.
Attraction
Attraction · Beyin
Amansuri Wetland
A blackwater wetland system near Beyin in Ghana's Western Region, visited by canoe to the stilt village of Nzulezo.
Wider area
Closer in
More in Western Region
- Beaches in Western Region
- Resorts in Western Region
- Heritage sites in Western Region
- Boat trips in Western Region
- Monuments in Western Region
- Forts and castles in Western Region
- Museums in Western Region
- Rivers in Western Region
- Hiking trails in Western Region
- Viewpoints in Western Region
- Wildlife reserves in Western Region