Have you ever wanted to travel off the beaten path? In this blog post, we’ll take you on a journey to the northern region of Ghana, where we explore unique markets, pet crocodiles, visit a witchcraft village, and more. Join us on this overnight adventure that’s far from the typical tourist experience.
Bolgatanga: A Unique Starting Point
Our adventure begins in Bolga Tanga, a lesser-known destination in Ghana. To navigate this area efficiently, we highly recommend having a knowledgeable guide. We were lucky to travel with my friend Abdullah, who is also a tour guide. Having a guide makes visiting these less-traveled places much smoother.
Abdullah on WhatsApp: +233 240 519 181
Check out Abdullah’s Website: https://garibatours.wordpress.com
Vibrant Local Markets in Bolgatanga
Bolgatanga boasts two dynamic markets. The first is a bustling local market, offering a glimpse into the vibrant daily life of the locals. This market is anything but ordinary; you can expect surprises like sheep and cows wandering through the aisles. The energy and liveliness are contagious.
Discover Bolgatanga’s Basket Market
The second market is the basket market, known for its exquisite handwoven baskets. It’s essential to arrive early because this market closes up quite early in the day. The variety of baskets is impressive, and some are used for export. Remember to haggle for a fair price, keeping in mind the craftsmanship that goes into these beautiful creations.
Timing Is Everything: Market Days
Both markets in Bolgatanga don’t operate daily; they share the same market day every three days. Plan your visit accordingly to fully experience the local culture and the unique offerings of these markets.
Affordable Accommodation and Local Delicacies
After exploring the markets, it’s time to find a place to stay. We found a clean and affordable hotel for just $13 a night, including breakfast. The accommodation might not be luxurious, but it provides everything you need. We also enjoyed a local meal, “fufu with light soup,” one of my favorite Ghanaian dishes.
Paga – A Unique Encounter with Crocodiles
Our next stop is Paga, where we visited a crocodile pond under the protection of the local chief. The fascinating story involves a deal between a hunter and a crocodile, leading to a unique relationship between the people and the crocodiles. It’s illegal to harm or eat crocodiles in Paga, and the locals believe their souls inhabit these creatures.
A Really Close Encounter with Crocodiles
At the crocodile pond, you can get remarkably close to these creatures. While it might be intimidating, it’s a thrilling experience to interact with them. A notable difference from our previous crocodile encounter in Gambia was the lack of strict safety precautions, making it feel even more exciting.
A Border Crossing Misadventure
Our journey takes an unexpected turn when we decide to take a side trip to the Burkina Faso border. Filming without permission leads to a surprising encounter with border authorities. It serves as a reminder that it’s essential to respect local regulations and ask for permission before capturing certain locations on camera.
Gambaga – The Witchcraft Village
One of the most intriguing parts of our adventure was our visit to Gambaga, often referred to as the Witchcraft Village. This village is a safe haven for individuals accused of witchcraft, not only from Ghana but from neighboring countries as well.
Welcoming Chiefs and Kind Residents
Despite its eerie name, the chief and residents of Gambaga were very welcoming. We learned about their difficult situations and made donations to help support the village. The main source of income for the villagers is selling firewood, which doesn’t provide much.
Questioning the Witchcraft Accusations
It’s challenging to fathom why these individuals would be accused of witchcraft when their living conditions are far from ideal. This raises questions about the validity of such accusations. The kindness and humility of the residents make us believe that they are not witches.
A Memorable Journey
Our two-day journey took us on a rollercoaster of experiences in northern Ghana. From vibrant markets to unique encounters with crocodiles and a visit to the Witchcraft Village, this adventure is a testament to the beauty of traveling off the beaten path in Ghana.
Conclusion: A Unique Experience in Northern Ghana
If you plan to visit Ghana, consider extending your stay to explore the northern region. It’s a fascinating and unique experience that will broaden your perspective on the country’s culture and traditions. Northern Ghana offers much more than the typical tourist attractions, making it a memorable destination for adventurous travelers.
Video Transcript
Today, I am going to take you to a part of Ghana that hardly anyone ever gets to, especially as tourists. We are going to go up to the far north and we are going to Bolgatanga, and there we are going to see two different markets. They are very distinct markets and they are very cool.
And then we are going to go to Paga where I get to pet a crocodile. And I know I’ve petted crocodiles in the Gambia and you might have seen that video. Trust me, this was not a sleepy little… crocodile. This one was fully awake and that was an interesting experience.
And then, well then we took a little side trip to the Burkina Faso border because it’s right there. That’s how far north we were. Just to take a little look, and I might have gotten us into a little bit of trouble. So I’ll tell you that story.
And then we will be visiting the Witchcraft Village. Okay, so if you have ever wanted to travel off the beaten path, this is the way to do it. So let me know in the comments, would you visit a witchcraft village?
We’re starting this two-day journey in Bolgatanga, and it’s often just called Bolga. And when I say we, I am talking about I’m going with my good friend Abdullah who is also a tour guide. Now you could do this on public transit with a tro tro and all that. You could do Bolga and Paga and do it in one day and get up and back if you start really early.
However, going to Gambaga, the witchcraft village, would be almost impossible on public transit, and then when you got there, communication would be really challenging. So I definitely recommend having a guide for this trip, and with that in mind, I will put Abdullah’s contact information in the description. He is awesome.
Bolgatanga has two really dynamic markets. One is what you would consider a local market, it’s just a standard local African market. But the thing is, it is actually kind of exciting. While I was there, there was at one point a bunch of sheep ran through the thing and I turned the corner at one point and there was a cow all of a sudden. And it’s a very lively market. In fact, this one intersection was really noisy with people calling out their stuff and all that sort of thing. And it just, it is a very vibrant market.
The other market is the basket market. And the basket market was really awesome, but I’ll admit we got there a little later not knowing that the basket market closes really, really early. I mean, I think we were there by 10 o’clock. It started to close up.
So you definitely want to get there early.
But we got the tail end of it and there were just beautiful baskets everywhere. I mean, all the different shapes and sizes. And to be honest, I know some of them were for these big projects where they were exporting
You know, so, but you can still buy baskets there. And I always say bargain well, which means bargain to get a fair price, but don’t bargain so hard that you’re, you’re being rude about it.
And I’m saying that because a lot of work goes into making these baskets, a lot of work. And they are gorgeous. I mean, these baskets are beautiful.
So the thing you need to know is that these markets don’t happen every day. They both happen on the same day, but market day is every three days. So before you pack up and head off to Bolga, you definitely want to try and make sure that you’re going on market day.
So we got there fairly early, obviously not early enough for the full basket market, but we got there and after the basket market though, we had to go find a hotel and Abdullah had a friend in the town. So he’s the one that helped us find the right hotel because the first place we went was pretty expensive.
And so we found one that was much more affordable. And this time I remembered to take pictures of the room. And so it’s not a fancy room. It’s fairly basic, but it’s clean and it has everything I need. And it was only $13 a night. Now that’s my kind of travel. And that included breakfast.
And then we went to a local place for lunch and I ordered fufu with light soup. And yes, fufu with light soup is one of my favorite foods here in Ghana. In fact, it’s one of the foods when I’m not in Ghana that I miss.
After lunch, it was off to Paga to visit the chief’s crocodile pond. It’s about a 40-minute drive from Bolgatanga, so not too far.
The story goes that there was a hunter, and he was being chased by a lion. And he got trapped between the lion and the pond, and that there was a crocodile in the middle of the pond. And he made a deal with the crocodile that said, if you kill this lion for me, then none of my descendants will ever harm a crocodile.
Okay, that is the mystical agreement that was put in place. And the story has become so embedded, it is believed that the souls of the people of Paga inhabit the crocodiles.
In Paga, it’s actually illegal to harm a crocodile or to eat crocodile meat. There are more than 200 in this pond. And the guy told me that at night, the crocodiles go wandering out into town. And he said, they absolutely do not attack people. And of course, the people don’t harm them either. They know the deal. In fact, the crocodiles don’t even harm the goats that wander around the pond.
I did find it rather interesting, shall we say, that there was no safety lecture with how to handle this crocodile that I was about to pet. And when we were in the Gambia, we got all sorts of safety warnings and they kept an eye on us and everything. And here it was just kind of like, ah, come on, let’s see the crocodile.
So because I had petted crocodiles in the Gambia, I did know to avoid their heads. They have an automatic snap response if you get too close, and so you definitely avoid their heads. But the way this place worked is they had a little meal for the crocodile, and the crocodiles know that.
Now there’s 200 crocodiles in the pond, but the only one closest to me was actually a blind one. And she came up. And other than offering this extra free meal… no one can coerce a crocodile. You can’t sit there and make them come up and play with the tourists. So it’s a fair trade. They know they’re going to get a snack if they play with the tourists tonight.
And to see the crocodile coming up out of the water and being that close to it, it was powerful. I mean, it wasn’t that the croc was huge or super strong or scary, but it was intimidating. It was more intimidating than I thought it would be.
So when she was fully up on shore, I went over and I held her tail. And some people will sort of squat down and sit over the back of the crocodile. I didn’t do that because chances of me falling over face forward would have been way too much.
So I just held her tail long enough to get a few pictures and a little video. Then she got her treat and I thanked her and we went on our way. But it was very interesting holding onto the tail of a very alert crocodile.
So Abdullah asked if I wanted to see the border with Burkina Faso because it was just a few minutes away. I said sure, why not?
Well, I’ve been doing walking and driving videos for my second channel and so I’m used to keeping the camera going. And I just forgot that you don’t film government installations, okay? And we weren’t going to be there for long. We were just going up looking and going to leave again. But they basically saw me filming and they stopped us before we got turned around, and they’re like, okay, you got to come inside.
And oh man, that’s not when you want to hear at a border crossing.
Okay, so we went inside and now I got a little bit of a pass cause I was the foreigner and I didn’t know any better, although technically I did, but they didn’t know that. So let me be the stupid tourist at that point. Sometimes it’s okay to just let yourself be the fool that doesn’t know what’s going on because sometimes it fits the narrative better, shall we say.
The other guys weren’t from the area so they got a little bit of a pass too, but we still got a hefty lecture. And the truth is, they don’t actually mind people taking pictures, they just want you to come in and ask for permission first. Okay? So they didn’t have a problem, they didn’t have a problem if I put the footage on the YouTube channel. It’s just they wanted us to ask first.
So that was how I got us into trouble at the border and we got out of it. And then I apologized to Abdullah for getting us into trouble.
We get back to Bolgatanga and now it’s time to go to the market, the regular street local market and the one that I told you was so busy and bustling. So I will tell you I did do a video of the entire market walk and that is on the second channel and I will put a link in the description if you want to see the whole thing. But these are some highlights from that market walk.
They have everything there. You can find just about anything except touristy stuff. Now Sometimes I get strange looks when I go to a local market, depending on how small the place is. Boca Tangas seem to have a little different feel. They weren’t totally surprised to see me there. They get their share of foreigners.
But I still was a little bit of an attraction because they assume I have plenty of money. And so it’s like you get a lot of calls to buy from people. And that’s okay. I expect that when I go to a market and it was all very friendly, very friendly, very safe, and it was just a good time. I love a local market.
In the end, I ended up buying a big mango and a bunch of shrimp, shrimp chips, because I really liked them and I don’t see them too often.
Oh, and I almost forgot. We went to the cultural center in Bolgatanga. Now the layout looks a lot like Tamale’s cultural center. The thing is, in Bolga, they have a lot more emphasis on leatherwork and basketry, as you might imagine. And they still have the fabric and the beads and all the other awesome stuff too. But leatherwork and basketry are their real specialties. I just wanted to tell you this because if you’re in Bolgatanga, it’s another great place to go.
I will say though, it was a hot, sweaty day walking around that market. And we got back to the hotel and the power was off, which means the fans weren’t working. Of course. But a quick shower and a relaxed on the bed and all was good. And I’m not going to mention anything about dinner that night because it turned out to be nothing special.
So let’s jump to the next day where we go to the Witchcraft Village.
So we left Bolgatanga and headed for Gambaga. And it turned out to be much further off of the main road than we thought it would be. Not only that, there was no through road to continue past Gambaga when we were done and connect back up with the main road we were hoping to get to. We had to backtrack all the way back out and then head back home down to Tamale.
The Witchcraft Village is called that simply because it is a village of people, not all of Gambaga, but the village within Gambaga, is a bunch of people that have been accused of witchcraft. And they’re not just from Ghana. Some are from Ghana, some are from Burkina Faso, some are from Nigeria, on Togo. They’re from all over the region. And they have been accused of witchcraft and they come here to this village in Gambaga because it’s the only place where they can be safe.
So first off, we meet the chief. And sometimes when you meet a chief, you have the sense of, yes, they’re welcoming you and they’re very much in charge. And they do have the right to say, no, we don’t want to see you. Not that they ever do. But if they want to tell you to go away, they can tell you to go away.
That was not the attitude here.
The chief here was very welcoming and grateful for the visit. And of course, a donation was required, shall we say. And that’s fine. But he was saying how that donation is going to go to help everyone in the village. And I certainly don’t mind. giving a donation or an entrance fee to a village to people who can use the help.
We walked around with the guide for a while and then we reached the women’s area and I got to meet the woman in charge of the women’s area and she was very nice and welcoming and we had a nice little chat and I gave them a donation as well because I wanted to make sure the women got taken care of. You know, I didn’t, it didn’t feel right not to give them a donation too.
The main source of income for the town is selling firewood, but it really doesn’t make them that much money.
That sort of begs the question, if these people were witches and had witchcrafty powers, then how are they able to be treated this way? If someone really had powers, wouldn’t they do something against the people who were trying to hurt them or chase them out? Or at the very least, wouldn’t they improve their living conditions, shall we say? So when these people say that they aren’t really witches, I tend to believe them.
All in all, I had a really interesting time with some very kind people in the witchcraft village of Gambaga. I highly recommend it as a side trip that you make time for.
After that, it was back home to Tamale, and I was so tired after the whirlwind that this trip was that I slept most of the way home.
If you come up to Tamale to go to Mole National Park, schedule in an extra day and make the time to see more of northern Ghana because it is fun and interesting and very cool.
So thanks for joining me and I’ll see you next time.
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