Benin is considered by many to be the birthplace of voodoo. Every year, on the 10 th of January, the Ouidah region celebrates the Voodoo Festival, an important event dedicated to this religion.

On this occasion, ceremonies, sacrifices, songs, dances, and large banquets are held; and faith, magic and the supernatural are revealed through complex rituals and spectacular performances.

Our tour will give you the opportunity to witness the amazing OUIDAH VOODOO FESTIVAL, to witness the annual rituals of dancing and drumming to honor this ancient religion.

Explore Benin’s role in the slave trade. Retrace the route that led enslaved Africans to the “gate of no return” and the ships that transported them to the Americas. See the infamous House of Slaves.

See the Woman King Statute, which is a tribute to the female warriors made famous in the recent movie starring Viola Davis. Benin is the home of these warriors, the only female army regiment in modern history.

Our tour will also give you a chance to explore the voodoo culture of Togo. While in this tiny but intriguing country, we visit voodoo temples, fetish market, the Grand Marche, travel by dugout canoe on Togo Lake to reach the mysterious Togoville; and visit Ganvie, a charming village built entirely on stilts.

This tour also includes tours in Accra, Ghana’s vibrant and cosmopolitan capital, Kumasi, the famous capital of the Asante Empire, Cape Coast and Elmina in the historic Central Region.

This trip will be unforgettable! Have your cameras ready! Prepare to be amazed!

Price: Only $4,199 per person, with double room occupancy

DAY 1-3: Travel to Ghana and tour Accra, the capital city of Ghana:

> Visit Independence Square (where Ghanaians celebrate the nation’s Independence Day each year)

> Visit the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, which is the final resting place of the first President of Ghana

> Visit W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Center for Pan-African Culture

> Drive through the commercial districts of Accra and see the amazing development and growth of Accra.

Days 4-5: Travel to the Asante Region, Naming Ceremony; and tour of Kumasi,and its Surrounding Towns:

> Participate in a Traditional Naming Ceremony and be given a traditional Asante name based on your day of birth

> Visit Manhyia Palace the traditional home of the Asantehene, the king of all Asante, and one of the most powerful chiefs in Africa.

> See the Okomfo Anokye Monument, dedicated to the traditional priest who “conjured” from the skies the famous Golden Stool that unified the Asante people

Days 6-7: We tour the Central Region.

> Stop at Assin Manso to participate in a Ceremony of Remembrance at “Slave River”.

> Visit the Elmina Slave Dungeon and Cape Coast Slave Dungeons, infamous as the places where the largest number of enslaved Africans were housed before shipment to the Americas

Days 8-9: We tour Lome, the Capital City of Togo

> Independence Square, the fishing harbor, the Lome Craftsmen village; the fetish Market—the traditional “drugstore” and other products including “sacred” items are on display

> Visit the Voodoo Village near Lome

> Visit the Slave House in Agbodrafo; and travel by boat to Togoville, the village which was home to numerous enslaved Africans

Days 10-13: OUIDAH VOODOO FESTIVAL; and tour of Cotonou, the Capital City of Benin, and its Surrounding Towns.

> Witness the amazing OUIDAH VOODOO FESTIVAL

> We will continue to the place of “the common grave;” the “tree of forgetfulness;” and the infamous “Gate of No Return” that so many of our ancestors passed through on their journey of enslavement.

> Visit to the Ganvie market zone including the international Dantokpa market

> Visit the statute of the “Woman King”

Days 14-15: Return to Accra, Prepare for Departure and Arrival back in the USA.