This new, thoroughly updated ninth edition of Bradt's Ghana remains the only dedicated guidebook to this beguiling country ? and the most comprehensive source of travel information about it. One of West Africa's few English-speaking nations, the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and the world's second-largest producer of chocolate, Ghana is friendly, safe and inexpensive, making it an ideal destination for first-time visitors to the continent. Ghana is a country more about experiencing the unique and authentic than ticking off a series of boxes. Although smaller than the UK, it is rich in little-visited national parks, forest reserves, cultural sites and scenic waterfalls, and is blessed with bleached-white beaches and lush rainforest along 550 kilometres of Atlantic coastline. Written by Philip Briggs, arguably the world's most experienced guidebook writer, and updated by a travel writer specialising in Africa, Bradt's Ghana provides everything you need to know to plan and enjoy your trip. Its coverage ranges from inexpensive opportunities to see wildlife to cultural and historical aspects, from the solemnity of the slave dungeons at Elmina's UNESCO-listed castle to villages near its remote and sparsely populated northern border with Burkina Faso. Twenty-two chapters across five regional sections are complemented by extensive background and practical information, plus a fully illustrated wildlife chapter. With Bradt's Ghana, you can explore the popular Cape Coast or the Ashanti region, marvel at elephants while on a walking safari in Mole National Park, join locals aboard an ageing steamer plying Lake Volta (the world's largest man-made reservoir, no less), enjoy creativity at the high-profile Chale Wote Street Art festival or party night-long in the glittering Osu district of the national capital, Accra. Fresh elements of this edition include Winneba's Pan-African Heritage Museum, Zimmaziwo Snake Village, several waterfalls, Sesiamang Sisi Stone City, Mim Bour Mountains, Wariyanga mud mosque and the Sankana Chief's Palace. No matter what your interests are, this new, ninth edition of Bradt's Ghana is an unrivalled companion for everyone from first-time travellers to Africa to seasoned explorers and those spending prolonged periods in the country. AUTHOR: Philip Briggs (philipbriggs.com) has been exploring the highways, byways and backwaters of Africa since 1986, when he backpacked on a shoestring from Nairobi to Cape Town. He is the world's leading author of guidebooks to African countries, with more than 30 years' experience. In 1991, he wrote South Africa: the Bradt Travel Guide, the first such guidebook to be published internationally after the release of Nelson Mandela. Over the rest of the 1990s, he wrote pioneering Bradt travel guides to countries that were then ? and in some cases still are ? otherwise practically uncharted by the travel industry. These include the first dedicated guidebooks to Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique and Ghana, all of which have run to multiple editions. He has also contributed to 11 African Insight Guides and Eyewitness Guides. When not travelling, he lives in the sleepy South African village of Wilderness. Ian Packham (encircleafrica.com) has visited 39 of Africa's 54 countries. His first-hand experience of Ghana began in 2006, when he used the third edition of Bradt's Ghana guidebook on a solo backpacker trip. The experience inspired him to become a full-time freelance travel writer, specialising in Africa. Accordingly, he has returned to Ghana on multiple occasions, often for considerable periods of time, including extensive on-the-ground research for this ninth edition of the selfsame Ghana guide. Travelling largely by public transport, the best way to become immersed in life on the ground and pick up local tips along the way, he's done everything from sleep on a tabletop on the Lake Volta ferry and encounter elephants in Mole National Park to sampling chocolate and trying out his Twi dancing in Accra's bars and clubs. He has been published in Travel Magazine, Africa Geographic, JRNY, The I and two Bradt travel anthologies. 56 colour and 24 b/w photos, 64 maps
