Made infamous by the slave traders that once used the coastal stretches of Ghana’s Cape Coast as one of their departure points from the African continent, this sprawling post-colonial town now offers travellers an interesting glimpse into the dark, troublesome history of West Africa as a whole. For this, Cape Coast tour guides direct visitors to the shadowy tunnels of the UNESCO-attested Cape Coast Castle, where spectres of the slaving past can still be felt in the subterranean corridors and on the cannon-peppered terraces. Nearby, the town of Elmina hosts another of these startling fortifications, and is definitely worth the visit.

The town today is home to an easy-going coastal community. Be sure to head down to the frenetic markets on Commercial Road, or the rolling swells of the Cape Coast beaches, where bobbing fishing boats do battle with the Gulf of Guinea. And then why not break out from the city to explore the wild climbs of Kakum National Park and trek across swinging rope bridges over jungle ravines, all while keeping an eye out for elusive forest elephants.