Amidst an endless sea of makeshift bazaars, varied craft stalls, rusting shanty homes and shacks of hawkish salespeople, the city of Kumasi rises from the rolling rainforests of the greater Ashanti Region in a cacophony of tooting car horns and lively bartering. However, this area’s prestigious past belies another side to its character, a richly cultural and regal one that emanates from its role as the ancestral home of the Asantehene monarchs.

To get a feel of the divided character of the city, Kumasi tour guides often recommend tearing away from the marketplaces (the Ketejia market being the largest in all of West Africa) for a spot of culture at the Manhyia Palace and its adjoining museum, some raw history in the ageing mansions of the old Ashanti kings, and the exhibitions that now take place beneath the bulwarks of the crumbling Kumasi Fort. And if you’re looking to explore the wild hinterlands that encompass the city on all sides, why not head out, beyond the crafts villages that surround Kumasi, to the banks of Lake Bosumtwe (the only natural lake in the country), or the seasonal falls of the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary?