A haphazard mosaic of rustic hut houses clad in grass thatch, makeshift tin shacks with crooked antennas jutting from the top, dusty boulevards laden with craft stalls, tight-knit lanes rumbling with scooters and nebulas of sand, throbbing textile markets and the occasional rises of mosque minarets; this is Tamale. Amidst this fray of sights and sounds, the city’s Cultural Centre exhibits an interesting heritage of tribal oil paintings, musical shows of the Ghanaian north and more interestingly, local cook-ups where jollof rice meets palmnut soup and fried plantains. Then there are the curious geological formations of the so-called Bongo moon landscape on the peripheries of town, and the boundaries of the legendary Mole National Park just to the west. This is where Tamale tour guides take travellers to spy out wandering elephant herds, bushbuck, baboons, breath-taking savannah plains, ancient mosques, tribal homestays and even the elusive African leopard!