The question of where to go after Accra and the coast depends on time available and preference between wildlife observation and cultural immersion. Ghana offers two primary inland routes. Mole National Park in the Northern Region lies 630 kilometers north of Accra, requiring ten to twelve hours by road. Kumasi in the Ashanti Region sits 250 kilometers northwest of Accra, reachable in four to five hours. Each destination anchors a distinct multi-day exploration radius.
Mole National Park encompasses 4,840 square kilometers of guinea savanna woodland, established as a protected area in 1958 and gazetted as a national park in 1971. The park holds Ghana's largest concentrations of elephants, with population estimates ranging from 400 to 800 individuals depending on seasonal movement. Dry season months from November through April concentrate wildlife around waterholes, particularly the escarpment edge overlooking the Lovi and Mole rivers where the park headquarters sits. Elephant sightings occur on approximately seventy percent of morning walking safaris during peak dry season. Other reliably observed species include kob antelope, bushbuck, warthog, olive baboon, and green monkey. Roan antelope appear occasionally. Buffalo populations declined sharply in the 1990s but recolonization from Burkina Faso has been documented since 2008.
Walking safaris at Mole operate twice daily at 0630 and 1530, each lasting two to three hours. Armed rangers from the Ghana Wildlife Division guide all walks, mandatory since a 2003 incident when a tourist encountered an elephant without supervision. The walks descend from the Mole Motel escarpment to riparian zones along seasonal streams. Maximum group size is twelve persons. Afternoon walks during January through March regularly observe elephants at distances of thirty to fifty meters, close enough to hear digestive sounds and trunk movements. Photography requires telephoto capacity of at least 200mm equivalent focal length. Morning walks encounter more diverse species but elephants concentrate around midday heat near permanent water.
Accessing Mole requires planning beyond typical Ghanaian travel. Direct public transport from Accra does not exist. The standard route runs Accra to Tamale via STC or VIP coaches departing Accra between 0600 and 2200, journey time nine to ten hours, fare approximately 120 Ghana cedis as of 2024. From Tamale, Metro Mass Transit buses depart for Larabanga village at 1400 daily except Sunday, journey time three hours, fare 20 cedis. Larabanga sits four kilometers from Mole's entrance gate. Alternatively, shared taxis from Tamale to Larabanga cost 30 to 40 cedis per person when full, 200 cedis for charter. The Tamale to Mole road deteriorates significantly after Fufulso, with potholes exceeding thirty centimeters depth common in rainy season May through October. Four-wheel drive becomes advisable during heavy rains though not absolutely required in dry season.
Mole Motel remains the only accommodation inside the park, operated by Ghana Hotels Company Limited since 1962. The original structure built in 1961 features thirty rooms across single-story blocks overlooking the escarpment. Rooms lack air conditioning but provide ceiling fans and mosquito nets. Water supply comes from park boreholes, subject to rationing during drought years. Mobile phone reception is absent. The motel serves breakfast from 0700 to 0900, lunch 1230 to 1430, dinner 1900 to 2130. Menu centers on rice-based dishes and grilled tilapia. Room rates range from 150 to 300 cedis depending on configuration and season. Booking through Ghana Hotels website or Accra office is recommended during December through February when occupancy exceeds eighty percent.
Larabanga village four kilometers from the park entrance offers budget alternatives. Guesthouses charge 40 to 80 cedis for basic rooms with shared facilities. The village holds historical significance for the Larabanga Mosque, a Sudano-Sahelian mud structure claimed to date to 1421, making it potentially the oldest mosque in Ghana. Architectural historians debate the dating, with some arguing construction occurred in the seventeenth century based on stylistic analysis. The current structure underwent restoration in 2002 with financial support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. Non-Muslims can visit outside prayer times, though interior access requires guide arrangement and donation to the community fund. The mihrab orientation aligns 78 degrees east of true north, the standard Qibla calculation error for fifteenth-century West African mosques lacking precise astronomical instruments.
Larabanga also features the Mystic Stone, a rock formation approximately 1.2 meters in diameter that reputedly returns to its current position when moved. Local tradition holds that the stone appeared when the mosque's founder struck the ground. Several YouTube videos document attempts to relocate the stone, though geological examination has not been published. The stone sits in a depression worn by centuries of pilgrims circling it. Village guides offer combined mosque and stone tours for 20 to 30 cedis.
Extending a Mole visit into the wider northern region adds cultural dimensions unavailable in southern Ghana. Tamale, Ghana's fourth-largest city with approximately 360,000 residents as of 2021 census projections, serves as the regional hub. The city's central market on Aboabo Road operates six days weekly, closed Sundays, with dense sections for smoked fish, shea butter, and hand-woven textiles. Northern Ghana produces most of Ghana's shea nuts, processed into butter used in cooking and cosmetics. Wholesale shea butter prices fluctuate between 18 and 28 cedis per kilogram depending on season and quality grade. The market also sells smocks, the traditional woven tunics of northern ethnic groups including Dagomba, Mamprusi, and Gonja. Machine-made smocks cost 80 to 150 cedis. Hand-woven examples using strip-loom techniques range from 300 to 800 cedis, with prices increasing for cotton thread count and pattern complexity.
Tamale's architectural heritage centers on the Gulkpe Naa Palace, residence of the Gulkpe Naa, a divisional chief under the Yaa Naa of Dagbon. The palace follows traditional Dagomba design with cylindrical mud structures topped by conical thatched roofs. Visitors require permission arranged through the palace spokesman. Friday afternoons often host Juma'a prayers at the Tamale Central Mosque, built in 1950 with two minarets rising approximately twenty meters. The mosque accommodates 3,000 worshippers. Non-Muslims can observe from the courtyard outside prayer times.
The alternative inland route centers on Kumasi, Ghana's second city with approximately 3.2 million metropolitan area residents as of 2021 census projections. Kumasi served as capital of the Asante Empire, which dominated the Akan forest regions from the late seventeenth century until British conquest in 1900. The empire's wealth derived from gold mining and control of trade routes linking forest resources to Sahelian markets. At peak extent in the early nineteenth century, the Asante Empire covered roughly 250,000 square kilometers, including most of modern Ghana and portions of Ivory Coast, Togo, and Burkina Faso.
Kumasi's central cultural site is Manhyia Palace Museum, former residence of the Asantehene, the Asante king. The original palace built in 1925 replaced an earlier structure destroyed during the 1874 British invasion. In 1995, Asantehene Opoku Ware II moved to a new palace and converted the 1925 building into a museum. The museum displays royal regalia including gold-plated furniture, state swords, and jewelry. Guided tours operate 0900 to 1700 daily except Mondays, entry fee 50 cedis for non-Ghanaians as of 2024. Photography inside is prohibited. The museum provides the most accessible introduction to Asante political organization and material culture within Kumasi.
The Asantehene's authority continues in contemporary Ghana despite the position holding no official governmental role. The current Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, ascended in 1999 and exercises significant influence in Ashanti Region politics and dispute resolution. The Asante organizational system includes subordinate chiefs who swear oaths to the Asantehene. Understanding this hierarchy clarifies many Kumasi spatial arrangements and protocol expectations.