Ghana is the enigmatic cultural heart of Africa where while strolling through the streets you will find skilled Ghanaian weavers spinning out the exquisite and traditional ‘Kente’ cloth. Diverse, full of energy and chaotic, Ghana is at its African best with fair share of primal forests, shoreline mangroves and exotic hilltop beauties. Straddling by the Gulf of Guinea, the country is located on north western Africa. The terrain starts with the coastal plains on the south of Ghana and is followed by forest belt, which extends northward till the region of Ashanti. The dense vegetation is interrupted by heavily wooded hills and steep ridges in the midway and finally ends into undulating savannah in the extreme north. Ghana is also home to the gigantic lake Volta, the reservoir in the world.
Among the several major civilisations that flourished in the general region of what is now Ghana, the ancient empire of Ghana is the most significant, which reigned until the 13th century. The Ashanti Empire is the other significant one. After brief interactions with Portuguese, Dutch and Swedes, the Gold Coast region of the country came under British rule in 1820. The British Togoland was incorporated to the region in 1956. And together with them, Ghana became an independent country on March 6, 1957 and a republic on July 1, 1960.