18 Photos That Will Make You Want to Visit Northern Ghana

Barber shop in Tamale
Barber shop in Tamale | © hiroo yamagata / Flickr
Rajaa Banda

Northern Ghana is very different from its southern counterpart: dry, dusty, and very, hot but also filled with life and some great off the beaten track surprises. Here we show you a few of them.

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Unlike in the south, two wheels are the norm—bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles, for both men and women.

Lady on a bicycle, Tamale

These beautiful stark villages are from somewhere lost in time.

Village scene outside Tamale, Ghana

The Larabanga Mosque is one of the oldest of its kind in West Africa.

Larabanga Mosque

Flowers of the Dawadwa tree hang like lanterns in the trees.

Dawadawa flowers

During the harmattan, the North is enveloped in the dust of the Sahara and the sun strains to get through the mist in the middle of the day, creating all sorts of colors in the sky.

Harmattan in Tamale

Elephants regularly bathe at Mole National park.

Safari in Mole

An Egyptian thorn, native to the sahel, is used as fencing to keep livestock away from young trees in orchards.

Egyptian Thorn tree

A baboon relaxes on his perch.

Baboon resting at Mole

A perfectly kept barbershop stands proud.

Barbershop in Tamale

Spotted in a small village, this striking ancient mosque speaks of a forgotten time and history.

Mosque in Northern Ghana

The Tamale chief sits atop a horse in a tribal procession.

Procession of a Tamale chief

Sunset over the savannah at Mole National park.

Mole sunset

Giant striated boulders known as whistling rocks, due to the ghostly sound they make during the harmattan winds, sit at Tongo hills.

Enormous boulders in Tongo hills

Scores of the preferred transport of the region sit under a striking red tree.

Bike power in Northern Ghana

Bolgatanga market has some of the most reasonable produce in the region due to the high proportion of farmers.

Bolga market

Bolgatanga is known for its basket weaving in bright colors.

Bolgatanga baskets

These “tame” crocodiles at Paga allow you to get closer than you’d ever imagine.

Crocodile at Paga

A warthog at Mole is just one of the interesting fauna encountered there.

Warthog at Mole
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