Kumasi: the golden capital of the Ashanti kingdom

Heart of the Ashanti kingdom, one of precolonial Africa's most powerful, Kumasi still houses a golden throne venerated as sacred.

The center, gold capital of the ancient Ashanti kingdom, is comfortably explored by shared taxi between the great Kejetia market and the royal palace.

The Manhyia Palace Museum, the Ashanti king's residence, displays royal regalia and recounts Ashanti resistance against British colonialism.

Minutes away, Kejetia Market, among West Africa's largest covered markets, animates the trade in kente cloth and local products.

Heading inland, you can reach the Lake Bosomtwe Sanctuary, Ghana's only natural lake, formed by meteorite impact.

Toward evening, craft villages around Kumasi still produce the celebrated kente cloth according to traditional techniques passed down for generations.

The Golden Stool of the Ashanti, believed according to tradition to have descended from heaven by divine will, is so sacred that no ruler, not even the king himself, may sit on it directly—only touch it with their body.

Lake Bosomtwe, formed by meteorite impact over a million years ago, is Ghana's only natural lake and remains sacred to surrounding Ashanti communities, who still practise traditional rituals there today.