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Elmina

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The Portuguese castle of 1482 on a spit between lagoon and sea, a Dutch fort on the hill above, and one of Ghana's busiest fishing harbours.

Fly to Elmina All of Ghana
Arrival
Accra International · ACC
To the town
About 140 km west of Accra
Private jets
Accra; Takoradi by prior permission
Best time
July to March

The city

Five centuries on the Benya lagoon.

Diogo de Azambuja built São Jorge da Mina here in 1482, and for a century and a half it was Portugal's headquarters in West Africa, first for gold and later for slaves. The Dutch West India Company took it in 1637 and kept Elmina until 1872, when the Dutch Gold Coast was sold to Britain.

The town sits on a narrow peninsula with the Benya lagoon on one side and the Atlantic on the other. Fishing still employs most families, and the harbour below the castle is the third-largest landing site in Ghana. In July the lagoon is opened with Bakatue, on the first Tuesday of the month.

  • São Jorge da Mina Elmina Castle, begun by the Portuguese in 1482 and held by the Dutch from 1637.
  • Fort St Jago The Coenraadsburg on St Jago Hill, with the castle and the harbour laid out below.
  • The fishing harbour The third-largest fish landing site in Ghana, on the Benya lagoon below the castle.

Arriving

Land in Accra and follow the coast west.

Elmina lies twelve kilometres beyond Cape Coast. The long-haul gateway is Accra, roughly 140 km east as the crow flies; Takoradi, a Ghana Air Force base with domestic flights, is closer to the west.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights From Europe, British Airways, KLM and Brussels Airlines fly direct to Accra, and Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines connect through their hubs. Africa World Airlines and Passion Air link Accra and Takoradi. Business & First fares Private Jet Private jets Arrive from abroad at Accra, which is open day and night and handles customs. Takoradi takes smaller jets in daylight on a 1,751 metre runway; every movement needs prior permission and there is no fuel. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Abidjan 45 min
  • Lagos 1 h 05
  • Tunis 5 h 10
  • Rome 5 h 55
  • Dubai 8 h 35 long-range jet

When to go

July to March.

The heaviest rain comes in May and June. In July, August and September the coast is cooler, with highs of 26 or 27 °C and the sea at its coldest; from November to March it is drier and hotter, around 30 °C.

  1. 30° J 26 27°
  2. 30° F 34 28°
  3. 30° M 51 28°
  4. 30° A 86 28°
  5. 29° M 180 29°
  6. 27° J 220 27°
  7. 26° J 81 25°
  8. 26° A 41 23°
  9. 27° S 66 24°
  10. 28° O 85 27°
  11. 29° N 67 28°
  12. 29° D 42 28°
Best months Climate-Data.org, averages 1991–2021

Elsewhere in Ghana

More reasons to come.

All of Ghana

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Business & First Private Jet