8 tourist sites you must see in the Upper East Region

Bolga, the Upper East Regional Capital is the haven of creativity in Ghana, and is famous for its intricately designed straw baskets, hats, leather products (sandals and bags) and smocks. If you find yourself here do well to visit these tourist sites in the Region:

BOLGA CRAFT VILLAGE
A meeting place for traders from all over the region selling basket ware, leather goods and traditional clothing. It used to serve as a meeting place for other traders from Burkina Faso and beyond who might not be able to reach the south with their goods, mainly livestock.

TONGO-TENGZUK CULTURAL LANDSCAPE AND SACRED SHRINES
The whistling rocks of Tongo rise dramatically from the landscape just 10km from Bolga. This cultural landscape consists of outstanding balancing rock formations and many sacred Talensi ancestral shrines, all lying at and near the base of a horseshoe-shaped chain of hills. The Ba’ar Tonna’ab Ya’nee shrine is the most recognized among the shrines. It is adjudged a popular destination for Asante traditionalists, who call it Nana Tongo.
Both genders are permitted to enter the shrine but they must do so without any clothes on their upper body, my girlfriend will never go there!

THE PAGA TOWN/CROCODILE POND
Paga is the major port of entry on the Ghana-Burkina Faso border. It is 40 km and a 45-minute drive from Bolga. Paga offers perhaps the most vivid insight into the heritage and vestiges of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, and the lives of captives on the 400-mile march to the South. A slave camp near the sacred crocodile pond provides evidence of the harsh realities of the captives.
The reptiles are normally enticed out of the pond by the whistling of the caretaker and the brandishing of a fowl, which the crocodiles quickly snatch with their snouts. If you are courageous, you can sit on, or hold its tail for a good camera pose. This is what I being trying for the past five years. The caretaker charges a fee for the fowl and basic interpretation.

PUSIGA/NAA GBEWAA’S SHRINE
A short drive from Bolga is Pusiga. Legend has it that the founder and ancestor of the Mole-Dagbani kingdom, which extended from Ghana to Burkina Faso, finally settled in this town in the 13th Century. Legend has it that he died here and "buried” himself. Where his palace once stood, and where he "buried” himself is now a thicket that is revered and treated as a shrine by the local people. Beyond the legend, visitor infrastructure and interpretation is currently unavailable at the shrine.

NAVRONGO CATHEDRAL
The historic mud-built church is well worth a visit. Thirty minute drive and 18km northwest of Bolgatanga is Navrongo. The key attraction in this town, which is also a major educational center, is the architecturally unique Catholic Cathedral. Also Known as Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, was built in 1906 and is believed to be the last remaining Mud cathedral, it has mud walls and a traditionally decorated interior. The Catholic Church has recently initiated conservation measures to preserve this icon. Tourists interested in the Christian heritage of Northern Ghana will enjoy touring this Cathedral.

WURIYANGA MOSQUE
This 19th Century mosque is in Garu, southeast of Bawku, near the Togo Border. Restoration works have been undertaken by the local community.
This ancient mosque was built by Muslim missionaries. It showcases typical Sudanese architecture from about 300years ago.

KULUNGUGU BOMB SITE
Kulungugu is a minor point of entry in the Bawku District, on the far eastern corner of Ghana's border with Burkina Faso. This is where in August 1962 an assassination attempt was made on the first President of the Republic, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. En route to Accra from signing an accord with the President of Burkina Faso in the then Upper Volta for the construction of the hydroelectric project on the Volta, a bomb was planted and blasted at a village school, where he made a short stopover. The bomb blast killed a young school child and injured others. A memorial stands at this site.
A prominent Medical Officer I happened to meet during the celebration of the Kwame Nkrumah Centenary said he was supposed to be the MC for that event, but experienced a strange fever just before the event. The sickness vanished just after the vehicle to pick him left his house for Kulungugu.

SIRIGU POTTERY & ART
30km off the Bolga-Navrongo Road, the women of Sirigu await visitors. Women in this village are committed to keeping threatened traditional arts alive. They also sell baskets, pottery, and other crafts, which are both a livelihood and a proud tradition for the villagers.

The Village noted for inspiration designs on walls, pots and canvass, mainly by women.
Most of the women of Sirigu have no formal education, they are ordinary women as found in other rural areas in Ghana, but possess a talent that is worth recognizing. Their dream is to preserve the designs of their ancestors.
On their website (www.swopa.org), one will have the real Sirigu experience.

My next job will be on the festivals in my adopted region, I tell my friend I’m an Economic Refugee
See you when I see you!