A whistling sound among the rocks, mud-brick architecture, and historic places of remembrance give Upper East in Ghana distinctive themes for a trip. The sights offer different perspectives, from a seasonal feature of the landscape to buildings and places whose history is connected with resistance to British colonization.
Tongo-Tengzuk: a seasonal natural feature
In the Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape, the Harmattan wind can produce a whistling sound as it blows through the rocks between December and February. This is a specific seasonal reference point if you want to plan your trip around natural and landscape experiences. The sound is described as a possibility, not a guaranteed observation. The landscape is located in Tengzuk, also known as Tongo, within the region.
Architecture and collections
The Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral in Navrongo is made entirely of mud bricks plastered with mud mortar. Its architectural character combines European architecture with local building techniques. This offers a different focus from looking only at a place’s historical function: here, the emphasis is on building materials and the combination of different approaches to construction.
The collection at the Upper East Regional Museum in Bolgatanga includes local pottery, paintings, musical instruments, jewelry, and weapons. It also features chiefs’ possessions, carved dark-wood stools, and bronze ancestral vessels. The range extends from everyday and artistic objects to items associated with leadership and ancestor veneration. Which pieces are currently on display may change.
A comparison with the wider destination of Ghana offers another architectural perspective: the Larabanga Mosque was built in the traditional Sudano-Sahelian style using local materials and building techniques. It is considered possibly the oldest mosque in Ghana and West Africa. Together with the cathedral in Navrongo, it offers a chance to consider two different approaches: European architecture combined with local building techniques and a traditional Sudano-Sahelian style.
Shrines and historic places of remembrance
Ba’ar Tonna’ab Ya’nee is considered the best-known shrine in the Tongo-Tengzuk Cultural Landscape. Asante traditionalists call it Nana Tongo and visit it frequently. The village of Tengzug, near the Tongo Hills, is also home to several shrines that visitors from Ghana and neighboring countries believe hold spiritual power to provide guidance and solve problems. This significance should be understood as a belief held by visitors.
The Hiding Caves and the Hyena Caves are also connected with the struggle against the British, though in different historical contexts. Around 1911, the local chief sought refuge in the Hiding Caves during British attempts to colonize the area and commanded his troops from there. The chief and other leaders met in the Hyena Caves during their struggle against the British.
The Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga commemorates another part of the region’s history. It served as a stopover for enslaved people who were taken from the north to the south, to the slave market in Salaga and then on to the coast. This connection gives the site a different historical significance from the caves associated with resistance to British colonization.
If the collection at the Upper East Regional Museum is important to your plans, ask what is currently on display before your visit. For the seasonal timing of the rock sound in Tongo-Tengzuk, the relevant period is December through February.
Discover more destinations: Bawku West District, Bolgatanga, Brong-Ahafo Region, Northern Region, Western Region, Upper West, Eastern Region, Greater Accra.
For the main travel overview: Ghana.
