Highlights of West Africa Overland

The stone circles of Senegambia comprise 93 separate circles along 350 kilometres of the River Gambia. They are clustered into four main groups - Wassu, Wanar, Sine Ngayene and Kerbatch. Each circle contains between 8 and 14 stones, cylindrical or polygonal in shape, between 1 and 2.5 metres high and weighing up to 7 tonnes. They are thought to be dated between the third century BC and the sixteenth century AD though little is known about the society that produced them.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Stone Circles of Senegambia

The island of Gorée, off the coast of Senegal opposite Dakar, is a small and peaceful island which was once the largest slave-trading centre on the African coast. Approximately 20 million Africans passed through the island on their way to the Americas between the mid-1500s and the mid-1800s. The architectural remains today include the grim and cramped slave quarters and the elegant houses of the slave traders. These now house museums and serve as a reminder of this shameful period of human exploitation.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Island of Gorée

The Malian capital of Bamako is a bustling city of over one million people situated on the banks of the Niger River. The National Museum provides an excellent introduction to Malian history and culture with impressive collections of masks, textiles and ancient artefacts. West Africa is renowned for its music and Bamako is an excellent spot for catching live bands, particularly on the Route de Bla Bla. Elsewhere Grande Marche is a huge market selling food, clothes and some more unusual produce in its fetish stalls.

Djenné is one of the oldest towns in West Africa, inhabited since 250 BC. It was an important centre of the trans-Saharan gold trade and the spread of Islam. The Grand Mosque, built in 1906, is the largest mud brick building in the world, a truly unique and extraordinary site. The facade has to be restored every year after the rainy season by thousands of volunteers. Elsewhere the town is a maze of narrow alleyways and traditional mud-brick houses, seemingly little changed in centuries, ripe for wandering and exploration. The Monday market is one of the most lively in West Africa, these days food, spices, fabrics and pottery are for sale rather than the gold, ivory and slaves of days gone by.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Old Towns of Djenné

Timbuktu is one of the most evocative and mysterious names for travellers. Located on the edge of the Sahara desert, it became rich as an important trading town and once had one of the largest universities of the world, Koranic Sankore University, as it became the intellectual and spiritual centre for the propagation of Islam throughout west Africa. Today, Timbuktu's attractions include the three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, as well as the old houses of European explorers.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Timbuktu

Bobo-Dioulasso is Burkina Faso's second city and is one of the most vibrant and attractive in West Africa. The city is a mix of French and Sudanese style colonial architecture, with highlights including the train station and the Great Mosque, built to resemble the famous mosque of Djenne. The Grand Marché contains a great selection of tribal arts from all over West Africa and the unique masks of this region. Bobo-Dioulasso is known as the 'Music Capital of Burkina Faso' and the city comes alive at night-time and the weekend with the rhythms of West African music

The Royal Palaces of Abomey were built by the 12 kings of the powerful West African Kingdom of Dahomey between 1625 and 1900. Each king built his palace in the same cob-walled area. Only two survive today, but they are still used for rituals and royal ceremonies and are a reminder of a vanished kingdom. The bas relief decorations on the walls provide graphic depictions of battle scenes and document the history of this warrior kingdom. At Abomey you can witness a Geladan Mask Ceremony used by locals to communicate with spirits (and entertain tourists).

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Royal Palaces of Abomey

Lake Togo lies east of the capital Lome and covers some 13 km². Travelling on pirogue, the traditional dugout canoe used by local fishermen, you can visit various towns and villages along the lakes edge such as Agbodrafo and Togoville, which are centres for voodoo culture. The historic town of Togoville contains a royal palace and German colonial church from the early 20th century as well as numerous voodoo shrines and fetish stalls.

Kumasi was the spiritual and historic capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. Today it is Ghana's second largest city with a population of over one million people. The Manhyia Palace was the former home of the Ashanti kings and today houses a museum. The Armed Forces Museum details the conflicts of the 20th century. Kumasi is also home to West Africa's largest open air market - Kejetia where you can haggle for food, spices and other goods, including Ashanti drums, a key component of Ghanaian music.

Over 20 castles were built along the Ghanaian coast by the colonial powers from the 15th century to protect their interests and for use in the slave trade. The castles at Elmina and the Cape Coast are of particular note, the latter being the centre of British administration in Ghana.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions