Experience the best of Tamale

Tamale lies on the open savannah of northern Ghana, capital of the Northern Region and home to the Dagomba people, whose kingdom, Dagbon, has its seat at Yendi to the east. Bicycles and motorbikes crowd its wide streets, and a large central market sells grain, shea butter, cloth and spices. Drumming and dance mark the Damba festival, with chiefs and horsemen in procession.

Mole National Park, a few hours' drive to the west, is the main reason many visitors come this way, with elephants, antelope and baboons to be seen on foot safaris. Larabanga, near its gate, has an old Sudanese-style mud mosque, and the Gambaga escarpment rises to the north-east. Farther north, in the Upper East Region, Paga is known for its sacred crocodile pond.

Tuo zaafi, a thick millet or maize porridge served with green ayoyo leaf soup, is the staple of the north, and kebabs spiced with yaji pepper are sold at street corners. Shea butter and guinea fowl are regional products, and koko, a millet porridge, is breakfast. The dry harmattan wind blows from December to February, and the rains run from May to October.